Need to Keep the Shades Closed

Maybe put a pad by the window so he can lay down and still look out? Or a comfy chair? If he is just sitting there he may eventually fall asleep. If not, you are at least getting some quiet time without him even if he does not sleep. Maybe just tell him that he has to stay in his room but he can either sleep or relax by the window. My oldest napped until 3, the younger one stopped at about 2.5 since there was a fun toddler in the house to stay awake for. He may be getting to the end of his naps, but if you can continue the quiet time in his room he should be getting some down time if not true sleep.

are they the kind of shade that has a pull string? if so tie them up out of his reach with a small hook, and give him a consequence for getting out of bed instead of napping.

It may be cute but if you really want him to stop can you tie the cords up high out of his reach (they're a choking hazard, I have friends with a young child left a vegetable by his choking in a blinds cord accident) or put something in front of the blinds to prevent him from opening them and discourage him? A dresser or something he can't climb? And remove the chair out of his room at naptime?

Hmm.. I agree with Teenmom, consider moving is bed in front of the window and let him sit there looking out.. Maybe play some super calming music and he will pass out.

The whole point is for him to get some rest. If he is not running around and being active.. as long as he stays quiet and in the bed.. it should be fine.

He is getting a lot of super active play in the morning? Children are bundles of energy.. It takes an hour to an hour and a half of super active play each morning and each afternoon. He may need 2 hours.

Maybe this summer see if you can get him into swimming lessons and then swim with him after the class.

Can he nap in a different room? I can't get my 2 yr old to nap in his room, as he can also open the shades, but I can get him to nap in my bed.

You can't force a child to sleep, but you can enforce quiet time. My kids both went through phases when they wouldn't nap but would play quietly in their rooms for the rest time. When they didn't sleep, bedtime ended up having to be a lot earlier! My 2.5 y/o just finished a no-nap phase (of 3 months) and is now napping regularly again. I found that the more I tried to convince her to nap, the more resistent she was. If he wants to spend his quiet time looking out the window, I say, let him. Keep treating it like nap time and you expect him to sleep, but as long as he's safe, leave him alone until naptime is over. He'll most likely return to naps eventually!

Have you tried telling him that he can not get out of his bed until you come get him? This is what I did when we moved my 2 yr old to a bed. That was 7 months ago and she has only tried to come out twice. Sometimes she does not nap but she stays in bed resting and talking to her stuffed toys.

Why not just leave them open? Having them closed isn't helping him to nap. He may not need the extra sleep. When that happened to my kids, it was time start doing "quiet reading time" or some other kind of quiet time to train them to be still and think their own thoughts (so I could get a nap).