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Of all the challenges parents face, getting your kids to sleep properly is possibly the biggest.

Whether it's a screaming 6-month-old or a scared two-year-old, a full night's sleep is a goal that can sometimes seem almost impossible to achieve.

If your baby won't sleep through the night or you want to know how to get your baby to sleep in the first place, use our expert advice to get your solve all your kids sleeping problems.

Baby sleep solutions

Perfected by Baby Whisperer Tracy Hogg, follow these steps to help your baby learn to settle herself without leaving her to cry it out.

Step 1: Watch for your baby's sleepy signs: yawning, eye-rubbing and general crankiness.

Step 2: Put your baby in her cot while she's drowsy but awake.

Step 3: If your baby cries, pick her up and comfort her with a 'shhh' sound until she stops crying, then put her down.

Step 4: Continue with picking her up if she gets upset. Eventually she'll realise that although you're there to soothe her you'll put her down once she's calm, and she'll learn to fall asleep by herself. She'll begin to associate the 'shhh' sound with sleep so that if she wakes the sound alone should help her settle.

This is the gentlest way of teaching your baby to fall asleep by herself. It can take a long time unless you're really tuned in to spotting when your baby's tired. Plus, constantly bending to pick up your baby can be hard on your back.

Tough out the tears

US sleep guru Richard Ferber recommends leaving your baby to cry for progressively longer periods of time until she settles herself.

Step 1: Put your baby in her cot awake, say goodnight to her, then leave the room.

Step 2: If your baby cries, wait five minutes before going in. Stay for a few minutes to reassure her, then say goodnight and leave the room.

Step 3: If your baby is still crying after five more minutes, go back in and repeat the process. This time, wait for 10 minutes before going back in, and extend the time between visits by two minutes until she falls asleep.

It's probably the quickest sleep-training method. This short, sharp shock treatment takes a will of iron, because you have to wait while your baby cries and every instinct is telling you to comfort her. Although this technique works for many parents, some health professionals feel it may be emotionally and psychologically harmful to leave your baby to cry for any length of time.

- More baby sleep solutions
- Toddler sleep solutions

More help and advice

- Sleep strategies that really work
- Sleep problems in children
- Find out more about insomnia
- Is your child ruining your sleep? Find some help in Chat

By Kate Brophy

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