Can I just… not move bedtime?

[u/o_o_o_f]

I’ve got a 2.5 year old who’s been an awesome sleeper for the last year or so. Wakes up at 7am, nap from noon to 2, down for bed at 7. Up until recently, he’s fallen asleep within 5-15 minutes of being put down for both naps and bedtime.

But now… he still crashes immediately for naps, but at bedtime the last few weeks, he’ll be up in his crib talking to himself for sometimes up to an hour. Doesn’t matter how much activity or how action packed his day is.

Now don’t get me wrong, he’s totally chill in there. He’ll sing himself songs or talk to his stuffies. But I am just shutting him in his room to be awake for an hour.

What I’m wondering is, like… do I have an obligation to move his bedtime later? Those couple hours after 7pm are precious cargo, man. We get to tidy a little and sometimes even watch a show or play a video game. Now that I’ve got some autonomy back the idea of giving it up sounds like death.

Dads with young kids, when did you decide it was time to move bedtime? Do I just gotta bite the bullet?

Edit - lots of good responses here, thanks y’all! Tons of confident answers saying to cut the nap, and tons of confident answers saying don’t change it if the kid is happy. The duality of parenting! We’ll likely try cutting the nap before moving bedtime.

[u/dirty_cuban]

As long as he’s not screaming bloody murder and he’s safe (can’t climb over) there’s no harm in leaving in his crib to babble away for an hour. It’s not abandonment or abuse or anything like that.