2yos and skipping naps

[Anonymous]

If you have a 2yo, how often do you skip their naps to do an afternoon event (assuming your kid isn't awesome at just sleeping for a long time in stroller or car)

[Anonymous]

Absolutely never

[Anonymous]

Never.

[Anonymous]

Never

[Anonymous]

We don’t

[Anonymous]

Never

[Anonymous]

Never but I feel like we might as well since she has been refusing to nap 2-3x/week lately.

[Anonymous]

I never skip a nap entirely but right now I’m intentionally opting for bad stroller naps because my 2yo recently transitioned out of the crib (because climbing not because I wanted it) so (a) I want her to be REALLY tired at bedtime so it’s less of a trial and (b) home naps are a bit of a mess right now for the same toddler bed reason — at least with a stroller nap I don’t have to fight her about it.

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised by all the never answers. My 2yo is my 3rd and if he never skipped a nap he'd get left out of a ton of weekend activities (like going apple picking) or I'd have to cut it short and rush everyone home just for his nap. He skips maybe once a month. Might get a 20min snooze in the car but isnt good at it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised by all the never answers. My 2yo is my 3rd and if he never skipped a nap he'd get left out of a ton of weekend activities (like going apple picking) or I'd have to cut it short and rush everyone home just for his nap. He skips maybe once a month. Might get a 20min snooze in the car but isnt good at it

Eh, but the tradeoff is that you run the probability that the "fun" activity that you skipped the nap for (like the apple picking example) quickly becomes a downward spiral and really un-fun bc overly tired kid becomes whiney, grumpy, crying. can't hold it together, etc. Really puts a damper on everything.

YMMV, but for a lot of families it's just easier and more pleasant all around to obey the nap.

[Anonymous]

Maybe once every couple months? Usually he doesn’t skip but every once in a while there is an event or outing he’ll skip it for. Fortunately, he does fine with this and I’ll generally just put him to bed earlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised by all the never answers. My 2yo is my 3rd and if he never skipped a nap he'd get left out of a ton of weekend activities (like going apple picking) or I'd have to cut it short and rush everyone home just for his nap. He skips maybe once a month. Might get a 20min snooze in the car but isnt good at it

I think both other matters. My oldest never got cruddy naps on the go; my youngest gets them much more regularly. He’s also better than she was at napping in the stroller but I’m not sure which way that goes — is he better with stroller naps because he’s gets taken out over naptime more often or is he taken out at naptime more because he’s more flexible about where he’ll nap?

[Anonymous]

Very rarely. Even if we did an event she usually had a shorter nap in the car late.

[Anonymous]

We try to get him to take an earlier nap. Usually works if we take him for a walk or jog in the jogging stroller in the late morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised by all the never answers. My 2yo is my 3rd and if he never skipped a nap he'd get left out of a ton of weekend activities (like going apple picking) or I'd have to cut it short and rush everyone home just for his nap. He skips maybe once a month. Might get a 20min snooze in the car but isnt good at it

I think both other matters. My oldest never got cruddy naps on the go; my youngest gets them much more regularly. He’s also better than she was at napping in the stroller but I’m not sure which way that goes — is he better with stroller naps because he’s gets taken out over naptime more often or is he taken out at naptime more because he’s more flexible about where he’ll nap?

My oldest often got naps on the go at age 2. Months before she dropped napping altogether, she would only nap in the car. My youngest, on the other hand, never gets naps on the go. She will not nap in the car or stroller.

I'm sure birth order does often make a difference, but napping is also very kid-dependent.