Does he normally hit the kick and let the beater rest on the head?
On an 18", you might want a little more resonance to make up for the small size, so if he doesn't let the beater rest on the head, it might be okay. I let my beater bounce back about 1" on my full-size kick so I get the full resonance sound.
Other than that, maybe get one of those leather stick-on kick pads.
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