3.5 suddenly refusing to sleep in his room/at all

[hotlipshoulihan32]

My 3.5 yo was still napping about an hour after lunch until about a week ago and has dramatically dropped his nap. At the same time, he is flatly refusing to go to bed and it is taking over an hour of him constantly coming out, needing a drink, needing the toilet, needing a different teddy etc. Some nights he flatly refuses to even get in his bed.

Has anyone got any advice? I wondered if he's over tired but if we've let him nap at all, this process is taking hours and hours. We have tried letting him listen to an audiobook but I'm not sure if this is helping or just distracting him more.

Please help 🙈

P.S. I should also add he is getting lots of fresh air every day, eating well, very little sugar etc etc

What time does he get up and go to bed? Does he seem tired before he goes to bed? Definitely stick with no nap. My suspicion is that he just feels quite out of sorts and is getting used to no nap, so I'd just be really consistent with him having his water bottle by his bed, he chooses a teddy and sticks with it, he's had his final wee etc and keep it calm and no fuss.

Thanks so much. We go upstairs at 7 and in the past he was asleep by 7.30. He wakes up at 5.45 regardless of bedtime (unfortunately)

No he doesn't seem tired before bedtime which seems really odd as I would have thought he'd be exhausted with no nap!! But I'm reluctant to put him to bed later as he wakes up so early?

I’d pre empt as much of it as I could. Always a no spill water bottle on the bedside table. Wee before and after bath. The cuddly toys all live on the foot of his bed and he can grab whichever ones he wants. Dim night light. Picture books to look at if he claims not to be sleepy. Ultimately going to sleep is his decision as in it’s not something you can make him
do, but you can calmly and gently enforce that he must be quiet and in his room. If he gets up you just take him back to bed and don’t engage with him beyond repeating that it’s bedtime.

Thank you so much, brilliant advice ❤

Huh still napping, our twins finished with all that by age 2 as did all the olders otherwise there just not tired at night. Age 3 now they go bed 7-7