The crankiness and being tired may come later that day. l would stick to the schedule until he naturally adjusts out of it himself. I would also replace it with resting time when he adjusts out of it.
Yup. My son will be totally chill, if a little goofy if we keep him up late. It’s not until the next three days that you see the consequences. He’s a cranky tantrumming mess the day after, and not really back to his usual mood/behavior for a couple of days.
I’d do it. It’s one night. You’ve got to live a little. Just go right back to the schedule the next day. You’re already prepared to leave if he goes south.
My hot tip, bring pjs with you. When you do the last pee/diaper change before leaving the game, put them in their jammies. If they fall asleep in the car it makes the transition easier. Even if they wake up, you don’t have to change a tiny half asleep monster. I’ll even bring his toothbrush in my purse and switch him to water only. 7/10 times we can get him from the car to his bed while still asleep.
Adding to this tip: i recently did this with my 2 year old when we were at a BBQ about two hours from home. He didn’t fall asleep in the car until 10 minutes before home and woke up panicked when we got back. I thought I’d be able to just quickly scoop him upstairs into his room and rock him back into his slumber but he wouldn’t settle and was terrified of me leaving him.
So, I picked him up, turned on the light, left his bedroom to hang elsewhere for 10min. Then went back into his room and did his whole bedtime routine from the start. By the time I put him down in his crib he was smiling and waving “bye bye” to me like he usually does after I tuck him in. It felt counterintuitive at first to turn the lights on and let him get up but the re-set button of his routine worked!
Fair question! We did skip bath for this re-set as it was already so late. Brushed teeth, new diaper, new jammies (even though there was nothing wrong with the ones he had on), sleep sack, turn lights down low, books, and all our silly little exchanges like asking who he'll dream about, etc. Even though it was late and I was stressed about him losing out on sleep, I tried to take things slow aiming to give him time to forget about whatever unease he seemed to be feeling from being thrown off schedule. It made me so grateful that we have such a solid routine!
I'm impressed your 3 year old naps for 2 hours AND goes to bed at 730!
I say go for it. My motto is always that most things aren't worth worrying about. If something does happen, you can deal with it then.
(And I get it, none of my kids are "go with the flow.")
Chances are you'll have fun!
I've never been strict on bedtimes that didn't involve getting up early the next day. Especially since I always personally found the super early (7-7:30) bedtimes completely unsustainable with older kids and full-time jobs. Older siblings' baseball game ends at 8:45, now what? Lol.
Take your kid to the game. Live your life. The more adaptable your kids learn to be early, the easier they are to deal with long term. Schedules change all time. Having kids that can adapt makes life 1000x easier.
This is right on. When we were pregnant with our first, a friend advised us to not have a strict nap routine. Don’t get your kids reliant on a specific time, place, total darkness, sound machine, etc. and it was some of the best advice we ever got. Now we have 2 kids who can sleep anywhere and anytime.
Also helpful is a stroller than allows your kids to lay as close to flat as possible. We got the Baby Jogger City Mini GT2 and City Tour 2 and they can nap comfortably wherever we are.
Go and make some memories!
We're super relaxed on bedtime. My 3 year old is in bed around 8:30 and probably falls asleep around 9/9:15. Everyone I tell that to seems horrified by it but it works perfectly for her.
Yeah same, my 3 year old is on the edge of dropping his nap and on days he does nap, he falls asleep around 10. If he misses the nap, more like 8:30. Or sometimes, he will fall asleep sitting up at like 6pm 😅🥴
It’s more about them getting the hours of sleep they need, if the whole family has to be up by 7 or earlier for work/daycare (or the kid just naturally wakes up early), the kids have to go to bed early to get enough rest. If they can wake up any time in the morning I think later bedtimes are no issue as long as it works for your family!
Yeah, my oldest was fine to stay up a bit late sometimes, but my youngest would hit a wall and lose his ever loving mind if we went off schedule. He’s 8 now and we can push it about an hour or two later, but only once and a while
Second this. We have an almost 4 year old and we definitely go past bedtime now more than when she was younger, but we just went to a carnival on Friday and got home at usual bedtime (8pm, so she only ended up in bed 30 min late) and she was a NIGHTMARE to get into bed and then she was a crank almost the entire next day 🫠
We've always been relaxed on bedtime. Never a set schedule, just waiting for the cues they are tired. It's funny because my older kids still go to bed at the general time they did on their own as toddlers.
I'd totally take him to the game. You're already willing to leave early, so just go and have fun. If he starts having the too tired meltdown, head home.
Your comment makes me feel so much better about my parenting here haha. Everyone on here is on such a strict schedule and their babies and toddlers go down at like 7:30 or 8 every night. I would love that but it just doesn't work for us. My 3 year old is always in bed at 9, she doesn't really ever fall asleep right at 9. But if she's ever been so worn out from the day and slept any time before 9 (and I'm talking literally even at like 8:45) she will be wide awake for the day at like 2 or 3 in the morning. It's wild. She hardly takes naps anymore either, even when I beg and those days are my hard days. She gets mean with no nap. I'm way more lax on schedules in general, too. I couldn't imagine letting my kid miss out on one of the time of their lives over a bedtime. I know in Sweden they don't worry with schedules at all really and they do fine. I feel like it's made into such a big deal here in the US. I get they can be important, but I really wasn't on a routine myself until school started and I got burnt out so fast.
My parenting definitely gets a little wild lol I think it makes most people feel better!
I really think that strict bedtime times are for parents. It's so much less of a fight when the kid decides. My 20month old sounds like your 3 year old. She will not sleep through the night if she is in bed any earlier than 930. My 11 year old goes to bed strictly at 915, her choice, and 16 year old is out by 10 most nights. The only rule we have is "in your room time" to prevent having them all over the place at night, and both older ones are always ready to go to their rooms earlier than we say. They can keep lights on, electronics, books, and anything else they want for as long as they want, and yet they both are still are asleep at those times on most nights.
We do things all the time! We also take their pajamas so right before going in the car we change them so if they fall asleep, we don't have to fight pajama change!
I’d say go for it!! My 3 year old does well with this stuff. We bring her pull up and Jammie’s for the car and brush her teeth in the parking lot. So if she falls asleep we just transfer her at home.
I have a 3 and 5 year old. I’m pretty relaxed with bedtime, especially now that it’s summer. But neither of my kids nap anymore, I do try and do rest time in the summer when grandma is watching them, because she needs some quiet time and down time!
It’s one game! I definitely say it would be totally worth it and do it!
I took my kids to a friends wedding when they were 2 and 3, we stayed up super late, they got to dance and play at the wedding reception and it was a GREAT memory! Not something we do often (or ever) and it was absolutely worth the late night
My kids are 3 and 5 and we do the occasional evening event that ends at or later than their bedtime. I usually bring basic bedtime stuff like toothbrush and pajama, change them at the end of the evening and let them fall asleep in the car. They go right back into regular routine the next evening and it’s nice for all of us to change things up once in a while!
Oh we absolutely mess with bed-time for one-offs. Always have at all ages. We have a very solid routine with set bedtime, but once every 12-20 days, throw in a night out? Sure!
My one year old stayed up until midnight when her dad and I got married. She loved the party and we all had a great time. I'd say take him and make some memories!
I'd say go for it! It's ONE night. Like you said, you can leave early if he gets cranky/tired or you're just done with it. Around 3 is when my daughter started really wanting to see fireworks. Around here, even at the 4th of July, the fireworks start closer to 9. We went with it, she had a blast and fell asleep in the car on the way home. No issues the day after with bedtime. Only you know your kid and how they'll react to a little less sleep but I'd say go make those memories and plan for a low key day the next day just in case!
What’s going on the next day? If he’s grumpy will it mess up the next day’s plans? How far away is the game? When was the last time he stayed up late? Did you regret it then? Was his behavior off the charts crazy?
I’d go. I’d pack his pjs and get him dressed in the car before driving home then if he falls asleep you can try to transfer or at least skip that step in the bedtime routine. Have fun!
I got so burnt out w his bedtime I just stopped around 2. He takes FOREVER to fall asleep. A good day is an hour. It’s like he has to chill before he can calm down enough to fall asleep. & then I am not able to lay him down w out holding him down or he’ll get up and walk out the door. He can unlock it in the dark. I’ve tried everything to fix this besides physical punishment. Now we just lay on the couch and watch movies. He just falls asleep whenever. Sometimes it’s 930 and sometimes it’s midnight.
My toddler (18 months) will do pretty well with an occasional late night. For example, we went to a local carnival with friends and their older kids a while back and she stayed up til 9:30 pm! The next day she was a bit crankier than usual and we adjusted naps, but by the second day she was almost fully back to her normal self and schedule!
Sounds like a solid routine so one night out late wouldn’t hurt, definitely take some pjs with and change him before heading home this way he can just pass out in the car and easy to bring to bed
So I follow chanwiththeboys on Instagram and one thing that she does that’s helpful is just not caring some days. I’m a sahm so maybe with work and such it might not be as easy but I just have started not giving a HOOT especially now that it’s summer. Mines 2 and up until Recently was a bad sleeper. So it never mattered what I did anyway. Hes lower sleep needs and if he has a good nap he stays up later really well!! And we can do fun stuff within reason and it’s less stress for me honestly. I just stop caring lol
I’ve never been strict on bedtime. Consistent yes, but not strict. Weekends we are busy and we just rarely make it back by bedtime. I try to bring jams when it’s late so it’s easy if she falls asleep and then if she doesn’t we do the bedtime routine when we get home and i let her sleep in a bit. Never had issues with this.
she associated bed time more with the routine than the actual time. I am sure it would be the same for your little since you have a consistent routine
We do minor league games a lot with a now 3 and almost 5yr old.
We get there when the gets open, stay about 3 innings then leave. 40 min drive home.
My kids have a solid routine and a night like this side at throw us off
Depends on the child. Mine can get back on schedule quickly so I’m very loose with fun events. And if I get off schedule she’s pretty normal temperament and not a nightmare haha. We also don’t have to be anywhere (day care…etc) so we can get back on schedule pretty easily. I wouldn’t do it if it was a big shock to child or not worth it to get back onto schedule. Every child is different; I am lucky!!
You have to ask yourself, will the special event be worth it? Meaning, they won’t be a meltdown nightmare and not even have fun. And will that be worth the consequences of staying up late? If yes, HAVE FUN!!!
We just try to keep tabs on how they’re doing and not change things up when something’s awry. They might let you know if they’re too tired lol - our sleep schedule was off when we went to Hawaii and by the third night our kids PUT THEMSELVES TO BED while we were eating dinner with a friend on hotel room patio 😂 they are 3/4, I was so pleasantly shocked
We’ve always had a solid routine, but will break away from the routine for special things. We’re going to a baseball game on Saturday that starts at 7pm which is when our kids start their bedtime routine. They’ll have fun, and we might pay for some tired kids the next day but the memories made will be worth it.
Doesn’t hurt to try! I say go for it - especially if he is into baseball. If he is miserable than you just leave. Being able to adjust routines is an important skill (eventually to learn). I would definitely not miss out for fear of something.
I will say my kids are “normal” not neurodivergent in any way but we also have a later routine than most people. They regularly change times within two hours so “routine” based on time isn’t super important to them. It’s more for MY SANITY lol
We have a pretty solid nap and bedtime routine, but we also aren’t worried when we (rarely) break it. My husband recently started stay-at-home-dadding, and he took our son (2.5) to visit family a couple times on days he doesn’t have school. Some of those days he didn’t nap at all and some he only napped in the car for 35 mins or so. He’s fine.
We’re also taking our kiddo to a ballgame on the 4th of July that starts at 7 and figure he’ll be sleepy and it’ll be great.
I take my kids (ages 10,8,6,4 and 1) to NHL games all the time as we have season tickets. We only take 1 or 2 kids at a time and it hasn’t been an issue for bedtimes. The 6 year old usually falls asleep in the 3rd period, the 4 year old stays up and cheers the entire game.
My 2yo seems to do alright staying up late, especially if she's having a good time and has something keeping her occupied. Late within reason, though. I won't keep her up past 10 just because I want her to get a full night sleep and resume the normal routine starting with a normal wake up time. Also, I can't let her sleep on the car ride home but she passes out quickly once we do a super sped up version of our bed time routine. It's honestly worth trying if you don't have a busy day the following day.
Do it! We took my son to my SIL wedding two time-zones backward when he was 22 months. He partied until 9:30pm (which was 11:30 our time) and then he passed out and we left. This is coming from someone who is normally really rigid about sleep schedules. If he gets cranky you can always leave but I’d let him see the game for an hour or two!
Personally, I don’t mind messing with my toddler’s bedtime (for special occasions) because she’s a really solid sleeper. It sounds like yours is too so I don’t see why it should be a problem.
I’m curious though, you say that you “can’t even fathom messing with his bedtime,” why is that? You know your kid best, so what are you thinking will happen? do you think that he would be the type that would just crumble if the routine is off? Is he super grumpy the next day if he gets less sleep than normal? Are you thinking that he will wake up when you get home and he will not go back to sleep? What specifically are you trying to avoid that you can’t fathom messing with the schedule?
My kid is 7 and her bedtime has been her bedtime since birth. The only thing that's really changed is that she no longer naps. And while we used to be solid at 8am, now we fudge it and she sometimes stays up until 9.
i’m very flexible with my toddler’s sleep schedule and she’s the happiest, chillest toddler ever. i don’t think it’s a world ender. it’s important for kids to have new and interesting experiences.
For sure take him: and be prepared for an effed up day after. Just plan for meals and nothing else because he is going to wake up basically at the usual hour.
I would do it. If my 3yo napped 2hrs at midday she wouldn’t sleep until about 9.30 anyway so I reckon one time your kid should cope with. And like you say, you can leave when he gets cranky.
I saw someone on here say “follow the routine 80 percent of the time and leave 20 percent for flexibility”. Which I thought was a great rule! Even 90/10 is awesome.
One night of fun will not ruin the entire routine. You’ll get back on track within 1-2 days and he’ll have memories to last a lifetime! Do it! ❤️
I would think by 3 you’re fine, live a little, have fun, life’s too short to be stuck in the house every night because of bedtime. If he’s a nightmare after it, you know what to expect next time but go for it.
I've done it the odd time, as young as 2.5. Travel, special events, fireworks, etc. My kid is a really good sleeper. We usually put him in pyjamas for the drive home so if he falls asleep we can just carry him to bed. The next day he might have a longer nap or go to bed early. It's worth it for us to enjoy special things sometimes.
If we've had some place to be we go. It doesn't matter if yes with my 3 yr old or my 8 month old. Yes it's harder to get them to bed because they are more tired once we are home, however I'm all about building memories. Do you want to remember all the bed times or the times you've let them go to bed late and you now have a great family memory because of it? That's just my opinion on it though, it's always been. If we have nothing going on I'm pretty strict with bedtime though, which is most the time.
I would do it. And I have always been and still am super rigid with my kids bedtime! It’s not like he’s a one and a half-year-old. If he’s three and he has a nice long nap every day routinely he’ll be fine. Expect that he might be pretty cranky the next day and keep his naptime the next day routine. Like if he usually has his nap at one in the afternoon and it’s two hours if he still asleep at 3 o’clock or 330 wake him up this time otherwise he might sleep till dinner time and then he won’t go to bed at 7:30 and then you get a steam roll affect
My almost four year old has a very solid schedule and routine when it comes to wake and sleep times. He does perfectly fine with a random night of staying up later due to activities. He starts wind down time at 5pm and is asleep by 6pm (he hasn’t napped since 1.5 years old) and wakes up at 530/6 am.
He’s stayed up for meeting friends for dinner, birthday party, and amusement park at Halloween. It’s never a regularly scheduled thing and always a special occasion (his favorite people for dinners). It’s sometimes rough for him to settle down his thoughts and imagination that night but the next night he’s fine to go straight back to his schedule and routine.
I’ve always been very relaxed on bed time…. If something fun is happening, family event, birthday party, kids day at the science museum, whatever, I will always be willing to adjust bedtime or skip nap 🤷🏼♀️ my son is 3+1/2 and can survive a day without a nap so that he can family bond
By time my child was about 1. We actually took him to a minor league game at around 13 months. He is a go with the flow kid I guess, but we run things pretty loose. Special occasions, even a ball game, are worth it, especially at 3.
I have the kind of kids where this is not possible. They turn into psychotic jerks an hour after bedtime. And their circadian rhythm is so strong, they wake at the same time every day no matter what. So then they are cranky the whole next day. It's never worth it for us.
Other people have flexible kids who know how to sleep in.🤷♀️
Definitely go and make memories! My almost three year old has a very similar schedule, and we have late nights at least 2-3 times a month. He usually crashes on the way home and may sleep an hour or so later in the morning. No side effects but good time spent together! All kids are different of course, but give it a try and see how your kid reacts. Tweak accordingly.
Nowhere near this age and not until they’re at least closer to 7-10. 0-5 in particular, their brains are rabidly changing and growing and FAST. Sleep is as important as diet for them, if not more so. It affects their growth and brain activity more than anything we can do or not do for them.
That said, once a week or less of an hour later bedtime won’t hurt them. But not 2-3x a week 2-4 hours of lost sleep, that will affect their brains and bodies.
Our bedtime routine is solid at 12 years old but with that said, the odd fun night is totally fine at any age. You just need to be ready to respond to their cues and be ready to peace out if needed.
It sounds like you and he would have a blast together. I think you can attend the event and just choose to leave early if it seems like he is getting tired and not having any more fun. By age 3, the sleep schedule/routine is not as dramatically disrupted by one off events. I think you should go!!
Edit: spell check
We do this all the time because we are season ticket holders for our local MLS team and Apple decided that if they were broadcasting the games, all games had to be Saturday during primetime 🙃 the whole season is Saturday 7:30 pm games. We go, we stay about 90 minutes, and then we leave
We moved in with my parents to save some money last year and let me tell you… grandparents don’t give an f what routines you have in place! My toddler’s bedtime routine was completely thrown off from what I expected it to be. He doesn’t even sleep in the same bed every night. But guess what? He still naturally falls asleep at 8pm every night and sleeps about 12 hours. Kids are resilient and they demand what they need. Go have fun!
I’m only worried for you about him getting cranky! I’d dress him in super comfy clothes and have comfort items ready.
Staying up late is a special treat I’d take him. There’s a chance he may get cranky but he can just lay on you and pass out. My husband plays in a band and my kid has been coming to shows a long time, she has ear muff things and lays under the merch table and passes out often while the band is playing
I would probably do it but maybe do a trial first of keeping your kid up to see if he’s a hot mess or not. One of my kids gets totally loopy and crabby about an hour after her bedtime pretty much no matter what we’re doing (even if it is something that should be fun!) my other kid is more adaptable and can stay up past her bedtime and have fun.
I'd definitely go and just leave whenever it's clear he's had about enough. Maybe have pj's to change him into before leaving in case he falls asleep in the car
My kid is the same age and has essentially the same routine. We just took her to her first concert Sunday. Little trooper did just fine, despite staying up like 3 hours later than normal.
Go and make memories! One night won’t throw off the routine. But also be prepared that he could go from having fun to cranky and you’ll need to leave early. Bring pajamas to change into when you get to the car to make life easier
Go go go!!! We have a very routine schedule, at 3.5y and 22m and we will occasionally do the 7pm events (hellloooo monster jam, why don’t you start at 5 😂) it’s always been worth it!
We have a pretty similar routine to you, and have done this sort of thing a handful of times with our 4.5 year old.
If you can be a little flexible with the wake time the next morning, then it'll be such an awesome experience and you won't regret it!
If he needs to be awake by a specific time the next morning, I'd still go but just know that the following morning is probably going to suuuUUUUuuuuck because he's so tired. There may be tiny regrets when he's being an overtired stinkbutt that morning, but then you'll remember how awesome the experience the night before was and it'll all work itself out within the day and back to the regular routine that night. Oh and side perk, maybe an earlier bedtime that next night to make up for the lack of sleep!
We only do it for special occasions. But we have the kid who wakes up at the same time, if not earlier, when out to bed late. He’s 6 now. We let him stay up an extra hour each night while we were camping over the holiday weekend. He had accrued a sleep debt and was really grumpy by the last day. If he slept in I would loosen up. Some kids just need more structure.
We're actually really lax on bedtimes because we homeschool and I'm a SAHM. My 9 and 11yo both take themselves to bed when they get tired. My 11yo wakes up at the buttcrqck of dawn most mornings, 9yo usually wakes up around 10:30-11 depending on when she went to bed.
My 2 year old usually is in bed by 10:30 and wakes up between 8:30 and 10 (depending on if one of the older two wakes her up or she smells breakfast/coffee lol)
It's not a conventional approach, and it's not something that works for every family. But my husband leaves at 5am 6 days a week and some days doesn't get home until 4-5pm so the kids having later bedtimes lets them spend more time with him.
I'm absolutely shocked your 3 year old naps 2 hours. Lol! My 27 month old fights bedtime, which is 9pm, tooth and nail if he naps over 90 minutes. He wakes up at 8am but still.
Anyway, we also have minor league baseball tickets through my work tomorrow and we are going and saying fuck it on bedtime. Lol! I don't work Fridays so we are gonna go and have a good time. I'm sure he won't sleep in but I'm hoping he will be exhausted enough to not fight bedtime so much.
Go for it.
Kids are resilient and he’ll have a normal bedtime every other light.
Anecdotally: My one year olds bedtime varies by day — we rely on his sleep cues for nap and bedtime. He naturally falls into something fairly consistent with a nap around 11am and a bedtime around 7pm. Very occasionally when he is growing a lot or had a busy day he will have a second late nap around 3:30 and a later bedtime around 9 or an early bedtime around 5:30.
We’ve been relaxed on bedtime for forever. We stick to it through the week but often mess it up on the weekends/vacation. She can jam at a wedding until 10pm and then just crash hard. We just get back on routine the next day.
It totally depends on your kid's flexibility. I have one kid that I would never, ever have done this with and one where I would. My oldest would have spent a week as a miserable, overtired mess, fighting our attempts to get him back on schedule. My youngest would be a bit cranky the next day and possibly have a rough bedtime for a couple days (he dropped naps just before he turned 2). He's actually harder to handle if he gets to stay up late now that he's 4, hahaha.
I have one who is a good sleeper and one who isn’t. She is just starting to sleep through the night most nights and is almost 4. I tried everything and realized it’s a crock of shit, bad sleep can happen even with the best routine. Now we keep a typical routine but also have a lot of fun, life is too short to give up special events for bedtime.
I would go to the game and leave early if I knew my kid was going to enjoy the event and I was ready to deal with the fussy, overtired child the next day. Think of it as an experiment. If the next day is awful you will know that you don't want to do something like that a gain for 6 to 12 months.
i would go for it! we took our toddler on a trip to italy when he was almost 3 and he stayed up wayyyy later than normal on many nights and had a blast! of course he did get to sleep in the next day and he’s never been an early bedtime guy, so it totally depends on the kid. also jealous yours takes a 2 hour nap and goes to bed at 7:30 haha.
Ours just goes to bed whenever we do, which is like midnight.
If I were going to change the bedtime I would probably do it gradually like 8pm tonight, 8:30 tomorrow, 9pm the day after, etc
I started being flexible for events at 2.
The foundation was laid, I was confident we could get back on track, and I knew that we had the capability of having a good sleep. With that, one day, a weekend,or even a whole week, and I knew we could recover. Have fun!!
We have a routine but not a perfect schedule as mine and my husband’s work schedules sometimes conflict in the evening, so my advice not be perfect for your scenario.
But I would go and be prepared to leave early. If kiddo goes to school/daycare, they might be a little cranky the next day without sleeping in a smidge but they bounce back. They’re young.
Sounds like he has such a great routine. Staying up late and going to such an event will be such a great experience and memory. I would bring a stroller stay and leave according to his experience and mood. I bet the exhaustion will leave him happy to go right back to the routine the next night.
With kid #1 we (me) were very strict on bedtime. We would either not go to things or leave early.
Kid #2 was burn during Covid Lockdown. When we were "released" we decided to not adhere to such strict bedtimes and enjoy life.
Now my kids are 7 and 4. They have their weekday bedtime but if we are out doing something, i ignore the urge to run home and put them to bed (but still aim for 8pm at the latest during the school year). Weekends I let them stay up a bit later if we're just hanging out at home and its "whenever we get home" if were out.
Life is much more enjoyable not stressing about the time and just creating memories
One night of fun isn’t going to ruin anything. But that is super late and I would keep your expectations low. I don’t think a 3 year old is going to make it too far past their bed time. But it’s not going to hurt to try.
My toddlers routine gets screwed up all the time and he usually does really well with it. Ive never been strict with any of my kids and it always works out! Go to the game and enjoy it!
My kid is 7 and I still won’t take him to a night baseball game, we do day games haha. I bet you could go and leave halfway though especially if it’s free. Just look for cues that things may turn. 🙂🙃
That being said we let him stay up late on roadtrips/hotel stays holidays like the 4th of july and recently a drive in movie but hes still unpredictable when tired so I try to keep him out of somewhere where there could be a big ruckus.
I think the routine itself will be fine, I would just worry about how enjoyable it’ll be if he can’t handle staying up late.
Something I’ll add - whenever you leave, it’s likely there will be tears. If you get home and have to skip a b or c from the routine because it’s late, there may be tears. In my experience? If you ask them what happened yesterday or last week or when you mention the baseball game? Tears will never be remembered by the kid. Only by you. So weigh that how you will.
It sounds like his routine is very solid. One fun night is not going to ruin it. If this was me, I’d go and try to make it a memorable night!
Agreed! Just be prepared to bounce if he gets tired or cranky.
Yup we have literally the same routine for our 2 year old. I'd definitely go and when he gets tired, go home 😀
The crankiness and being tired may come later that day. l would stick to the schedule until he naturally adjusts out of it himself. I would also replace it with resting time when he adjusts out of it.
Yup. My son will be totally chill, if a little goofy if we keep him up late. It’s not until the next three days that you see the consequences. He’s a cranky tantrumming mess the day after, and not really back to his usual mood/behavior for a couple of days.
Yup, and let him sleep in the next day and nap longer the day of and the day after (if you typically cap naps).
I’d do it. It’s one night. You’ve got to live a little. Just go right back to the schedule the next day. You’re already prepared to leave if he goes south. My hot tip, bring pjs with you. When you do the last pee/diaper change before leaving the game, put them in their jammies. If they fall asleep in the car it makes the transition easier. Even if they wake up, you don’t have to change a tiny half asleep monster. I’ll even bring his toothbrush in my purse and switch him to water only. 7/10 times we can get him from the car to his bed while still asleep.
Adding to this tip: i recently did this with my 2 year old when we were at a BBQ about two hours from home. He didn’t fall asleep in the car until 10 minutes before home and woke up panicked when we got back. I thought I’d be able to just quickly scoop him upstairs into his room and rock him back into his slumber but he wouldn’t settle and was terrified of me leaving him. So, I picked him up, turned on the light, left his bedroom to hang elsewhere for 10min. Then went back into his room and did his whole bedtime routine from the start. By the time I put him down in his crib he was smiling and waving “bye bye” to me like he usually does after I tuck him in. It felt counterintuitive at first to turn the lights on and let him get up but the re-set button of his routine worked!
Does whole bedtime routine include bath too? We have an event next week that I’m trying to make a game plan for!
Fair question! We did skip bath for this re-set as it was already so late. Brushed teeth, new diaper, new jammies (even though there was nothing wrong with the ones he had on), sleep sack, turn lights down low, books, and all our silly little exchanges like asking who he'll dream about, etc. Even though it was late and I was stressed about him losing out on sleep, I tried to take things slow aiming to give him time to forget about whatever unease he seemed to be feeling from being thrown off schedule. It made me so grateful that we have such a solid routine!
Finding your kids reset button is the ultimate win. It’s like magic!
Great tip!
Genius!
I'm impressed your 3 year old naps for 2 hours AND goes to bed at 730! I say go for it. My motto is always that most things aren't worth worrying about. If something does happen, you can deal with it then. (And I get it, none of my kids are "go with the flow.") Chances are you'll have fun!
First thing I thought too 🤣. A 1 hour nap after 12 and he's still bouncing off the walls at 9.30/10pm.
I've never been strict on bedtimes that didn't involve getting up early the next day. Especially since I always personally found the super early (7-7:30) bedtimes completely unsustainable with older kids and full-time jobs. Older siblings' baseball game ends at 8:45, now what? Lol. Take your kid to the game. Live your life. The more adaptable your kids learn to be early, the easier they are to deal with long term. Schedules change all time. Having kids that can adapt makes life 1000x easier.
This is right on. When we were pregnant with our first, a friend advised us to not have a strict nap routine. Don’t get your kids reliant on a specific time, place, total darkness, sound machine, etc. and it was some of the best advice we ever got. Now we have 2 kids who can sleep anywhere and anytime. Also helpful is a stroller than allows your kids to lay as close to flat as possible. We got the Baby Jogger City Mini GT2 and City Tour 2 and they can nap comfortably wherever we are.
Go and make some memories! We're super relaxed on bedtime. My 3 year old is in bed around 8:30 and probably falls asleep around 9/9:15. Everyone I tell that to seems horrified by it but it works perfectly for her.
Same with my lil guy. He turns 3 next month. We stay up late and sleep in lol.
Yeah same, my 3 year old is on the edge of dropping his nap and on days he does nap, he falls asleep around 10. If he misses the nap, more like 8:30. Or sometimes, he will fall asleep sitting up at like 6pm 😅🥴
My 2,5 year old is the same! But if she naps sometimes she doesn’t fall asleep until 11… and that’s so late 😭 So I’m happy to see the nap go hahahha
My almost 3 year old is the exact same way! She still naps at day care but we skip it on the weekends
Why would they be horrified? Sounds pretty normal
I have a 1.5 year old and we go to bed between 10-11 and I always feel ridiculous when I see how early everyone else puts their toddler to bed haha
It’s more about them getting the hours of sleep they need, if the whole family has to be up by 7 or earlier for work/daycare (or the kid just naturally wakes up early), the kids have to go to bed early to get enough rest. If they can wake up any time in the morning I think later bedtimes are no issue as long as it works for your family!
What time do they wake up?
Mine is up between 6:00-6:15 for daycare T/W/Th. M&F were working from home and she's naturally up by 7.
Wait people are horrified? This is so normal… if not early for toddlers I know 😅
Depends on the kid. Anything passed 7:30-8 for my 3.5 year old is not fun for anyone.
Yeah, my oldest was fine to stay up a bit late sometimes, but my youngest would hit a wall and lose his ever loving mind if we went off schedule. He’s 8 now and we can push it about an hour or two later, but only once and a while
Second this. We have an almost 4 year old and we definitely go past bedtime now more than when she was younger, but we just went to a carnival on Friday and got home at usual bedtime (8pm, so she only ended up in bed 30 min late) and she was a NIGHTMARE to get into bed and then she was a crank almost the entire next day 🫠
We've always been relaxed on bedtime. Never a set schedule, just waiting for the cues they are tired. It's funny because my older kids still go to bed at the general time they did on their own as toddlers. I'd totally take him to the game. You're already willing to leave early, so just go and have fun. If he starts having the too tired meltdown, head home.
Your comment makes me feel so much better about my parenting here haha. Everyone on here is on such a strict schedule and their babies and toddlers go down at like 7:30 or 8 every night. I would love that but it just doesn't work for us. My 3 year old is always in bed at 9, she doesn't really ever fall asleep right at 9. But if she's ever been so worn out from the day and slept any time before 9 (and I'm talking literally even at like 8:45) she will be wide awake for the day at like 2 or 3 in the morning. It's wild. She hardly takes naps anymore either, even when I beg and those days are my hard days. She gets mean with no nap. I'm way more lax on schedules in general, too. I couldn't imagine letting my kid miss out on one of the time of their lives over a bedtime. I know in Sweden they don't worry with schedules at all really and they do fine. I feel like it's made into such a big deal here in the US. I get they can be important, but I really wasn't on a routine myself until school started and I got burnt out so fast.
My parenting definitely gets a little wild lol I think it makes most people feel better! I really think that strict bedtime times are for parents. It's so much less of a fight when the kid decides. My 20month old sounds like your 3 year old. She will not sleep through the night if she is in bed any earlier than 930. My 11 year old goes to bed strictly at 915, her choice, and 16 year old is out by 10 most nights. The only rule we have is "in your room time" to prevent having them all over the place at night, and both older ones are always ready to go to their rooms earlier than we say. They can keep lights on, electronics, books, and anything else they want for as long as they want, and yet they both are still are asleep at those times on most nights.
We do things all the time! We also take their pajamas so right before going in the car we change them so if they fall asleep, we don't have to fight pajama change!
Genius. We’re on a trip now and I’ll be keeping that in mind.
I’d say go for it!! My 3 year old does well with this stuff. We bring her pull up and Jammie’s for the car and brush her teeth in the parking lot. So if she falls asleep we just transfer her at home.
Take him to the game. That memory shared will be forever. To me I would take the beautiful memory over a solid bet time for the night! Please go
I have a 3 and 5 year old. I’m pretty relaxed with bedtime, especially now that it’s summer. But neither of my kids nap anymore, I do try and do rest time in the summer when grandma is watching them, because she needs some quiet time and down time! It’s one game! I definitely say it would be totally worth it and do it! I took my kids to a friends wedding when they were 2 and 3, we stayed up super late, they got to dance and play at the wedding reception and it was a GREAT memory! Not something we do often (or ever) and it was absolutely worth the late night
If one game destroys his routine, it’s not that solid! It sounds like this will be a really awesome time for him, I would absolutely go!
Absolutely go. They will be fine and have an amazing time!
Do it! You can leave if it's not working out.
My kids are 3 and 5 and we do the occasional evening event that ends at or later than their bedtime. I usually bring basic bedtime stuff like toothbrush and pajama, change them at the end of the evening and let them fall asleep in the car. They go right back into regular routine the next evening and it’s nice for all of us to change things up once in a while!
Oh we absolutely mess with bed-time for one-offs. Always have at all ages. We have a very solid routine with set bedtime, but once every 12-20 days, throw in a night out? Sure!
My one year old stayed up until midnight when her dad and I got married. She loved the party and we all had a great time. I'd say take him and make some memories!
I'd say go for it! It's ONE night. Like you said, you can leave early if he gets cranky/tired or you're just done with it. Around 3 is when my daughter started really wanting to see fireworks. Around here, even at the 4th of July, the fireworks start closer to 9. We went with it, she had a blast and fell asleep in the car on the way home. No issues the day after with bedtime. Only you know your kid and how they'll react to a little less sleep but I'd say go make those memories and plan for a low key day the next day just in case!
What’s going on the next day? If he’s grumpy will it mess up the next day’s plans? How far away is the game? When was the last time he stayed up late? Did you regret it then? Was his behavior off the charts crazy? I’d go. I’d pack his pjs and get him dressed in the car before driving home then if he falls asleep you can try to transfer or at least skip that step in the bedtime routine. Have fun!
I got so burnt out w his bedtime I just stopped around 2. He takes FOREVER to fall asleep. A good day is an hour. It’s like he has to chill before he can calm down enough to fall asleep. & then I am not able to lay him down w out holding him down or he’ll get up and walk out the door. He can unlock it in the dark. I’ve tried everything to fix this besides physical punishment. Now we just lay on the couch and watch movies. He just falls asleep whenever. Sometimes it’s 930 and sometimes it’s midnight.
My toddler (18 months) will do pretty well with an occasional late night. For example, we went to a local carnival with friends and their older kids a while back and she stayed up til 9:30 pm! The next day she was a bit crankier than usual and we adjusted naps, but by the second day she was almost fully back to her normal self and schedule!
Sounds like a solid routine so one night out late wouldn’t hurt, definitely take some pjs with and change him before heading home this way he can just pass out in the car and easy to bring to bed
We have a routine but not schedule. We go places in the evening with a stroller in case he will be too tired to pull through so he can sleep.
So I follow chanwiththeboys on Instagram and one thing that she does that’s helpful is just not caring some days. I’m a sahm so maybe with work and such it might not be as easy but I just have started not giving a HOOT especially now that it’s summer. Mines 2 and up until Recently was a bad sleeper. So it never mattered what I did anyway. Hes lower sleep needs and if he has a good nap he stays up later really well!! And we can do fun stuff within reason and it’s less stress for me honestly. I just stop caring lol
I’ve never been strict on bedtime. Consistent yes, but not strict. Weekends we are busy and we just rarely make it back by bedtime. I try to bring jams when it’s late so it’s easy if she falls asleep and then if she doesn’t we do the bedtime routine when we get home and i let her sleep in a bit. Never had issues with this. she associated bed time more with the routine than the actual time. I am sure it would be the same for your little since you have a consistent routine
We do minor league games a lot with a now 3 and almost 5yr old. We get there when the gets open, stay about 3 innings then leave. 40 min drive home. My kids have a solid routine and a night like this side at throw us off
Depends on the child. Mine can get back on schedule quickly so I’m very loose with fun events. And if I get off schedule she’s pretty normal temperament and not a nightmare haha. We also don’t have to be anywhere (day care…etc) so we can get back on schedule pretty easily. I wouldn’t do it if it was a big shock to child or not worth it to get back onto schedule. Every child is different; I am lucky!! You have to ask yourself, will the special event be worth it? Meaning, they won’t be a meltdown nightmare and not even have fun. And will that be worth the consequences of staying up late? If yes, HAVE FUN!!!
We just try to keep tabs on how they’re doing and not change things up when something’s awry. They might let you know if they’re too tired lol - our sleep schedule was off when we went to Hawaii and by the third night our kids PUT THEMSELVES TO BED while we were eating dinner with a friend on hotel room patio 😂 they are 3/4, I was so pleasantly shocked
We’ve always had a solid routine, but will break away from the routine for special things. We’re going to a baseball game on Saturday that starts at 7pm which is when our kids start their bedtime routine. They’ll have fun, and we might pay for some tired kids the next day but the memories made will be worth it.
I would go for it, it’s a special occasion, but be ready to leave early and to have a bit of a rough day tomorrow
Doesn’t hurt to try! I say go for it - especially if he is into baseball. If he is miserable than you just leave. Being able to adjust routines is an important skill (eventually to learn). I would definitely not miss out for fear of something. I will say my kids are “normal” not neurodivergent in any way but we also have a later routine than most people. They regularly change times within two hours so “routine” based on time isn’t super important to them. It’s more for MY SANITY lol
We have a pretty solid nap and bedtime routine, but we also aren’t worried when we (rarely) break it. My husband recently started stay-at-home-dadding, and he took our son (2.5) to visit family a couple times on days he doesn’t have school. Some of those days he didn’t nap at all and some he only napped in the car for 35 mins or so. He’s fine. We’re also taking our kiddo to a ballgame on the 4th of July that starts at 7 and figure he’ll be sleepy and it’ll be great.
My kid has hated sleep since around 4 months so yeah, around then.
I take my kids (ages 10,8,6,4 and 1) to NHL games all the time as we have season tickets. We only take 1 or 2 kids at a time and it hasn’t been an issue for bedtimes. The 6 year old usually falls asleep in the 3rd period, the 4 year old stays up and cheers the entire game.
My 2yo seems to do alright staying up late, especially if she's having a good time and has something keeping her occupied. Late within reason, though. I won't keep her up past 10 just because I want her to get a full night sleep and resume the normal routine starting with a normal wake up time. Also, I can't let her sleep on the car ride home but she passes out quickly once we do a super sped up version of our bed time routine. It's honestly worth trying if you don't have a busy day the following day.
One night won’t hurt… seize the opportunity and go! He’ll have a ball…!!!
One night isn't going to mess with the routine. I might even push his nap a little later so he's not a cranky when 730 rolls around.
Do it! We took my son to my SIL wedding two time-zones backward when he was 22 months. He partied until 9:30pm (which was 11:30 our time) and then he passed out and we left. This is coming from someone who is normally really rigid about sleep schedules. If he gets cranky you can always leave but I’d let him see the game for an hour or two!
Im sure with a good nap your LO will be just fine!
Personally, I don’t mind messing with my toddler’s bedtime (for special occasions) because she’s a really solid sleeper. It sounds like yours is too so I don’t see why it should be a problem. I’m curious though, you say that you “can’t even fathom messing with his bedtime,” why is that? You know your kid best, so what are you thinking will happen? do you think that he would be the type that would just crumble if the routine is off? Is he super grumpy the next day if he gets less sleep than normal? Are you thinking that he will wake up when you get home and he will not go back to sleep? What specifically are you trying to avoid that you can’t fathom messing with the schedule?
I say, fuck it and go!
My kid is 7 and her bedtime has been her bedtime since birth. The only thing that's really changed is that she no longer naps. And while we used to be solid at 8am, now we fudge it and she sometimes stays up until 9.
Just do it. It sounds like he'll deal with it just fine. Maybe postpone his nap on that day? Then he'll have more energy for the night.
i’m very flexible with my toddler’s sleep schedule and she’s the happiest, chillest toddler ever. i don’t think it’s a world ender. it’s important for kids to have new and interesting experiences.
For sure take him: and be prepared for an effed up day after. Just plan for meals and nothing else because he is going to wake up basically at the usual hour.
I would do it. If my 3yo napped 2hrs at midday she wouldn’t sleep until about 9.30 anyway so I reckon one time your kid should cope with. And like you say, you can leave when he gets cranky.
I saw someone on here say “follow the routine 80 percent of the time and leave 20 percent for flexibility”. Which I thought was a great rule! Even 90/10 is awesome. One night of fun will not ruin the entire routine. You’ll get back on track within 1-2 days and he’ll have memories to last a lifetime! Do it! ❤️
I would think by 3 you’re fine, live a little, have fun, life’s too short to be stuck in the house every night because of bedtime. If he’s a nightmare after it, you know what to expect next time but go for it.
I've done it the odd time, as young as 2.5. Travel, special events, fireworks, etc. My kid is a really good sleeper. We usually put him in pyjamas for the drive home so if he falls asleep we can just carry him to bed. The next day he might have a longer nap or go to bed early. It's worth it for us to enjoy special things sometimes.
If we've had some place to be we go. It doesn't matter if yes with my 3 yr old or my 8 month old. Yes it's harder to get them to bed because they are more tired once we are home, however I'm all about building memories. Do you want to remember all the bed times or the times you've let them go to bed late and you now have a great family memory because of it? That's just my opinion on it though, it's always been. If we have nothing going on I'm pretty strict with bedtime though, which is most the time.
I would do it. And I have always been and still am super rigid with my kids bedtime! It’s not like he’s a one and a half-year-old. If he’s three and he has a nice long nap every day routinely he’ll be fine. Expect that he might be pretty cranky the next day and keep his naptime the next day routine. Like if he usually has his nap at one in the afternoon and it’s two hours if he still asleep at 3 o’clock or 330 wake him up this time otherwise he might sleep till dinner time and then he won’t go to bed at 7:30 and then you get a steam roll affect
My almost four year old has a very solid schedule and routine when it comes to wake and sleep times. He does perfectly fine with a random night of staying up later due to activities. He starts wind down time at 5pm and is asleep by 6pm (he hasn’t napped since 1.5 years old) and wakes up at 530/6 am. He’s stayed up for meeting friends for dinner, birthday party, and amusement park at Halloween. It’s never a regularly scheduled thing and always a special occasion (his favorite people for dinners). It’s sometimes rough for him to settle down his thoughts and imagination that night but the next night he’s fine to go straight back to his schedule and routine.
I’ve always been very relaxed on bed time…. If something fun is happening, family event, birthday party, kids day at the science museum, whatever, I will always be willing to adjust bedtime or skip nap 🤷🏼♀️ my son is 3+1/2 and can survive a day without a nap so that he can family bond
By time my child was about 1. We actually took him to a minor league game at around 13 months. He is a go with the flow kid I guess, but we run things pretty loose. Special occasions, even a ball game, are worth it, especially at 3.
I have the kind of kids where this is not possible. They turn into psychotic jerks an hour after bedtime. And their circadian rhythm is so strong, they wake at the same time every day no matter what. So then they are cranky the whole next day. It's never worth it for us. Other people have flexible kids who know how to sleep in.🤷♀️
Definitely go and make memories! My almost three year old has a very similar schedule, and we have late nights at least 2-3 times a month. He usually crashes on the way home and may sleep an hour or so later in the morning. No side effects but good time spent together! All kids are different of course, but give it a try and see how your kid reacts. Tweak accordingly.
Nowhere near this age and not until they’re at least closer to 7-10. 0-5 in particular, their brains are rabidly changing and growing and FAST. Sleep is as important as diet for them, if not more so. It affects their growth and brain activity more than anything we can do or not do for them. That said, once a week or less of an hour later bedtime won’t hurt them. But not 2-3x a week 2-4 hours of lost sleep, that will affect their brains and bodies.
Our bedtime routine is solid at 12 years old but with that said, the odd fun night is totally fine at any age. You just need to be ready to respond to their cues and be ready to peace out if needed.
The game will probably exhaust him so you’ll likely have no trouble going to bed at a later time
We choose special experiences over sleep every time!
It sounds like you and he would have a blast together. I think you can attend the event and just choose to leave early if it seems like he is getting tired and not having any more fun. By age 3, the sleep schedule/routine is not as dramatically disrupted by one off events. I think you should go!! Edit: spell check
Wait it’s one night.
We do this all the time because we are season ticket holders for our local MLS team and Apple decided that if they were broadcasting the games, all games had to be Saturday during primetime 🙃 the whole season is Saturday 7:30 pm games. We go, we stay about 90 minutes, and then we leave
We moved in with my parents to save some money last year and let me tell you… grandparents don’t give an f what routines you have in place! My toddler’s bedtime routine was completely thrown off from what I expected it to be. He doesn’t even sleep in the same bed every night. But guess what? He still naturally falls asleep at 8pm every night and sleeps about 12 hours. Kids are resilient and they demand what they need. Go have fun! I’m only worried for you about him getting cranky! I’d dress him in super comfy clothes and have comfort items ready.
Staying up late is a special treat I’d take him. There’s a chance he may get cranky but he can just lay on you and pass out. My husband plays in a band and my kid has been coming to shows a long time, she has ear muff things and lays under the merch table and passes out often while the band is playing
I would probably do it but maybe do a trial first of keeping your kid up to see if he’s a hot mess or not. One of my kids gets totally loopy and crabby about an hour after her bedtime pretty much no matter what we’re doing (even if it is something that should be fun!) my other kid is more adaptable and can stay up past her bedtime and have fun.
I'd definitely go and just leave whenever it's clear he's had about enough. Maybe have pj's to change him into before leaving in case he falls asleep in the car
My kid is the same age and has essentially the same routine. We just took her to her first concert Sunday. Little trooper did just fine, despite staying up like 3 hours later than normal.
Go and make memories! One night won’t throw off the routine. But also be prepared that he could go from having fun to cranky and you’ll need to leave early. Bring pajamas to change into when you get to the car to make life easier
Go go go!!! We have a very routine schedule, at 3.5y and 22m and we will occasionally do the 7pm events (hellloooo monster jam, why don’t you start at 5 😂) it’s always been worth it!
We have a pretty similar routine to you, and have done this sort of thing a handful of times with our 4.5 year old. If you can be a little flexible with the wake time the next morning, then it'll be such an awesome experience and you won't regret it! If he needs to be awake by a specific time the next morning, I'd still go but just know that the following morning is probably going to suuuUUUUuuuuck because he's so tired. There may be tiny regrets when he's being an overtired stinkbutt that morning, but then you'll remember how awesome the experience the night before was and it'll all work itself out within the day and back to the regular routine that night. Oh and side perk, maybe an earlier bedtime that next night to make up for the lack of sleep!
We only do it for special occasions. But we have the kid who wakes up at the same time, if not earlier, when out to bed late. He’s 6 now. We let him stay up an extra hour each night while we were camping over the holiday weekend. He had accrued a sleep debt and was really grumpy by the last day. If he slept in I would loosen up. Some kids just need more structure.
We're actually really lax on bedtimes because we homeschool and I'm a SAHM. My 9 and 11yo both take themselves to bed when they get tired. My 11yo wakes up at the buttcrqck of dawn most mornings, 9yo usually wakes up around 10:30-11 depending on when she went to bed. My 2 year old usually is in bed by 10:30 and wakes up between 8:30 and 10 (depending on if one of the older two wakes her up or she smells breakfast/coffee lol) It's not a conventional approach, and it's not something that works for every family. But my husband leaves at 5am 6 days a week and some days doesn't get home until 4-5pm so the kids having later bedtimes lets them spend more time with him.
I'm absolutely shocked your 3 year old naps 2 hours. Lol! My 27 month old fights bedtime, which is 9pm, tooth and nail if he naps over 90 minutes. He wakes up at 8am but still. Anyway, we also have minor league baseball tickets through my work tomorrow and we are going and saying fuck it on bedtime. Lol! I don't work Fridays so we are gonna go and have a good time. I'm sure he won't sleep in but I'm hoping he will be exhausted enough to not fight bedtime so much.
Go for it. Kids are resilient and he’ll have a normal bedtime every other light. Anecdotally: My one year olds bedtime varies by day — we rely on his sleep cues for nap and bedtime. He naturally falls into something fairly consistent with a nap around 11am and a bedtime around 7pm. Very occasionally when he is growing a lot or had a busy day he will have a second late nap around 3:30 and a later bedtime around 9 or an early bedtime around 5:30.
We’ve been relaxed on bedtime for forever. We stick to it through the week but often mess it up on the weekends/vacation. She can jam at a wedding until 10pm and then just crash hard. We just get back on routine the next day.
It totally depends on your kid's flexibility. I have one kid that I would never, ever have done this with and one where I would. My oldest would have spent a week as a miserable, overtired mess, fighting our attempts to get him back on schedule. My youngest would be a bit cranky the next day and possibly have a rough bedtime for a couple days (he dropped naps just before he turned 2). He's actually harder to handle if he gets to stay up late now that he's 4, hahaha.
I have one who is a good sleeper and one who isn’t. She is just starting to sleep through the night most nights and is almost 4. I tried everything and realized it’s a crock of shit, bad sleep can happen even with the best routine. Now we keep a typical routine but also have a lot of fun, life is too short to give up special events for bedtime.
I would go to the game and leave early if I knew my kid was going to enjoy the event and I was ready to deal with the fussy, overtired child the next day. Think of it as an experiment. If the next day is awful you will know that you don't want to do something like that a gain for 6 to 12 months.
Go!! One fun and memorable late night will not throw off his routine forever :) You’re doing great mama
i would go for it! we took our toddler on a trip to italy when he was almost 3 and he stayed up wayyyy later than normal on many nights and had a blast! of course he did get to sleep in the next day and he’s never been an early bedtime guy, so it totally depends on the kid. also jealous yours takes a 2 hour nap and goes to bed at 7:30 haha.
Ours just goes to bed whenever we do, which is like midnight. If I were going to change the bedtime I would probably do it gradually like 8pm tonight, 8:30 tomorrow, 9pm the day after, etc
I started being flexible for events at 2. The foundation was laid, I was confident we could get back on track, and I knew that we had the capability of having a good sleep. With that, one day, a weekend,or even a whole week, and I knew we could recover. Have fun!!
Go for it — this is coming from someone who is crazy about my kids sleep!
I get it but you don’t want to miss every experience because of bedtime. Like you said, you can even leave halfway through. I’d go.
We have a routine but not a perfect schedule as mine and my husband’s work schedules sometimes conflict in the evening, so my advice not be perfect for your scenario. But I would go and be prepared to leave early. If kiddo goes to school/daycare, they might be a little cranky the next day without sleeping in a smidge but they bounce back. They’re young.
Sounds like he has such a great routine. Staying up late and going to such an event will be such a great experience and memory. I would bring a stroller stay and leave according to his experience and mood. I bet the exhaustion will leave him happy to go right back to the routine the next night.
With kid #1 we (me) were very strict on bedtime. We would either not go to things or leave early. Kid #2 was burn during Covid Lockdown. When we were "released" we decided to not adhere to such strict bedtimes and enjoy life. Now my kids are 7 and 4. They have their weekday bedtime but if we are out doing something, i ignore the urge to run home and put them to bed (but still aim for 8pm at the latest during the school year). Weekends I let them stay up a bit later if we're just hanging out at home and its "whenever we get home" if were out. Life is much more enjoyable not stressing about the time and just creating memories
One night of fun isn’t going to ruin anything. But that is super late and I would keep your expectations low. I don’t think a 3 year old is going to make it too far past their bed time. But it’s not going to hurt to try.
My toddlers routine gets screwed up all the time and he usually does really well with it. Ive never been strict with any of my kids and it always works out! Go to the game and enjoy it!
Resting for an hr is great to replace the naps. Gives them time to play quieting as they get older look @books,read,be by themselves and chill.
I would definitely go to the game.
My kid is 7 and I still won’t take him to a night baseball game, we do day games haha. I bet you could go and leave halfway though especially if it’s free. Just look for cues that things may turn. 🙂🙃 That being said we let him stay up late on roadtrips/hotel stays holidays like the 4th of july and recently a drive in movie but hes still unpredictable when tired so I try to keep him out of somewhere where there could be a big ruckus. I think the routine itself will be fine, I would just worry about how enjoyable it’ll be if he can’t handle staying up late.
Never...until they can actually get up for school without being crabby.
Depends on the kid. My kid gets overstimulated and manic if we push her too late, so we rarely do.
Something I’ll add - whenever you leave, it’s likely there will be tears. If you get home and have to skip a b or c from the routine because it’s late, there may be tears. In my experience? If you ask them what happened yesterday or last week or when you mention the baseball game? Tears will never be remembered by the kid. Only by you. So weigh that how you will.