Sleeping problems, toddler refuses to sleep alone or for more than three hours

My husband and I are parents of 3. Our 1 year old refuses to sleep in his crib, right now he sleeps in his playpen (kind of), but he gets up every 2-3 hours. When he gets up he wants to be rocked and the moment you try to put him down he is awake, so we end up in the rocking chair all night. When he gets up he doesn't want to eat (he is a excellent eater) or play, he wants to sleep but he wants to sleep on us. How can I get him to sleep in his bed instead of on us or the playpen, and how can I get him to sleep longer then 3 hours at night?

You said you are parents of 3. If one of the other children are close to his age such as 3 or 4 then try to have them sleep in the same room. If he is encouraged to sleep on his own in a crib rather than bed and his fellow playmate who is 3 or 4 this may ease him out of his habit.

Also try to nix the habit of rocking him back to sleep. This is a rule you need to enforce to get him out of the bad habit. On a weekend where you would be able to risk some sleep try to place him in his playpen and place him back to sleep this way. Get him some water or milk and place him back. Eventually you can try and ease him out of the playpen by placing him in his crib for naptime. If he is tired enough he will eventually sleep in the crib for naptime and hopefully will get used to the idea and maybe transition for nighttime. All I can say is to try and be patient, it takes time.

you have to let him cry himself to sleep. he won't like it for a while but if he dosn't learn how to make himself go to sleep then he will have sleeping problems when he's older. maybe rock him for a bit then put him to bed. if he cries just leave the room. make sure its quiet so that it will be easier for him to fall asleep. he will cry for a long time but if he cries long enough then he will wear himself out and fall asleep. but every time you give in and rock him all night he will cry for twice as long the next time. start now so that he can teach himself.