'I'm a paediatrician and the "camp-out method" is key to get your kids sleeping in their own bed.'

You've tried everything — the bribes, the threats, the elaborate reward charts.

And yet, somehow, you still wake up with a tiny elbow in your eye socket. Because that sweet, tiny human you birthed now insists on being in your bed every… single… night.

And it's not just a phase that passes quickly, either. For many parents, this sleep-stealing saga can drag on for years.

Watch: Dr Golly solving a sleep dilemma on This Glorious Mess. Post continues below.

If your back aches from sleeping on that sliver of mattress you've been allocated, if you're tired of being kicked in the kidneys all night, or if you just want to remember what it's like to have an adult conversation in bed without a small person wedged between you — paediatrician Dr Golly has a method that might just save your sanity (and your sleep).

The 'Camping Out' Sleep Method.

First things first, Dr Golly emphasises that co-sleeping isn't inherently problematic.

"Co-sleeping is not a problem if it's not a problem for you," he told Mamamia's This Glorious Mess podcast.

But for parents who want to transition children to independent sleeping, Dr Golly recommends the "camping out" method as one of his favourite gentle parenting techniques.

"Instead of them coming to your room, you actually move into their room. It's a slow process. It takes about two weeks, but you ever so slowly move your single mattress away from their bed, eventually to the door, eventually outside the door, eventually into the corridor," Dr Golly explained.

The key is gradual separation "edging away 20 centimetres a night, so that there is this acceptable separation between your child and you."

While this approach requires patience and commitment from parents, Dr Golly insisted that it works.

But it's important to set the boundaries and routine early.

"The earlier you stop the co-sleeping, the better. There's no question. And also, the more structured, reliable, consistent routine that you have, the more likely you are to succeed," Dr Golly said.

He points out that attempting this transition with an overtired child is "almost like a recipe for disaster." A well-rested child will adapt much more easily to sleeping independently.

Listen to the full conversation with Dr Golly on This Glorious Mess. Post continues below.

The Calm Return Approach.

If your child does make their way to your room during the night, Dr Golly recommends a specific strategy.

"The key if you are returning a child to bed who has entered your room in the night is about a calm return," he said.

This approach has two important components:

Avoid engaging in confrontation: "You don't want to engage in a fight at two in the morning. You don't want to get the cortisol going, the adrenaline going, trying to rationalise... you can't teach at two in the morning."

Don't provide reinforcement: "You don't want to reward them in any way... any response from a parent is good, even if it is an angry parent or a frustrated parent."

Instead, Dr Golly suggests becoming "a calm, borderline perfunctory, robotic version of you, where you just take their hand and very calmly walk them back to their bed and give them no positive reinforcement for coming to get you."

This approach might require multiple returns initially, but children quickly learn there's no reward for the behaviour.

"You might get up 10 times on night one, but only three times on night two and once on night three, and then it's done," he said.

While nighttime interactions should be minimal, mornings are the time for celebration.

"In the morning, when you do wake up, you need to strip off that robotic mum or robotic dad persona and be showering them with love and attention, and positive reinforcement if they have managed to stay in bed," he explained.

"You focus on the time spent in bed, not the number of times they came to your bed and you had to return them."

Dr Golly reassuringly concludes that regardless of your child's age or how long sleep issues have persisted, it is never too late to help them develop healthy sleep habits.

For more help with sleeping issues: Dr Golly's Sleep and Toddler Toolkit Parenting Programs 

Feature Image: Retail Pharmacy Magazine / Instagram @drgolly.