There are two different sorts of men. There are your basic manly men who move from being twelve to fifty in one swift move and don't see the bit in between. You marry the man with the designer stubble and promising career and the next thing you know you have a middle aged balding man with a paunch and a constantly serious scowl on his face. And this is for one reason only.



You married the wrong man. You should have married the other type. The one who knows exactly how to nurture his inner child. Yes, women who have been through the marriage process once will know that a lumbering great man that stopped developing his maturity at twelve can be difficult, they need constant reminders to put down the toilet seat, to put the top on the toothpaste and to pick up their laundry but they are infinitely more fun than the boring one with the paunch.

So, in my humble opinion, let that twelve year old out for at least one day a week and the whole man will be much more productive in the long wrong. But how to do this? My tip is to let him indulge the child in him - this child will want to play with toys and gadgets, it will want to take things apart, build them back up and probably want to tell you all about it too. This is the point where it is fully acceptable to have your iPod in place and not at regular moments while looking interested but glazed - don't worry, he won't notice.

Just how are you expected to know what toys to provide? Well, pick up a lads mag (not that sort) and check out the gadget reviews. You will find a whole selection in a variety of price ranges and you will also get a good idea from the gadget review what type depending on the mood.

The mood is something that you will learn to not only assess over time, but use to your advantage. Read the gadget reviews and start him off with something simple. If he's taken to dismantling things around the house from boredom, check out the gadget review for construction toys . When playtime is over, you stand a pretty good chance of getting that toaster fixed or those shelves up as he will be all buoyed up from his sense of achievement and you will get the jobs around the house done without having to nag.

If he's in a stressy mood, read the gadget reviews to find something that he can take his frustration out on. Remote control cars are pretty good for this. They cater to the lazy teenager inside him but also allow him to vent his pent up frustration in a little road rage session without any criminal damages cases against him.

For the laid back man that needs a bit of oomph, find him a toy that is simple. Electronic gadgets are great for this, he can lay back on the sofa all afternoon and get nothing more than repetitive strain injury on his fingers from programming a fiddly new phone, music player or the like.

Of course, there will be many a weekend when you need him out from under your feet while you get on with stuff round the house. For this, I recommend a go-go gadget type of present. Something like a jet powered back pack to bring out the daredevil James Bond that he knows is in there.