Adoption of an 18 month old - gift ideas?

[angel886]

My sister is about to adopt an 18 month old boy and I am looking for ideas for some gifts.

I have already bought some baby gates and will be buying some clothing for him.

I would like to make up a hamper of some "essentials" such as nappies and baby wipes and would like to get him some books and toys. Any suggestions of what toys/books/essentials would be appropriate?

Although he is 18 months he is small for his age and his development is slightly behind - he is more like a 13 month old.

What an exciting time for your sister and a lovely idea of yours

My 2 boys have both loved the "That's not my......." range of books and the clic clak car track thing from ELC . Both are things that they can do together which I guess would be good.

How exciting!
I bought bath toys for friend in similar circumstances

My 16 month old's favourite toy at 13 months was his push-along walker. Now, he still plays with it a lot (he can walk alone now) but his favourite toy is a mini football I got from JJB sports.

If the little boy is quite active, Huggies Little Walkers nappies are a godsend but quite expensive. (They are like pull-ups, but adjustable so they don't leak as much)

Also a fold up doll's buggy is cheaper than a wooden walker and dolls are great for emotional development (also a good antidote to all the cars and football suggestions etc - including mine, sorry!)

Don't have any experience at all with adopted children - but perhaps something he can cuddle/a new "friend" for his new home, i.e. a slightly boy-ish cuddly toy such as a friendly-looking tiger, for example?
I rather like the WWF ones- very soft and cuddly.

Is he your sister's first child?

Generally, I would say yes clothes, pushalong toy, etc but she may not want to overwhelm him (and he will come with some stuff from foster home, presumably?) - personally I think 'momento' type gifts like sliver photo frames, etc are nice as well - the sort of thing you might give as a christening / baby birth gift rather than just purely practical stuff - as he will then have 'baby stuff' to look back on when he is older just as a non-adopted child would.

Thanks for all your suggestions!

It is my sister's first child so she has absolutely nothing for him yet.

He will come with a few of his own toys from his foster home and his own clothes. He is very nearly out of the clothing size that he is currently in so he won't have anything to wear soon after he moves in.

For the momento side of things I was thinking of paying for a family photo shoot once they feel the time is right.

The click clack car track looks really cool!

If he is ~13mths in development, how about a wheelybug? - assuming your sister has room - my DC are 7 and 3 and still love ours (although his use as a step-up stool has currently landed him in wheelybug time-out)

My DS is 18 months old and loves all the 'Spot the Dog' range of books especially the ones where he can lift the flaps. His favourite thing is his bike which he got for his first birthday and will apparently last him until he's 3 - here's a link to it

www.mothercare.com/Smart-Trike-Deluxe/dp/B002GV6G0O/sr=1-1/qid=1267027708/ref=sr_1_1/27 6-8029405-2456838?_encoding=UTF8&m=A2LBKNDJ2KZUGQ&n=56507031&mcb=core

Sorry it's such a long link!

The link doesn't seem to have work but if you just go onto the Mothercare site and search for Smart Trike Deluxe you should find it! x

You cant beat 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' for a book for toddlers.She might also like 'Guess how much I love you'or Debbi Gliori's 'No matter What'
Just for fun-my 12 month old dgs already likes 'Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy' all the 'Its Not My.......'series,lift the flap books [especially Where's Spot?]

can't go wrong with duplo lego.

or very simple wooden jigsaws (the ones where there are 4 or 5 pictures to slot in)

at that age books with flaps eg spot, maisy, dear zoo are nice.

other ideas

• arms bands for going swimming
• kids crockery
• buggy board books
• crayons
• cars & road playmat (although at that age bigger chunky cars)
• gro-bag
• cute bathtowels & flannels

DD is 13 months, she loves any books with a flap. Also books that make noises (in fact anything that make noises).

What about practical things like bibs and sippy cups?

And I second the smart trike, DD loves it.

When I had DD, my sister bought me lots of things with the letter of her first name on it or star sign, personalised things for her that I really appreciated even if DD didn't.

A memory box? Your sister could put mementoes he may already have from foster care / his birth parents, and start adding things that represent their special times together - photos, birthday cards, lock of hair from haircuts etc.

For toys, I'd say some of the large lego always goes down well with toddlers.

Classic books for young children might be nice - Dear Zoo, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the Spot books all good for little ones.

I'm trying to think of some essentials -

sudocrem
a thermometer
calpol/calprofen
teething powders
sipee cups (they always go missing)
tissues
baby nail clippers

Congratulations to you and your family!

Thanks for some great suggestions!

Lego is a definite must I think.

Would just like to say congratulations to your sister and best of luck, very exciting!

Ds is a year and he loves any sort of push along toys, vtech telephone, and little tikes car

zombie thread guys