Help - baby will not nap!

[BongoQ]

im massively struggling with daytime naps with my 5 month old and have done since about 6 weeks. On a usual day he will fight and fight to stay awake and usually has a meltdown and crashes out about 5 - 6pm. I watch his tired cues and immediately put him to bed after a quick nap time routine. He just screams his head off every time. I've tried putting him to bed before any cues. Still screams. Occasionally I can get him to sleep by pushing him in his pram or in tha carrier but even that's not working now. He sleeps pretty well at night, usually for about 10 - 11 hours in total. But because of the lack of napping he's only getting around 12 hours a day. The only way I can get him to take any extra daytime sleep is if I let him sleep on me after breastfeeding. But again he will wake instantly if I try to put him down. He's clearly overtired and I feel bad that it could be affecting his development. When I talk to other mums of babies the same age none seem to have the problem, their babies all just fall asleep spontaneously in their arms, the buggy etc. I'm not sure whether I should just accept that he's not a day sleeper or if there's something else I should try? Should I just leave him to cry at nap time? Any experiences from other mums who have struggled with this would be so appreciated Help! :-(

[hotfuzzra]

I had awful problems with my now 8mo DD and napping. The short version is don't worry about what they 'should' be getting, I developed anxiety after trying and failing to get my DD to have the required amount of sleep every day. I spoke to my HV and she told me her son hadn't napped at all, and advised me to throw the books away. As long as he's otherwise happy and alert just go with what he's telling you. You may find once he's crawling he needs naps.
My DD still only has 30 mins am and 30mins pm, sometimes she'll miss one of these and I just have to jolly her along until bedtime.
Good luck, it can be a bitch can't it?!