Crazy 3 Year Old Wont Go to Bed

One thing I do with my kiddos is get them outside for the 30 min before dinner and about 15 - 30 after. I found my boys just have a lot of energy and by allowing them time to burn it off they slept so much better at that age.
Yes, I know it is hot, but with water and shade, they are just fine:) Also depending on your house, ride on toy races (I'd time them) and simon says that consists of a lot of jumping and skipping help, too.
The key is though after getting them "all riled up" to be there with a book or game that is quiet to calm down, then bath, then book again, then bed (or whatever is your routine).
Best of luck!

I don't know if any one suggested this, but I would try moving his bedtime back to 8:30 or 9, if you can't get him to shorten his naps.

Also, the suggestions of noise dampener/dark curtains/fan/cooler room, good physical activity before dinner for an hour, plus quiet time before bed (no screen time at all of any kind, at least 1 hour before bedtime), are all good suggestions and have worked for us. In the end, though we had to move his bedtime back.

Is his room dark enough? With these late summer nights we had to invest in black out curtains. Both of our kids were having a hard time falling asleep.

My son went through a similar phase when he was four. We used a reward chart to break his habit of roaming. He could stay up quietly in his bed, but he wasn't allowed to leave it. The reward chart helped us a lot.

consistency on your part is 1/2 the answer. If you repeatedly put him back in bed, then he'll learn that you mean business. If you give him consequences, then he'll know you mean business. & that's all you can do....let him know you mean business.

Now for the 2nd 1/2: he's 3, he may not need to go to bed until later. Try for a little bit later schedule & you may find that evenings/bedtime will go easier!

EDIT: a 2 hour nap is not unreasonable for this age group. Been doing daycare for a long time now, & it's never been an issue. & most importantly, in our school district, the KG class takes a "rest period" for the 1st semester....so it's imperative that a nap schedule is provided for by daycares.

Around that age I remember my daughter trying to get away with more, seeing what she can and can not do, testing us & the rules. Bed time for about 6 months was not ideal, but we stuck with a schedule. First with child we sat down and wrote down the bedtime schedule, we hung it up and stuck to it every night possible.

7:30 - get on PJ's, brushteeth, read book(s)
8pm - Bedtime (NO play whatsoever, must stay in bed)

If you hear him playing in his room go in put him back in bed. You may have to remove the toys he plays with from the room until he is no longer in the phase. We removed all most all the toys for a few months from my daughters room so she got the idea oh no play while nap/bedtime and I will get my toys back. Now at age 4 1/2 she is great about bedtime, nap time has turned into hour quiet time (read books or play with stuff animals quietly) since it seems she rarely needs that afternoon nap now.

He is way too old for a 2 hour nap. It is completely unreasonable to expect him to go to bed with that kind of nap. Is it a law that he has to take a nap at the daycare? My son is 3 and doesn't nap for the same reason you have put. He doesn't like to be woken and then wont go to bed until very late, like 11p.m. Can he go with no nap? If he has to nap then let him sleep as long as he wants and then deal with the fact that he will not go to sleep until 10. Enjoy the time you have together and as long as he is rested then there is really nothing you can do besides getting him outside in the late evening for excersise and fresh air. And no offense, why are you punishing him for not being tired? What is so wrong with extra cuddles? How do you think you would feel if someone was forcing you to stay in your room and taking away your stuff when you physically just were not tired? He is not doing anything wrong.

You need to get one of those child spin things that goes on the doorknob and place it on the inside of his bedroom door. I had a child that did this too and my Doctor said it is very dangerous, for one, they can come out and take off while you are asleep, this happened to a lady I know and her kid walked down the street on a very busy street at this exact age and she was charged with child neglect even though it was at a time everyone was asleep. Another thing is according to the Fire Dept it is safer to keep the child in the room where they can break the window and get them out, the reason some children are not rescued is they go out of the bedroom and with all the smoke the Firemen can not find them.

Secure the room with safety plugs and make sure no blind cords are hanging down and just make sure it is all safe and then explain that it is time for bed and they will scream, kick the door etc but they need to learn that night time is night time, it is not --lets roam the house all night time! My child was discovered to have insomnia at around 6 so this explained why he was up roaming around but my other one just didn't want to bring the party to a close! This too shall pass! Mine are 29, 26,21,16 and 13! Trust me--- I have seen it all!! I used to think being firm with them was so harsh but my 26 year old wrote an essay in Jr. High about his mom being his Hero and My 20 year old is a folk singer and he gives me songs saying great things about me. He recently gave me the song--God Only Knows by the Beach Boys! It's All Good!

I don't know if I have a solution, but our daughter does the same thing. She stays in her room but she sometimes plays for hours before she goes to sleep. When she was younger we had to bungee her door closed (so she could open it and call us but not come out) because we thought it was dangerous to have her roaming the house. Now that she is a little older she understands that she has to stay in her room so we don't have to bungee it anymore. (Plus now she is allowed to come out to go to the potty.) It's worse when she takes a nap. (She only naps sometimes now.) She doesn't seem tired during the day so I assume she just doesn't need that much sleep.

It is lighter outside longer. If he can hear things going on around the outside as well as inside house that can sound way more interesting than sleeping.

When he comes home make sure he gets some good play outside for an hour before dinner this is the time to really engage him so he feels like he is really playing with you and has your attention. .

Quiet dinner, NO TV once home from daycare.. Then a quiet bath, no loud talking no TV's and cell phones around him.. This all sounds way too interesting.

In his room. black out curtains (I used to hang quilts up all spring and summer), a fan blowing, his room cooled off maybe set the air conditioning lower around bedtime.. . When you read a book, do not engage your son. Do not ask questions or read in an animated voice.. As you read rub his back, read slower and slower..

Maybe play some quiet music or get a sound machine to block out the household sounds through the night for his room..

This is around the time both my kids started having a little more trouble getting to sleep and also became 'scared of the dark.' I lay down with mine and read a book or two to calm him down, we say prayers then sing a song or two and go to sleep. I use those things as discipline - we won't read a book tomorrow if you get out of bed, etc. Also, since they insist on night lights, I found some that display an image on the ceiling and those are working great for us. They aren't very bright so the hallway isn't as lit up as much as it used to be from their night lights and the image doesn't move so it isn't engaging. It was around $8 from Wal Mart, there is one with planets and one with fish. It is hard keeping a bedtime ritual with two little ones and not much help but do what you can and hang in there, it does get better. Good luck!