An Experiment

The Goob was in a good mood this morning, which was lovely. That good mood lasted through his normal nap time. Occasionally he stays up a little past his nap time, so I thought nothing of it. I kept waiting for him to get tired, but he never got tired. He was chilling on the couch, true, but he wasn't showing any classic toddler signs of needing a nap, and he wasn't saying he was tired. He normally does. (He's a bit abnormal... he loves to sleep) So I thought, "Well, okay. Maybe he's just done with napping now." HA. No. Not even close.
The Bean woke up from his nap and I was ready to go into town, so we got ready and hopped in the car. Okay, hopped may not be the right word... but nevertheless we wound up in the car. It was a beautiful day, so I thought we'd go to the park. On the way there, The Goob conked out. I mean conked. The moment we started driving his eyes closed and he was out. I drove around for a while, thinking that some was better than none. (That's true... but....) When we got to the park I woke him up and we walked over. There were a few kids there and it's a park he loves -both important- but he just stood there.
The Bean was ecstatic. Kids! Playthings! Dirt! He was more than ready to join in. That was cute to see, but didn't change the fact that his older brother was not at all enjoying his time there. We stayed for a few minutes. The Bean played with the mulch (thankfully he refrained from eating any, a miracle in itself) and The Goob continued standing there, silent. Then he turned to me, the most desperate look on his face and said, "Carrr?". The poor little man was just exhausted.

Lesson learned- The Goob is not ready to give up his afternoon nap. He's been an interesting mix of mopey, whiney, slap-happy, and zoned-out.

It's going to be an early bedtime tonight, seeing as how he's right now curled up on the floor, wrapped in a blanket watching his favorite movie.

How old were your kids when they stopped taking naps? I'm curious, because a friend of mine's daughter quit her naps at 2 years. The Goob is 3 and still very definitely in need of his nap. Did your child stop napping due to necessity (day care schedules, etc.) or by choice?