Best toys for a 2 year old boy

Balls

My 2 year old and pretty much every 2 year old I know is ball obsessed and we have a large collection of balls. If we go to the park we have to take a ball with us. It's great for him to burn off energy chasing, kicking and throwing the ball. You can't go wrong with a ball for a two year old. Soft balls are particulaly great because you can play with them inside without the fear of anybody getting hurt.

Lego

My son absolutely loves lego. He has just got to the stage where he can attach the lego bricks to a board and build towers and walls. It's been really good to teach him colours. He knows which bricks are red, green, blue and yellow. He will also sit on his own for a little while playing with the lego so it gives me a little break.

Magnetic letters

If I were to recommend one toy to buy a two year old, magnetic letters (perhaps surprisingly) would be it. My son absolutely loves his magnetic letters and has spent ages sticking them onto the fridge and the washing machine. He now knows all of the capital letters of the alphabet as we have played with him to teach him the letters. They have kept him occupied for ages. They are particularly great as he plays with them in the kitchen while I am cleaning up. For me this is a definite must buy.

Magnetic Farm Set

Following on from magnetic letters this looks like another brilliant magnetic toy. The magnetics are part of a jigsaw and when you fit two parts of an animal together, it says the animals name. If you put two wrong pieces together it makes a silly name for the animal like sheep-cow. The puzzle can be done on the fridge or the floor. It looks fun and educational and the reviews on Amazon are pretty good.

Little Tikes EasyScore Basketball Set

This is suitable for all mini basketball fans from 18 months to 5 years old. The basketball stand can be adjusted according to the height of the child so can last quite a long time. Can be used indoors and outdoors. Great for wearing out energetic toddlers.

Mr. Potato Head

Mr. Potato Head is great for playing with and teaching your child the names of the body parts. My son was given this for Christmas when he was 22 months and he loves it. He will sit down and concentrate on putting Mr. Potato Head together on his own. It's great!

Magnetic drawing board

Again my son absolutely loves his magnetic drawing board. There is a pen on which he can scribble to his heart's content and then the board is wiped clean and he can start all over again. There's no mess or clearing up after which is great! We draw shapes together and he is getting quite good at drawing circles. I really like this toy too. it's also a really good toy to keep children occupied when you are going on a long journey. The only thing to be careful of is some of the drawing board also contain stamps which can be a choking hazard. Just remember to take these away if you are not looking over your child while he/she is playing.

Water Wheel Table

My son would love this water wheel table. There's boats, a waterwheel, and a cup for pouring in an elevated design which will keep children as clean as possible.He loves helping me with the washing up and will spend hours pouring water from one container to another. This would be brilliant to have in the garden in the Summer and I am sure would keep a toddler entertained for hours.

Radio Control Cars

Two year old boys are just starting to love cars and a radio control car makes a really good present. There are lots designed from 24 months. Check out the options below.

Play-doh

Play-doh is brilliant. My son will play with it for quite a while on his own, which gives me some breathing space. When we play together he loves me to make balls out of the play-doh. We make a lot, count them and name the colours. There's lots of play-doh accessories you can also purchase.

Slides

My little boy loves slides at the moment. He's not so much into swings but if there's a slide at a playground, it's what he spends most of his time on.

DVDs

My toddler is allowed to watch a limited amount of television. There are definitely some programmes he loves to watch more than others and we have bought him the following DVDs which he loves.

If you're interested in buying DVDs you may appreciate this article on Movies for 2 year olds .

Books

Toddlers love book and my two year old is no exception. They are great for developing language and for sitting down and spending quality time with your child. There are some great books for 2 year olds. Here are three of our favorites below:

Play tents

My son's Grandma has a play tent that my son and my niece love to play in. They like to sit in there to eat sandwiches. It's also a good thing to put up in the garden to keep the children shaded when it is sunny. There are all kinds of play tents including a Thomas the tank engine one.

Trampolines

Two year olds are always full of energy and trampolines are a great way to burn some of it off. If you have space they are great to have inside during the Winter to give the little one some exercise and in the Summer it can be moved into the garden.

Sandpits

My son is now two years and one month and has recently fallen in love with sandpits and building sandcastles. These are great as on a nice Summer day you can put your little one in your garden, let them play by building sandcastles while you relax in the sunshine.

Buckets and spades

Following on from sandpits if you have a sandpit, there's one in a park near you or you are going to the beach this year don't forget to kit your little one out with a buckets and spades. My son spends ages at the moment filling up buckets with sand and then tipping it all out and then starting the process again.

Trikes

Little boys love to sit and ride up and down on a trike. The trike below is a good option it has non-slip wheels, flashing lights, music and a horn to honk .

Toy cars and other play vehicles

My son was given toy cars before he was two and he wasn't that interested in them. However, now he has just started to show a real interest. We like to go for walks together and he will take his toy car and "drive" it over the walls and on the ground. He also has a little tractor which we took to the park the other day and he spent ages just moving it over posts and the grass. I haven't encouraged him to do this, he just does it on his own. It must be an in built instinct in boys. A great toy to encourage imaginative and creative play.

Bilibo

We don't have this toy but I included it because it sounds intriguing. Basically it's a toy which was designed after extensively studying children's play patterns and it has won countless awards. It's a plastic spherical shape which is meant to be virtually indestructable. It is completely open-ended toy that stimulates a child's imagination. It can be a helmet, sit and spin, doll cradle, train tunnel, shovel, water basin and much more. Reviewers on Amazon also give a lot more information about how the children could use this toy. It's suitable for indoors and outdoors. When I first read about this toy I was a bit baffled about whether it would be used but I am sure my little boy would use this toy. I would definitely consider buying one.

Wooden train set

An update from a 2 1/2 year old boy

Since writing this articles I have purchased a couple more toys for my 2 year old boy which he loves. He is now 2 1/2 and a couple of months ago we purchased a wooden train set and he loves it. We started building tracks together but now he will build his own with a little help from me. He loves the magnetic trains that stick together and at first he spent ages just putting the trains together and then pulling them apart. He plays with his train set everyday. I have suggested a couple of train sets below. If you are interested in buying a wooden train set, you may appreciate this article on the best train sets for toddlers. Also a train table with a train set is a good choice as it keeps all the mess and play of the floor. They are also good for storage. Here is an article on the best children's train table