How do you travel with kids who are still young enough to nap midday?
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Anonymous
| My kids are 1 and 3, and both still take a 1-2 hour nap in the middle of the day. I want to consider a summer vacation, or at least a quick trip to NY to visit my grandmother, who is ailing, but I can't figure out how you get around the nap. Do you just abandon it for the days you travel and deal with the early evening meltdowns? Or try to come back to your hotel room and put them down for a nap? The one time we tried this before, the kids couldn't sleep because we were all in the same room so we were right there, and all they wanted to do was play. TIA for any advice! |
Anonymous
| My son napped/naps on my back or in the stroller. If he skips a nap occasionally, no big deal for him (I know kids differ). Trips are relatively short in the scheme of things. |
Anonymous
| My kids are almost 3 and 5, and still nap. We've traveled all over and always return to the hotel to nap (unless it's a travel day where they nap en route in the car or plane). We try to check in early and tell the hotel to have the crib ready. Then we move the crib into the bathroom or "foyer" of the room so the kids don't keep each other up. Then my husband and I hide out in a corner out of sight with our iPhones until the kids fall asleep. I much prefer my kids well-napped and following ournhome schedule as much as possible. I don't think we'b be able to enjoy dinner out if they didn't. |
Anonymous
| When our kids were little we always made sure they could nap. Like PP, we preferred to spend the late afternoon and evening with a pleasant, well-rested LO. We would always book a suite so we could be in a separate room and not have to crouch in a corner while the kids slept. Sometimes we'd also switch off being the parent to stay back in the room so the other parent could go for a run, hit a museum of special interest to him/her, etc . I'll note this sometimes caused friction when we were traveling with or visiting extended family, but I'll also note that they were the ones with kids bouncing off the walls at 7 p.m. -- often with the result that one parent had to take that kid back to their room to go to bed early. |
Anonymous
| Afternoon naps are ideal on vacations. If you're in-transit, they can nap on the plane or in their strollers. If you're at your destination, plan your days so that you go back to your hotel for a siesta. Everyone will be refreshed for a wonderful evening. |
Anonymous
|
Agree with PP.
Recently returned from FL. In the AM, DS and I would eat breakfast, play at the park, maybe go for a bike ride, play in the grass and walk around the hotel. Then met DH for lunch (he was at a conference) and then we all went to the room for a nap. One day I went to the pool by myself while DH napped with DS and one day DH hit the driving range while DH napped. DH woke around 2 and we all hit the pool or beach for the rest of the afternoon. Worked beautifully. |
Anonymous
We usually pick a relaxing, family friendly place and stay for most of a week. Always get at least a one bedroom (kitchenette suite at a hotel, or vacation rental for longer stays) so that whomever is NOT napping can watch TV and lounge around the rest of the unit during naptime. A water view is nice 
Schedule activities in the morning after breakfast so you can have fun before lunchtime. Then do the pool or small town explorer stuff, taking it easy before an early dinner. Our kids have been pretty good about getting worn out building sand castles, chasing crabs, learnign to walk etc. and then falling asleep on the beach (under the umbrella, on a blanket, with a nice warm pile of towels) so we often were able to stay out on the sand most of the day. Caveat: Once I set up my baby monitor outwards on the balcony so I could walk around the side garden and waterfront of my hotel near the room while baby was napping. DH came back from exploring and since the baby was still napping we enjoyed a little afternoon delight...later I realized I had left the monitor on...broadcasting from our room out into the hotel courtyard! D'oh! Don't do as I did! |
Anonymous
| Your kids won't do it bc from the sound of things you haven't been flexible enough from the beginning. My kids can go with the flow and deal with it when we travel. |
Anonymous
| When our kids were younger we tried to make sure we could have a nap at the hotel, apartment etc. We would on occasion go for the stroller, backpack carrier naps when we had to but they were never well rested and after a few days things would go down hill pretty quickly. Typically we select a place that is a suite, had a kitchenette, a house with an extra bedroom etc. OR if we were visiting family we would ask if we could use one of their bedrooms for naps. One parent stayed with the kids and the other hung out with family. If the trip involved a time difference I found the naps wonderful - I would take a nap as well and we'd all be better rested, happier to deal with what ever we needed to deal with.Our kids were not the kind that did well without a naps. So even if it irratated family we pushed for the naps. You know your kids best and what they are capable of and what you are willing to deal with - for me having a crying mess and a whiny child during a nice family dinner out is just not worth it for me - I'd rather forgo the dinner, ensure an afternoon nap or have an alternative plan in place. |
Anonymous
This - my daughter sleeps on the go (stroller). |
Anonymous
| I'm a nap nazi and we still traveled, even internationally. Here and there we might skip or they fell asleep in a carseat or stroller, but usually we'd get them back to the hotel for a nap. If we can, we bring a pack and play and set it up visiting friends or family. If we're staying a hotel, we just try to get back in time. It worked for us because super well rested kids are more fun, and when they were sleeping it was time for us to relax, read, etc., or one of us went out and did touristy stuff, taking turns. |
Anonymous
this Mine always slept on the go and we never had any issues with them. We just did a long trip (14 hours up, 16 back) with a 2.5 yo and 12 yo, and the little guy did fantastic for the trip, napping when he did, and basically crashed on a bed whenever he happened to. His total schedule was out of whack anyway, we just brought him back and got him on his normal schedule once home. |