Best Toys for Boys in 2012 - Birthday Gifts/Presents

Boys are fun to shop for. I'm a Father of a 6 year old boy, 4 year old girl and a 2 year old toddler boy so I'm hoping that this qualifies me for writing about the subject.

When I first became a Father my wife and I discussed what types of toys that we wanted our children to play with. Anything that exploded, made a mess or was a gun was definitely on the no-no list.

At first I adhered to our well thought out rules of what types of toys my son could play with but as he grew older I realized there was no stopping him from playing with the types of toys that he wanted to play with (mainly guns). This epiphany came when he began to make guns out of his legos! What I'm trying to say is that boys will be boys, so give them their toys!

Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden

While my daughter will run screaming from the mere site of an ant, my son likes to pick up any bug he can find and lot it crawl around on his arm (usually to torment my daughter more than anything).

Boys like bugs and with the insect lore live butterfly garden you can hone that passion into a learning gift for him and your family. While it can be difficult to find a butterfly in that stage, the set comes with a coupon for a mail in voucher that gives you five butterfly larvae and special food.

The butterfly garden also comes with a mesh butterfly habitat, feeding dropper, activity guide, and complete instruction book.

*While its not showing up in my Amazon module, you can easily find these stomp rockets on Amazon by using one of my other product links on this page.

For under $10 you can get these stomp rockets which my son loves! You simply put the rocket on the pipe and stomp on the pedal. Instructions say that these can go as high as 100 feet (50-75 feet is more typical for us) in the air!

I know what you're thinking, he'll break this in a second, but the 4 rockets that came with it lasted a pretty long time and then refill cartridges are available for under $10. Besides, he'll have just as much fun with this as one of those $200 dinosaurs that you always see in Wal-Mart at Christmas time.

Don't shy away from things that make him use his head - especially if you're willing to play with him! Believe it or not Qwirkle, Banagrams, and Blokus are actually some of the bestselling toys for boys this year. (You can purchase these 3 together in a combo deal at Amazon to save some money).

The trick to purchasing a board game is finding one that you and him can play together. My suggestion for parents who don' t have the time would be to either find the time to play with him, or pick something else he might enjoy. Most boys like board games when everyone gets involved (just not by themselves).

One of the best ways to stimulate your son's brain is to allow them to use it while "playing". What better way to do that than a lego building set? My wife and I live in a house that is two stories tall and most of the entertainment (TV, wii, etc...) is downstairs. One of the only ways we can get him(our six year old) to play up in his room is by setting up our lego table and sets. He even likes to follow the instructions in the pamphlets that come with the sets to build the various cars and buildings they show (now if he'd just follow our other instructions as well).

If you don't have a table, or have one without any lego plates, consider purchasing some of these inexpensive lego plates for him to put his legos on.  It will save you lots of cleaning and messes in the long-run and he can showcase his build by putting them on his nightstand or dresser.  In our house we have these so that our two year old doesn't 1.) eat the legos and 2.) destroy our six year old's builds and make a huge mess (of course this will still happen but it helps "prevent" it).

Although its difficult to find a basketball program for kids in the 3-7 age range you can get them started with this Little Tikes EasyScore basketball set.

It's adjustable from 2.5-4 feet tall so I can use it with my toddler and six year old. We also keep a Nerf Sport Nerfoop above his room door (although the banging in the morning before I get up is sometimes annoying).

Here's everything that every parent should know; he's going to play video games whether you like it or not! I know you read the Chinese book (I can't remember what it's called so leave a comment if you know what I'm talking about) on how your kids should never have entertainment, play video games, or watch TV, but they are going to find a way.

If the're going to, then let it be in your terms. It's kind of like all of the sugar cereal. At least if you find something with vitamins that has potassium, then it's better than nothing. The Leapster from Leapfrog gives the perfect solution and gift for your child's learning and entertainment needs.

I hope you've enjoyed my review of the best toys for boys in 2011. If you have, then please contribute to this hub by leaving a comment or suggestion in the reader feedback section below. If you're looking for the holiday season, then I recommend this article on the best Christmas gifts for boys.

You can support me by following me above and visiting some of my other hubs. If you didn't find what you were looking for, then consider this hub on birthday gift ideas for boys.