How Do I Choose the Best Gadgets for Boys?

My kids are grown, so I am not that current on what all the current gadgets are, but I am amazed at what I see kids carrying around with them.

When I see young kids with an expensive, electronic gadget, I wonder how much it cost, and how long it will last.

There also seems to be a lot of pressure for them to have the newest and greatest new gadget.

When I am buying presents for my grandkids, I always check with their parents to see what they would recommend. It seems like almost all of them have their own cell phones and ipods.

When I was at the store the other day looking at an electronic reader, there was a lady buying a new tablet for her grandson.

I must be old fashioned, but I have a hard time spending that kind of money on myself for something like that. Then when I look at how quickly they move on to the next thing, I try to find something that is nice, but not too expensive.

Having 3 boys, I know very well all about gadgets and what boys love. Even though each of them have different personalities and interests, I can say that all of them love anything that makes noise.

If they have some kind of gadget where they think they have control, or are in charge, that is what they like best.

With so many choices available, it isn't hard to find gadgets like this for every interest. I really try to limit the amount of gadgets they have so they play with what they have available.

It can get very expensive if you try to keep up with all the new things that come out. Before buying a new gadget, I like to read the reviews on them to get a better idea of what others see as good and bad features.

Call me old fashioned, but I think the best gadget for boys is a good Swiss army knife. I had several when I was growing up and I thought they were the coolest things in the world.

I didn't even grow up in the country but I still found lots of uses for those knives. And they were never dangerous. I think a lot of parents these days are leery of giving their children anything sharp but I never had any problems. In fact it made me more responsible.

And I think there is something to be said for a gadget that is for more than just entertainment. I didn't sit there and stare at the knife, I went out and used it to get things done, to build stuff with my friends and have adventures. It helped me be a better kid.

My brother is very artistic. When he was in high school, he had access to all sorts of art mediums and tools, but after he graduated, he had nothing to work with, so I decided to enable him to draw again.

In addition to charcoal, paint, and chalk pastels, I knew he would need some gadgets as well.

I got him a special sharpener for his charcoal pencils. I saw a putty knife that people use to mix paint colors and scrape them off the palettes, so I added that to my cart. I also bought him a mixing tray for paint.

The final and most expensive artistic gadget I got him was a paper cutter. It has a block of wood with a grid on it for lining up the paper and a handle with a long, sharp blade. This is the best way to cut paper to precise measurements without any rough edges.

I always take my husband with me when I’m shopping for other people’s Christmas gifts. I pay attention to anything that he stops and admires, so I know exactly what gadgets to get for him.

This way, the gift is a surprise, but I don’t have to put any effort into picking it out. I simply have to remember what store it was in and the name of it.

Last year, he admired a three-in-one blu-ray, DVD, and VHS player. We have all three at our house, so this would be ideal for us.

He commented on how cool it was, but he didn’t say anything about buying it. That gave me the opportunity to add it to his silent wish list. I went back to the store the next day and got it, and he was both surprised and delighted on Christmas morning.

@lighth0se33 - Yes, I do the same thing with my boyfriend. I don’t know anything about his specific electronic gadgets, so it’s best that I get detailed information from him.

However, we often get each other more than one gift. So, I get him the one technical thing that he wants, and then I also get him something I picked out.

I get him anything from a DVD to aftershave. He is sweet, and he’s never told me that he disliked a gift, but I can always tell by how much he uses it whether or not he really likes it. So far, he has used most of the gifts often.

Searching for cool gadgets for men can be so frustrating. They are the hardest gender to shop for, so I usually just ask them exactly what they want.

My husband is very knowledgeable about electronics and technical devices. I am the opposite. I know how to turn on the computer, and that’s about it.

I get him to write down the name of what he wants, along with any added descriptions or serial numbers. I know it’s not very romantic, but if I got him something that I picked out myself, it would likely be the wrong thing.

Does anybody else do this? I feel bad about it sometimes, but I know he doesn’t really want a sweater or cologne, which is what I would pick out for him.

@Sara007 - My son actually thought that some of the high tech gadgets weren't that interesting the last time we went to the mall. I suppose though that he is still young enough to enjoy the spy gadgets for kids that we were browsing through. The idea of having his own headsets, binoculars and night vision glasses were pretty cool stuff to him.

I suppose that in a few years I'll be paying out a lot more to keep him in computer games, but hopefully this stage will last a bit longer. I rather enjoy helping him solve his mysteries when he gets me to play with him. Reminds me a lot of when I was a kid.

Honestly, I find that the gifts for boys aren't much different than the gadgets for men nowadays. I remember when I was shopping for my husband and son, and the hardest thing was figuring out whether to get one gaming console or two. No sense in having them fight over who gets to play.

It seems that a lot of the cool gadgets and gizmos for boys are all related to playing video games these days. I can't keep track of how many titles and accessories I've been asked to get this past year. What do you think is the hottest trend in presents for boys this year?

Some of my friend have been getting their 8 year olds cell-phones and even smart-phones. I'm not okay with my son having one just yet because I've been hearing a lot about kids harassing each other via text messages. I think I'd rather get him a digital camera.

My son loves art anyway and he loves taking pictures so I think getting him his own digital camera is a good idea. A digital camera won't be addicting like video games are and I won't have to worry about who he's talking to if he has a cell phone.

I would get him a laptop, but he uses the desktop at home right now. So I might wait until he's a little older to get a laptop for him. Plus, who knows what kind of new cool gadgets will be out by then.

My favorite new gadgets for both boys and girls are the learning tablets that a few select brands have started to produce.

I have a tablet as well, but there are now tablets made especially for kids and it has applications and programs on it that's directed toward learning. I purchased one for my nephew because he loved playing with mine whenever he came over. So I asked his parents if it's okay if I got him a children's tablet and they said that's fine.

The children's tablet is really easy to use, it's slightly smaller than the ones for adults. It has e-books with classic children's stories, educational videos and various kinds of games on it. My nephew loves the Pixar Cars e-book, and the Scooby-Doo game the most.

I think tablets are much better than getting an e-book or a game player because you can do all of it with just one gadget.

My son is on the track team at school and he goes running with the rest of the team and by himself all the time. So as a birthday present this year, I got him an ipod mp3 player along with the accessories. He can attach the player on his arm and jog and run with it on without any problems.

He is so happy that I got this for him. He said he realized how boring it was to run without music before. I think this is a really good gadget to gift to your son if he's into sports and exercise. In fact, I think my husband wants one too for his car. I guess gifts for boys and men are easily interchangeable when it's a gadget!