Lots of the ITEM list can only be used when your Tama is an adult - even if you bought it from the shop when you were a child or teen
- that applies to the Travel Tickets too.
I am not sure about the age thing.
Did you name your baby straight away? Or did you keep it waiting (in the naming screen) for a day?
On the V1-V3 if you leave your Tama un-named (when it is crying and waiting for you to key in the name and start the new generation) it's age still counts.
Once I didn't name my Tama for over a week (it was a very busy week
) and when I finally named it and started the new generation, it was already 10yrs old...LOL
If it is not that, well I am not sure ....
My V4 evolved "normally" - baby one hour, then Child one day, then Teen two days (not three). It may be something to do with how many games you are playing and whether your Life Skill point levels are high enough - or if you are sending your Tama to school or not. I am just guessing here, but f you don't send it to school maybe that slows down the evolution... my opinion only - I could be wrong