1st birthday present for grandson with ds?

[pantsjustpants]

My precious grandson (who has downs) is one very soon, and I've just let my mum have what I had originally planned to get him (bubble tube) and now I'm stuck!!

Does anybody have any suggestions?? I have an 18mth ds and I bought him a garage but my dgs can't sit up on his own yet so I've ruled that out. He has lots of toys that I've passed on.

Help please .

Is he nearly sitting or does he likes lying on his front? You can get those baby gym rings that encourage babies to sit whilst keeping them safely propped/secure and their toys at close range. If he likes lying on his front what about a play mat with interesting patterns/mirrors/squeakers etc? We got ours for DC from JoJoMamanBebe but I'm sure you could get from other places. What does he like doing? If he enjoys baths maybe some lovely bath toys - you can get whole runs for water to slide down that attach to the side of the bath. Or if he likes sitting in his pushchair a steering wheel bar thing that attaches? ELC do them.

I agree that the typical toys for this age would be appropriate such as activity centre, bath toys. I suppose these are developmental toys. You could look at www.fledglings.org. They have lots of toys that are adapted a bit

if he likes sensory stuff then sensory toy warehouse and explore your senses are worth a look, there's also maplins if you think he'd like something like a disco ball or star projector.

Hi,

My gorgeous DD has Down's and has just turned 3. Whilst sensory websites are great, they do tend to be expensive, and at your grandsons age you should be able to find similar things in any toy shop.

What type of thing does your grandson like to play with?

At that age my DD was obsessed with musical and/or flashing toys, and absolutely loved this toy , in fact she still plays with it. We ended up with 2 of them, so that we could play along with her which was great fun.

She also loved anything with a mirror on it, they sell some great ones at Boots that have lots of flaps, ribbons etc. to explore.

You mentioned your grandson is almost sitting, does he have a bumbo? If not, you may want to look into getting one of those (about £25 available at boots, mothercare, john lewis, supermarkets etc.) as it supports the child in a sitting position. My DD had one & it was great, we used to sit her in it with the tray on & she could play with all her toys with both hands. It was also really useful for feeding, as she struggled initially with a high chair until she could sit independently.

HTH & happy birthday to your grandson!

Sorry, forgot to add the link for a Bumbo here - something like this, if you also have the play tray, would allow your grandson to play with toy cars alongside your DS.