Being a Boy Mom: The Trick To Calming My Active Son

I try to stay away from generalized statements when it comes to behavior and gender; we all know kids that defy the stereotype of how a girl or boy is “supposed” to behave…. but my son is not one of them. As the saying goes, my kid is ALL BOY and sometimes he just plain wears me out. That’s why I’m excited to partner with Playskool and Socialstars over the next few months to talk about some of our favorite toys – including these ones that help to focus and calm my very active son.

Being A Boy Mom: The Fun Never Ends!

This boy is such a great kid! He’s the family comedian, makes his (serious) sister laugh until she cries and is destined to be a collegiate athlete with his impressive coordination. But MAN, he is so active! Play time with him is so much more physical than it is with my daughter. The games are more combative and, in general, there are less breaks between bouts of intensity. He’s just so much! I know not all boys are like this, and I truly hate even implying they are, but when another boy mom smiles at me from across the playground, I inhale a much needed breath of patience. Knowing I’m not alone in the land of boyhood always helps me put things in perspective. I’m not technically a Boy Mom because I also have a daughter, but parenting my little man is definitely a lively experience!

Favorite Toys To Calm An Active Boy

After a long day of climbing, tumbling and superhero-ing, it’s great to have a set of toys that promote focus and calm. One of our favorites is Playskool’s Stack ‘n Stow Cups. They’re a new twist on the classic stacking cups, but the best part is that they can easily be transported where ever our active boy goes! The space saving nesting cups secure inside the lion base, making it easy to take from Abuela’s house to our house and even out to dinner.

But our favorite place to play with this toy is at the kitchen counter as I’m cooking dinner. He gets to be close to me, like he loves, but not under foot – all while still being focused on a task: stacking his cups!

Playskool says the Stack ‘n Stow Cups are for 9 months old and up, but I think this toy have major longevity. The stacking game is one that seems to calm my active boy (even if he loves to destroy the tower after it’s been built!) and it also gives us another opportunity to reinforce his knowledge of shapes and colors. We use the cups to play sorting and counting games, too. And, like most games these days, the Stack ‘n Stow cups help facilitate recognition of all these things in Spanish, too.

Getting my active son to bed is another struggle that I never had with my daughter. This boy doesn’t have an off switch! A toy that helps him calm down and focus on bedtime is the Fold ‘n Go Busy Elephant. Before we got him this plush elephant, it was difficult for him to sit through our bedtime books. Since it has 7 activities in 1 adorable, plush elephant, he’s able to keep his fingers busy while he listens to me read. I’ve had to learn to ignore a bit of his activity, but if he has the freedom to cuddle and play with the small trinkets on his elephant, we’re able to enjoy our reading just fine.

The Fold ‘n Go Elephant is compact and folds easily for portability. But my favorite part is that his sweet elephant is washable! Just throw it in a pillowcase and put in washing machine.

So, okay…. I have a busy boy. He’s active and wild and, sometimes, just flat out crazy. But he’s also happy and we love him just the way he is. These simple toys are a couple tools we use to teach him to find a calm space to focus while still having a good time. He’s hardly three years old, and I want to treasure his innocent zest for life as long as possible.

This sweet, active boy makes me proud to be a boy mom!