I am often asked "Is there really a problem with thinking skills today and do educational toys make a difference?”  Well I believe that it is a real problem and that exposure to good educational toys in early childhood has a big impact. 
One of the most complete studies I have found is by Michael Sayer of London's King's College completed in 2008. He found that "high level thinking skills" of 14 year olds in 2008 were ONLY EQUAL to those of 12 year olds in 1976. In another study he concluded that 11 year olds today were 3 years behind those tested in 1975.
This contradicts most league tables which show results increasing - I know which results I believe. The problem is for both boys and girls - it’s just worse for boys. The educational toys and games on our site were chosen because they develop the higher level skills such as problem solving, logical thinking and spatial reasoning.

A large part of the problem of underachievement is that boys are forced into a female model of learning. Schools teach and value oral communication and ideas represented on paper. The language and fine motor centres and of girls' brains have been shown to develop much earlier than in boys. So despite their best efforts they feel undervalued and hard done by. This difference in language centres is not taken into account when primary schools , teach and evaluate performance.
Michael Gurian's article written in 2006 talks about differences in greater detail.  Michael is a researcher, author, and founder of The Gurian Institute, a respected organisation that has been trying to understand how boys learn. Helping boys to learn.

I believe that boys are falling behind at school because they are exposed to formalised education at too early an age. This is because early exposure to formalised education runs counter to the way that boys learn. Boys require more of play based approach to learning and teaching at primary school.
The power of play.

This is more recent article from The Times written in March 2009 about boys' learning in the classroom. The Times: All work and no play is bad for boys.

This video (28 mins) from Teachers TV on why boys underachieve, how their methods of learning differ from girls and, most importantly, what schools can do to close the gender gap for good. Teachers TV: The Trouble with Boys.

This article from the Telegraph si from 2007 and discusses the problems and evaluate some solutions.  Read more

Boys are falling behind at school and the situation is getting worse in almost all countries, ages and socio-economc groups. A major contribution to this is that schools are not boy friendly. This point is only starting to be conceded by most. A long time has and will be spent debating the issue BUT as parents we cannot wait for them to resolve this.