Encouragement and endless repetition! When you are dealing with a child that can understand what's expected of him and how cause and effect works, you can get them to bed without too many hurt feelings. Make bed a nice place. Not exactly fun and exciting because you do want it boring and relaxing enough to foster good rest, but not a horrible place where he feels trapped or "sent to" when he's in trouble. Let him pick out new bedding if there's something he really likes. Then, set up a routine that goes through the usual bedtime things, changing, brushing, reading, etc and ends with lights out and mom or dad leaving the room. I used a Polaroid camera and a small photo album for my oldest and made a book "starring" him that followed our usual routine. When he complained about any one part, I'd simply remind him that the book says we do it this way! He bought it! Outside of a crib, any toddler will immediately hop up and follow mom or dad out to the living room after being put to bed. This is where it gets hard for mom and dad. Stop what you're doing and calmly walk kiddo back to bed! Say, "I know you want to be up still but it's your bedtime and you need to stay in your bed. You cannot play now or have a snack or a drink because it's bedtime." Put them back to bed, fix the covers, say goodnight and leave. You'll have to repeat this about 400 times the first night, after which the child will fall asleep from the sheer fatigue of walking around the house! The following nights will have fewer and fewer repetitions. They will probably complain and they may cry, but you'll have to decide for yourself what is a cry that requires a hug and an explanation and a gentle hand and what's just a cry from a child that's mad because he's not getting his way! The first night my youngest moved into her crib from my bed she screamed! At first, I was alarmed and started to run back to her room but halfway there her scream turned into a spoiled, demanding "Mommy, you come let me out of here RIGHT NOW!!" which was much easier to ignore! I'd periodically pop my head in to remind her it was bedtime and that she could not come out yet. Her tired, whiney attitude was one of the major reasons she was moved out of my bed, so I admit, I was quite hardened to the complaints by then! She took 2 nights to go from screaming at me to happily running to bed and climbing in by herself! 2 of my kids had the benefit of an older brother to hop into bed with if they were lonely or scared and one kid had a lot of success with a sticker chart that earned stars for nights he stayed in his own bed instead of starting out there and ending up back in my room.