DS is 3.3. He's never been a brilliant sleeper - ever since he was a baby bedtime has been a bit of a nightmare. He just hates bedtime and DH and I are now at the end of our tether.
As soon as we put him to bed and come downstairs the tantrums start. Not a little bit of shouting and crying, but full on screaming, feet stomping, bedroom trashing, climbing on the stairgate type tantrums. We've tried everything - bedtime routine, sticker charts to reward good behaviour, removal of toys/treats for bad bedtime behaviour, talking to him about the importance of sleep, getting his nursery involved in promoting good sleep habits. Nothing's worked.
Any other suggestions? He has a sleep at nursery (3 days a week), but doesn't usually have a nap on other days. Nursery/non-nursery days don't make a difference. We don't get home from work/nursery until around 6.30pm so we can't do bedtime before 7.30pm. We've tried getting him to bed as early as 7.30pm or leaving him till later - it doesn't make much difference. Often, the tantrums can last until 10/11 pm. We've tried ignoring him and going up to soothe him - again it makes no difference. We've given him the option of keeping the light on and playing for a while, but that doesn't help.
We're really at a loss about what to do. We have big chats about bedtime and he understands that tantrums aren't great - every day he promises not to have a tantrum that night. He's great during the bedtime routine until we come downstairs.
If anyone can think of anything we haven't tried already I'd be very grateful!