To think that 1pm parties for 2yo are just wrong

[sometimesalways]

Ok I suspect this will prove controversial but I am genuinely at a loss here.

DS soon turns 2.5yo. He sleeps reasonably well, that is about 11 hours every night (7.30-6.30 or so) and 1.5hr on average for naps (usually 1-2.30). I thought this was pretty much the norm for his age group. I know he will drop the nap soon but he still does need it for now and he certainly did six months ago.

So the thing is we are often being invited to parties (a wonderful thing in itself of course!), for kids around his age and younger, which start at 1pm. Of course I always want to go as he has fun etc but how on earth do I fit the nap there? If I put him down earlier, it's too early and he won't fall asleep. If I try keeping him up, he just goes crazy as too tired to last till bedtime.

But my main question is, what routine do the parents who set the party at that time follow to make it work?? It seems to be happening a lot so I am starting to think that our nap might be the unusual one? I am genuinely asking as I don't understand and I don't want to ask them - don't want to seem ungrateful or rude as it's all people I like. I am just wondering what am I doing wrong

Does your 2.5yo do naps and when?

Ok title might be a bit of exaggeration

By 2.5yo DS had stopped napping, but when he did nap it was usually around 11.30-12.30. So I wouldn't personally think a 1pm party was wrong for that age group, no.

They probably don't nap! My 2.5 year old dropped her nap a couple of months ago because if she had one it completely ruined her sleep at night. I miss naps.

It’s an invite so you can decline and just not tell your child. Recent research suggests children should drop their nap at 2 years old.

DD stopped napping at 2. Some children will have an early lunch and nap from 12 to 1 or earlier. You’ll never find a time that fits with every child.

Mine stopped naps at that age but we were really quite flexible anyway and would probably have a short nap in the car on the way home if they needed it.

Because we were the other way around I never wuite understood how people managed to be in everyday for an hour and a half! We were often out and about.

Completely get what you mean! I haven't got my own children but I've been a nanny for one family for 10 years and we had a certain routine, the afternoon nap was usually 1 till 3pm...we definitely wouldn't have had a party at that time. We usually had them around 10 am .

A lot of children drop naps by 2 years old.

Clearly it isn't the norm for the children who's parties it is, otherwise they would time it differently.

My ds had dropped naps by 2 years old.

My almost 4 year old still naps but has lunch at 11.30 so is napping 12/12.15-1/1.15ish. When she was 2 she'd have 1.5 hours 12-1.30ish, I just turned up to parties with her napping in her pushchair or not go.

By 2.5 both of mine had dropped their nap. Inevitably when they did still nap there would be times we had to go out during nap time I would either wake them early or let them cat nap in the car seat/buggy to catch up.

I think alot of children don't nap at that age. Mine had dropped theirs well before then.

DS1 napped until he was 3 and a bit, until he started nursery last August! He loved a nap, he napped every afternoon 1-3. He still likes a nap some weekends and he's 4 next month.
I used to keep him up for parties and things and sometimes just leave a little early so he would cat nap on the sofa or his bed, or often fall asleep on the way home. Sometimes he didn't though and he'd be mega grumpy until bedtime so he just had an early night instead. I figured it was once every now and again and I didn't want him to miss out for the sake of a nap!

I think most 2 year olds don’t nap.

I know if mine went for a nap at that time they would be bouncing off the walls at bedtime.

My DS turned 2 a couple of days ago. He sleeps approx 10.5/11 hours overnight. His nap varies in length: at nursery (2 days a week) 1.5hrs is long but at home or at his grandparents with a better place to sleep and less distractions going on around him it's more like 2.5hrs. I would also struggle with a party at 1pm as he tends to nap starting anywhere from 12 to 1pm.

I'd have thought 1.30/2 would be a better party time but your nap does sound a little late. Can you wake DS early on party day so that he will sleep early (and then slightly early to bed), or take him to the park for a really long walk followed by a big pasta lunch so he'll get off to sleep? I can't give you a schedule as mine's younger, so I'm still practising him having one nap and two nap days so that we can be more flexible, I have really noticed how different they all are though, with some dropping even a single nap at just a year old and others age 3 still having a long lunch nap, so you just need to try and work out how to flex a bit.

Mine both stopped napping at about 18mo & everyone is different- anyway - I had no idea there was a standard ‘nap time’ for 2 year olds & it wouldn’t have ever have occurred to me to arrange a birthday around the possibility of naps!

Also, I found in the long term it’s a great idea to be adaptable with sleep - life can be both spontaneous & chaotic, being rigid about stuff like that will cause a lot of totally unnecessary stress & faff...in the nicest way possible it might be a good idea to unclench a bit ;)

Currently have just turned two year old and in my experience the vast majority do still nap. Of the 10 two year olds I know only one doesn’t nap and her nursery says that’s unusual.
I suspect the party organisers are picking the best time for the adults or maybe can get their child to have an early nap.

Most 2-year-olds I know still nap (mine included). I would think a 1pm party, if it was a big event with lots of invites, would have a lot of late arrivers/no shows.

If it's a small event, people would probably be more likely to skip the nap that day in order to make it.

My 2.5 year old slept 9pm-9am. A 1pm party would have been perfect for us. Most parties tended to be 10/11am though, but she thought party food for breakfast was awesome.

My 2 yo still wants a nap (usually sleeps 12-2) but he can cope with skipping it if we have plans. That wouldn’t be my choice of time for a toddler party but I’d take him to the party and plan a chilled afternoon and an early night for afterwards.

I’m surprised by people saying most two year olds don’t nap - it still seems very common in his room at nursery (2-3 year olds).

Recent research suggests children should drop their nap at 2 years old.

Oh really, can you link to this research @octonoughtcake3? I don’t think there is any should with kids sleep - there are statistical averages and things that will help some kids sleep better at night, but kids are individuals and need different amounts of sleep, will naturally be ready for bed and to get up at different times etc, just like adults.

Mine all used to nap from about 10.30 until about 12 when they’d wake up and have lunch.

My mother has never let me forget that I refused naps around the age of 1, and started trying to escape from my cot because I was bored . Pregnant with my first right now, and preparing myself for them to do the same.

All kids are different and all that, but I would agree OP I would have thought that 1pm was slap bang in the middle of nap time for those toddlers who still take a nap. At that age, with a 7am wake up time, ours were going in for a nap at 12.30-1pm at home, and 1pm at nursery, where all the kids (18m-4yo) were encouraged to take a nap.