AIBU to force a nap

[Mazzatron]

My almost 3 year old has been on the way to dropping is nap for a few months now. He absolutely hates napping. Most days he doesn't have one, very occasionally at nursery he will.

I'm sure he'd have dropped it sooner and more swiftly but his baby brother has caused some sleep disruption at night and he's also had a lot of illness.

At the moment he's got a tummy bug. He looks so tired and poorly. He's an early riser and been up since 5:25. I just cuddled / restrained him to sleep for a short nap. It's the first time he's napped in a week. He obviously needed it as he went from protesting to snoring in less than 5 minutes. I feel weirdly guilty now but I did it in his best interests because I'm trying to help him be rested and better ASAP.

What do others do in situations like this?

I wouldn't say you forced a nap. Believe me if your 3yr old didn't want to sleep he wouldn't have.
I know what you mean though and i've done it myself in the sense that my (ill) child didn't always know what they wanted ie sleep so i would engender a situation whereby they fell to sleep without even realising that's what i was aiming for for them eg cosy room, snuggly blankets, cuddling up and reading or watching something so mind numbingly soothing that i would almost fall asleep too 🙂
Hope your LO gets well soon.

OP, they obviously needed a nap. My daughter is almost 4 and she dropped her nap at 2.5 years old. When she's ill or even overtired for whatever reason I put her in the car and we go for a little drive because I know she'll drop off in car in those circumstances and will be much better for it.
I'm not sure why you feel guilty. You're overthinking it way too much.

Thanks both. Idk why I felt guilty, I've just been second guessing everything since his little brother was born. I suppose I feel like he's trying to adjust to not napping and I've delayed the process so much by making him nap when he was ill or very tired but you're right it's just what he needs at the time. Need to relax!