5 Ways Kids Can Learn To Love Star Wars Without Ever Watching The Movies

Without ever watching a full Star Wars movie, my 3-year-old son is already in love with all things Jedi thanks to these 5 kid-friendly obsessions.  I'll be honest, my wife and I tried getting my son hooked on Thomas the Tank Engine, Jake The Pirate and even (ugh) Frozen. While he's shown some interest in being a pirate, nothing has captured his imagination more than the world of Star Wars.

If you grew up loving Star Wars like I did, it would seem like a blessing to have a son that is such a dedicated follower of The Force. And most of the time it's a lot of fun, but not when he's thwacking me with a lightsaber at 6am or correcting a waitress for admiring his Boba Fett action figure when it's clearly Jango Fett (and would you like to meet Admiral Ackbar? He says "It's a trap!")

So how did he get so obsessed with Star Wars? It's a little buzzing, considering he's only seen the movies once or twice. You can thank the brilliant marketing minds of George Lucas and Disney for breeding a whole new generation of Star Wars fans who learned about the galaxy far, far away from one of the many shows and toys aimed specifically at young children.

1) Lego Star Wars
Lego and Star Wars have become major partners, officially licensing all sorts of items from the franchise and turning them into Lego sets. But probably their greatest collaboration is the series of Lego Star Wars television episodes. While searching through iTunes one day I stumbled across Lego Star Wars and my son instantly fell in love. Much like the recent blockbuster Lego Movie, the series depicts adventures from the Star Wars universe as told through animated bricks. For adult Star Wars Fans, there's plenty of inside jokes and fun storylines to watch and for little kids the show features all of the cool science fiction stuff without any of the scary monsters or villains.  Even Darth Vader is shown as a funny, bumbling bad guy. Here's an example:

2) Fisher Price Star Wars Toys
When I was growing up there was no greater Star Wars status symbol than owning the most Kenner Star Wars action figures on the block. And if you were lucky enough to also possess the Millennium Falcon or an AT-AT you were king of the world. After figuring out his love for Star Wars, I dug out my old action figures from the basement and gave them to my son. He loves them, but became frustrated when they wouldn't stand on their feet or bend into position. Fisher Price has solved that problem with an entire line of toys aimed at preschoolers. Fisher Price Star Wars figures are smaller, more durable and even come with some very realistic looking spacecraft and vehicles. While they are a little juvenile-looking for an older kid, they're perfect for the imagination of a little one, and work great side-by side with the old Kenner toys.

3) Star Wars Rebels
Disney has produced a whole new cartoon aimed at kids called Star Wars Rebels. Broadcast on the Disney XD channel on Monday nights, the show follows the adventures of a young Jedi in training named Ezra. He has teamed up with a group of misfit rebels who've made it their mission to try and defeat The Empire. The story takes place between the prequel movies and Episode IV, so many of the characters in the Star Wars universe have already made an appearance on the show, including Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi and even R2-D2 and C-3PO. Some of the episodes can get a little intense, but my 3-year-old is hooked. Although I am a little concerned that he keeps rooting for the Imperial Stormtroopers.

4) Disney World
Now that Disney owns the Star Wars franchise, they've done a great job of ramping up presence of the franchise in their theme parks. Most noticeably, Disney Hollywood Studios is slowly becoming Star Wars World. There have already been announcements about creating new attractions and rides, but there's already plenty of things that will make your young padawan's eyes light up with wonder. On our trip last year we stumbled across Jedi Training Academy. Kids as young as 4 can "train" to be a Jedi on stage, learning how to wield a lightsaber and harness The Force. The training is cut short, however, when Darth Vader himself enters and all of the young Jedis must approach him and use their lightsaber skills to chase him off. My son saw this last year and has been in training for our next visit ever since.

5) Books
While the Star Wars story is such a strong visual experience, the reason why it's been around for so long isn't because of lightsabers and laser blasts, it's because of great storytelling. Rich characters like Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and an endless parade of imaginative creatures and faraway planets keep kids and adults coming back for more. I don't think there's anything better you can do for a young child then to read to them and get them excited about reading. There are plenty of Star Wars children's books to choose from, even activity books that teach counting and reading. A quick search on Amazon will turn up hundreds of options. So when my son is begging for more Star Wars, instead of plopping him in front of the TV to watch the movies or one of the many offshoot cartoons, my first choice is to read one of these books with him.

Are you lucky (or unlucky) enough to have a young child completely obsessed with Star Wars? Let us know how you feed the addiction. Maybe there's something we forgot to add to the list.