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Christmas gift ideas for adopted kids
For most people, Christmas is a time of fun, laughter, noise and lots of family gatherings. It’s a time full of laughter, coming together and celebrating. However, for kids who have experienced trauma and the complexities of the care system, it can be a bit of an attack on the senses. Toys that have flashing lights, walk and talk and make a tonne of noise can be quite an intense experience, often sparking moments of fear and igniting behavioural issues. So I wanted to make some suggestions for gifts that you may wish to consider buying for an adopted child in your life. Now the gift you buy will very much depend on both the age of the child recipient and also the budget you have to spend. But the ideas below should suit a range of ages and budgets, as well as spark some ideas that you yourself might have.
Night lights
Many children at one point or another will experience feeling scared of the dark which may impact their ability to sleep well. For adopted kids who have experienced trauma in some capacity in their past, a new house, new room and new dark place can often feel overwhelming. Night lights are a perfect way of providing a dim light in the child’s room whilst also having details that the child can focus on until they manage to fall asleep. I had a night light in my son’s room for a while and bedtime started with both of us lying on the bed chatting about what we could see and how pretty the light was. I’d make my excuses and leave him to rest and I would hear him talking to the dinosaur images in the night light until such time as he would fall asleep.
Colouring books
there has been a craze lately for colouring books for adults to help with stress, anxiety and other mental health and well-being concerns. colouring allows you to focus and relax through the repetitiveness of the colouring motion. it provides you with a moment to just be and to regulate feelings and become content. It’s exactly the same with children, and colouring in can be an absolute game changer for adopted children. It’s an enjoyable and creative activity that warrants complement, it’s ideal to do with your child and establish bonds, and it can also be an activity that focuses the mind and allows for conversation.
Colouring books and colouring pens, pencils and crayons come in all shapes, sizes and prices and they are always welcome presents in our house. my son recently had a sleepover at my parent’s house and they spent a rainy afternoon colouring and having an enjoyable afternoon. here are some examples and links to some great colouring materials.
Playdough toys
Our son started school recently and in his welcome pack he was given play dough and I learned something really interesting. Playdough play strengthens the muscles in children’s hands improving their fine motor skills in turn making them more capable and independent but also preparing their hands to be better at writing when the time comes for them to learn.
The textural sensation of the play dough is also something that can be quite calming as it allows children to explore the cold feeling of the dough warming up in their hands, the elasticity of the dough increases as it warms up. Playdough is also ideal for expressing creativity and a great activity to do together to help with bonding.
There are various play dough sets that include various machinery for pushing the dough through tubes, valves and shaping tools. It can also be homemade if you fancy doing that.
Fidget toys
you’d have to have been living under a rock lately not to know what a fidget toy or popping toy is. There is a range of shapes, sizes and styles. Supposedly the repetitive motion of playing with the toy can sharpen the focus of the mind and also improve fine motor skills. And a major bonus is that the kids bloody love them and they are fairly reasonable in cost.
Light-up bath toys
For many adopted kids bath time can often be a struggle as it may be something that they aren’t very used to or something that has taken place in a fairly unhappy way. Our foster carer bought our son a light-up bath toy as he loves the bath and she thought he would enjoy the experience of a multi-coloured light in the bath. It’s basically a battery-operated multicoloured light that sticks to the bathtub by a sucker. Turn it on and the bathroom is almost like a nightclub. Our son used to love this in his bathtub with the main bathroom lights off. we would watch him awe and agh as the lights changed colour and the patterns of the light through the water made wave shapes all over the bathroom walls.
Lights are known to help initiate feelings of relaxation and feelings of wonder. Gentle lights can regulate moods and feelings and the focus on the light can detract from the anxiety or worry of bath time. They are suitable for children of any age and are pretty reasonable in price.
Hopefully some of these ideas will help you if you are looking for a present for that special someone. But I would also recommend simply asking the child themself and/ or the parents for recommendations of suitable gifts and whats best to avoid.
Happy Christmas Shopping!
