3 Year old...suddenly Doesn't Want to Go to Bed!! Help!

Your boy might be getting to that point where he is out-growing his nap time. Try one day with no nap, let him run around like crazy an hour or two before bed time (avoid any sugar snacks/juice) - the fresh air and sun might get him tired quicker..

So, - try:-

No nap

Activities two hours outside before bed

A warm bath, bubbles or not

cup of warm milk
- if he likes that, you could put a drop of vanilla essence for flavor or just a little bit of nesquick

Bed at 8pm

Bed time story till 8:15, followed by hugs and kisses.

Lights out by 8:30 (use a timed nightlight)

I got my son a Homedics Sound Spa Lullaby/Nightlight (Target http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/176-###-###-####-###...) that has a timer. I can set it to 15 min/30 min/45 min or an hour. When its lights out he usually gets the message and goes to sleep.

You could also try and change his room up a bit. Get some cool wall stickers of his fav character and a bed time toy that he can only play with when he is in bed. Something like a Scout plush puppy that sings lullabyes and tell him Scout is there to keep him safe at night. Remind him that you will come in and "tuck him in" when he goes to sleep, kiss him and tell him that you love him.

Kids who feel more assured at bed time, usually goes to sleep easier.

He is asking you to rub his back, because he wants the closeness/affection. If you tell him, kiss him and hug him tight after bed time story, I am sure he will feel more at ease.

Good luck!!

I would go back to your 8:00 bedtime, then stay in the room and rub his back like you do now. Then slowly start shortening the time you stay with him. Eventually, getting to where you just sit in the room without rubbing and finally able to leave. Will take awhile but it will increase his confidence and help him learn to sleep on his own. Once you get towards the end of your plan start implementing a sticker chart where he gets one if he does not call for you once in bed alone.

Also does he have a security object? If not get something he can cuddle with to help him feel secure.

Try one day without a nap and put him down at 8:30. The sun is your enemy right now, lol, but that might work. We had the same issue, same age, won't bore you with details. Good luck!

K.,
Crying it out isn't going to do it - will only add to the frustration he feels.

Searching for stuff helps - you can get him a plain water sprayer to spray away the monsters with lavender water (great for falling asleep) or a magic wand might work well too - a decorated wooden 'wand' (dowel) - to wave away the monsters. Get him to do his own searches - leaving closet door open might help, putting bed on floor might help, removing or restraining any hanging draperies might help, a mosquito netting over the bed might help, too.

Many things out there to help with this.

Remember: with every growth spurt, he loses part of his memory. Asking him to remember is silly after the first time. Stuff that is reinforced will help (like searching for the monsters.) Eventually it will all go the way of many things - nothing lasts forever, even if it feels like it does.

There's more but I have to go, and email on this system doesn't really work. So I hope this helps and that your baby (and sometimes they 'regress' a year or more in some aspects! Just be patient once you find a stumbling block of memory.) has some special memories of searching for monsters and waving or spraying them away.

Good luck,
M.

Ah - this sounds so familiar ... both my kids around 3 years old had trouble ... part of it is that they don't really need as long of a nap in the middle of the day ... unfortunately most child care facilities rely on good long naps to facilitate their schedules ... I would recommend asking them to shorten his nap to the max 1 hour ... they are required by law to "rest" for a certain period of time. Unfortunately once you have started the night time routine of laying down with him or rubbing his back it is very hard to break and will require a good clean break ... probably about a week of crying before they suddenly forget ... maybe turn it into reading wind down time to settle him and then put him in bed ... Mine are now 5 and 9 and sometimes I will lay down to comfort them when they are sick, etc and they still need an adjustment period when I cut the cord when they are feeling better.
Good luck!

I think your son is getting too old for naps that long. Try waking him from his nap before the 2 hour point... even limit it to 90 minutes. Then, continue to put him to bed between 8:00 and 9:00. My son outgrew regular naps at 2.5, and at 3 only naps maybe 1 of the 2 days he is in daycare and 1 other day per week IF we are out in the car late in the day. Mostly we put him to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 on the days he does not nap and he goes right to sleep. On days that he does nap, he is MUCH harder to get down... excuse after excuse. My neice who is my son's age is still a great napper, but she goes to full time daycare so it is part of her routine. She is harder to put to bed at night and gets up early though... All together a child your son's age needs between 11 and 12 hours of sleep in 24 hours- you just have to decide which ways is the best way for him to get it.