If you have a typically male 2-year-old...

[ApplesTheHare]

What do they enjoy? I say 'typically male' because I couldn't think of another way to put it, but we struggle to get him to interact beyond throwing, hitting and running away... He doesn't speak yet but understands most of what we say. We try and make a game of it all, and positively reinforce good behaviour, but it's hard when all he enjoys seems to be bad behaviour...

Lots of excersise, then lots of books

Anything to wear him out. For wet days, we have a mini trampoline inside and a soft fabric ball that can be kicked and chased up and down the hallway. Outside he has a little rake, broom and watering can to help in the garden, sandpit with old (from gumtree) diggers, dump trucks, etc. He also loves vehicles of any type, so a trip on the bus is v exciting - buy a ticket valid for 2 hours and go lorry/car/bus/van/tanker/fire engine/etc spotting.

Inside he has LOTS of little cars (gumtree again) and a wooden train set which keep him occupied for ages. If I'm desperate, I'll resort to youtube - just type in 'fire engines' or the like, you would not believe how many people seem to go around just filming fire engines, etc and uploading the footage. There is a 10 min video detailing the various different models of bin lorry that he will watch over and over. There are also vehicle cartoons that teach colours, counting, etc.

I'm sure all of mine were into Thomas the tank at that age. We had a Brio type train set which was constantly played with.
And Happy Land toys from ELC. loads on eBay!
And cars. And trucks. And mud.

I thought you meant having a willy, and liking to talk about it/play with it in public.

I find this description of the typical two-year old occasional lashing out as "male" unhelpful in the extreme. In fact it's on a par, I would go as far to say, with those who see toddler hitting as "taking after dad" (I have heard this, of a boy who had never met "dad").

My toddler DD enjoys playing with cars, trucks, going on the slide a million times in a row, climbing things, her sand and water table and kicking/throwing a ball in the park. Does he get much outside time?

"I don't think it's "pedantic" to ask what on earth is meant by "typically male", especially at 2 years old."

It is a little when the OP explained it in her first post, FGS. Though the label bothered me, I did read OP's explanation and I think she was just tired. Two year olds are hard. Give her a break! (I would describe this behaviour as "boisterous", BTW).

Get throwing and hitting redirected into some acceptable activities. Throwing can be a ball, beanbags, nerf things, those launch rockets where you jump on the air pad and it shoots a foam rocket into the air.

Hitting could be a swingball set if you have room, toy drums, anything with big buttons to bash on. etc etc.

Buy a set of decent rainwear - boots, waterproof trousers, raincoat with hood, and get out at least once every day. Toddlers are a bit like dogs, they need exercise!

The trick with my DS is to make sure that he has something to burn off his energy everyday. I take him swimming or to soft play or to the park and then he is more able to sit and play.

In our house it's all about trains and fire engines. Brio is great, but expensive. He also likes the wooden building blocks for building towers and knocking down again.

Messy play - tray of beans / rice / pasta and his diggers/dumpers or various cups. Sink full of bubbly water and various bottles and tubs.

Toys - brio set, little cars/nee-naws. Loves his bin truck and breakdown truck at the moment.

Helping with cooking (making smoothies eg he can squash the fruit), making pizza (he can put on the toppings).

Totally agree with the notion that small boys need to be exercised like dogs! We have recently bought a large trampoline for the garden and our very boisterous two year old spends hours in there!

I don't know why some of you are having a go at the OP, I really don't. It doesn't matter what some MNers insist on - there IS a difference between most male and female babies/young children. Sigh.

It doesn't matter what science insists on

Hint: 2 year old girls also have a lot of energy and have been known to enjoy toys with wheels.

My DD definitely needs exercising like a dog. In fact that's what I do. I take her and the dog to a big field with a ball and let them both run around to their hearts content!

Happy land toys, thomas trains, little wooden trike with trailer from elc,
Trips to - the library (we tend to swoop in, pick up books then read them at home!) the shops - he likes helping, park and anywhere on any kind of public transport!!! Ds2 has loves his little life backpack so he can take something special in it and I lopp the rein over my wrist but insist on holding hands
He is also liking gardening - planting in pots and loves watering the garden with a little watering can (& digging with a trowel /fork I just have to check where and what he's digging up!)
Also kettle, toaster and tea set and ds1 loved play shops at that age
I find it hard to remember new things or old toys that need playing with in the middle of 'toddler time' and try to think in a rare quiet moment what to do that day/next day

My mum had 2 boys and 2 girls.
She says "boys mess up your house, girls mess up your mind". I have one of each, they are only 6 and 3 and I am beginning to agree.

there IS a difference between most male and female babies/young children.

Yes there is - boys wee in your face, girls wee up their backs.
Boys get dressed in blue with cars on, girls in pink with flowers and frills.

If my two are anything to go by, 1yo boys looooove balls and 1yo girls looooove cars and anything with wheels. And they are much more destructive than boys because they are smaller and more nippy when crawling and pull themselves up faster, like 4 months earlier. Can't tell you about the difference between 2yo girls and boys as I don't have one of the former yet.

Oh yes, that's only 2 children. And might not apply to all children. Whoops.

Could she not have said "a very active 2yo". Did it not occur that people might have active 2yo DDs even if she doesn't??!

my 2 yr old DS loves his wooden garage from elc (had to be the more sturdy wooden one, he just decimated the plastic ones)

also pretend Bosch work bench was a big hit.

DS is not far off 3 and I'm struggling to think of the next lot of toys.

BTW I have one of those exact same boy toddlers. Total chalk and cheese compared to his female peers. It's bloody hard work.

My DS2 likes our play kitchen as did DS1 at that age, likes our little basketball net, any form of net + ball actually....he really isn't into toys much. He likes to help with cleaning so I got him a little broom, spray bottle with sponge...or send him about with some bubbles and a scrub brush.

He also likes our train table but his attention with it is pretty short. his best game by far is pulling couch cushions off and jumping about.

Crafts and sensory activities are good too - finger paint, coloured rice, treading pasta, play dough.

Ours also likes his cozy coupe and we have an inflated rubber horse that he bounces on too - that has really blossomed in popularity lately.

that would be "threading" pasta

I've got 2 boys and the older one is very like you describe yours - a bit older though, so things have improved somewhat as the typical toddler fondness for applying rules (to other people, mainly) has kicked in. He understands and complies with turn-taking and consequences now (again, most of the time). It's a frustrating phase (to put it mildly!!!) but it does pass. You just need to persevere with current disciplinary strategies (consistency is key) and keep exercising him

Now my younger DS is 13mo younger and is calm(ish), considers consequences and always has done, likes quiet activities and is amenable to logic - far moreso than DS1 was at his age. Stereotypically female, in other words! I'm lucky that I had DS1 first or good GOD I'd be a smug bastard of a parent.

Boys and girls all vary. I know one family with 2 girls and a boy and the boy is already officially the 'naughty' one of the family as he's a bit more active and noisy. I feel bad for him because he seems perfectly well within the range of toddler normal and doesn't deserve the negative pigeonholing so early in life (indeed ever). I say this as a kindly meant warning - it's easy to get into mental habits that we later regret.

Good luck!

Scooter
Brio
Play tunnel

Regardless of what he wants and likes, a non verbal two year old needs songs and storybooks (or non-story books about tractors/helicopters/dinosaurs) and lots of them, even if you have to squeeze them into five minute attention spans between much needed spurts of running and jumping, and apart from that chat to him about whatever takes his fancy. Take heart OP, he'll be older and less challenging all too soon, but you just need to watch that he's not pegged as the sort of child who "doesn't enjoy" vital language and literacy development skills. I suspect you may be about to learn more than you ever thought possible about JCBs though

If he has lots of energy to burn off then things that he use to burn it off : trampoline, scooter, football etc.

I do think that boys, on average have more energy to burn off than girls. The key to getting my 2 to behave when young was lots of outdoor activities.

If he's not talking, maybe some of the hitting etc is down to frustration? It may improve a lot once he starts talking.
Ds is 18 months and he loves sinks/buckets full of water with a few cups to fill, stacking bricks, toy bin lorry , any animal or large vehicle

Bubbles! I find hand puppets bring out my child's sweet side - lots of hugging and kissing, especially for this book. Buts he's a bit younger and just discovering the power of cute.