How Do I Teach My Child to Sleep Alone?

I always have a problem to ask my little girl to sleep on her own bed. Hakim doesn't have the problem anymore, I think because he was separated from sleeping with us when he was 18 months because of his new sister. But now with my Aishah, I really need to force her to sleep alone on her bed. She always want me to sleep beside her when she went to bed and when she woke up at night she will waking up Hakim and ask Hakim to open the door for her. But I am glad that Hakim doesn't need a diaper anymore. So our routine will be, before sleep to the toilet and then before we sleep we put him on aishah's potty for lou. This help us a lot.

I get this from Parent.com, and I think the tricks are always working when you really have discipline, not like me..:(

How Do I Teach My Child to Sleep Alone?

It can be a bit more challenging beyond the infant stage, but every child can be taught to self-soothe and fall asleep by himself," says Parents advisor Judith Owens, MD, coauthor of Take Charge of Your Child's Sleep. There are different ways to get him snoozing solo. Choose the one that works best for your lifestyle and your child's temperament.

The hard-line strategy: You put your child to bed and leave. Try your best to ignore any protests, and if he comes out of his room escort him back and simply say, "You need to stay in bed." Some experts suggest putting a gate up so there's no escape. This technique can be tough on both parent and child but often works well and quickly, says Dr. Owens. This one I already tried but still cannot stand when she is crying

The graduated method: You put your child to bed but tell him that you'll come back in five minutes to check on him -- and you follow through with that promise. Then, keep checking on him, waiting successively longer intervals of time before going back into his room. Eventually, your child will get bored waiting and fall asleep. This is the method most parents choose. Sometimes I use this trick and it always work when she is really sleepy. Not even 5 minute she already gone.

The gentle approach: You stay in your child's room but don't lie in his bed or interact with him. For example, the first night sit in a chair by his bed. Each night, move farther away from him. Ideally, by the time you've edged your way out of the room he has learned to fall asleep on his own. I tried to sit on her bed and give her a soft massage on her leg but always she insist ask me to sleep with her and i will fall asleep ..Gosh..what can I do..I hope she will change when she is 3 or 4 years old.