Dear Mr. Dad: I have a 3-year-old boy who does not want to sleep in his own bed. Every night he falls asleep in our bed and then I take him to his bed. But, one hour later he returns to our bedroom.

We bought a cartoon character bed thinking that this might make him more comfortable, but it worked for only three days.

What can we do to make him sleep in his own bed?

Answer: The place to start is by talking to your son about what a special thing it is to have a big-boy bed, that babies get to have them. Talk it up as much as you possibly can.

Next, I’d suggest that pack up the cartoon character bed and put it in the attic or some other part of the house for a while. If your son associates his bed with play time and excitement, he’s going to have trouble falling asleep. The same goes for brightly colored murals or furniture.

His room should be pretty dark and cut way back on the wrestling and physical activity in the hour or so before bed.

Create a consistent bedtime routine, something like: bath, story, backrub, bedtime song and lights out. Of course you can make up your own, but make it the same every night.

If that doesn’t take care of the problem. it, you’ll need to get a little tough.

Pick up your son and put him back in his own bed – and keep doing that as many times as it takes. Keep the conversation to a minimum. When you get back to his room, just rub his back or hum a song to help him get back to sleep.

Try to anticipate and overcome his objections.

Preschoolers are masters at concocting excuses for why they shouldn’t go to sleep: I need a drink of water, one more hug, one more story and so on. If, for example, he always asks for a glass of water, leave one for him in the bathroom in a place he can reach it.

And make sure that all his stuffed animals are nearby so he won’t have to get up in the middle of the night for a Teddy-bear hunt.

Armin Brott is the author of many best-selling books on fatherhood. His new DVD, “Toolbox for New Dads,” has just been released. You can find out more about it and Armin’s other resources for fathers at www.mrdad.com or by emailing arminmrdad.com. Try DaddyCast, his new, twice-weekly podcast (http://www.mrdad.com/daddycast.