Struggling to get your baby or toddler to sleep and need a laugh? Just follow our no-fuss 26-step guide. A cheeky look at the conflicting sleep advice in all the parenting books and websites - how can you go wrong?!

Getting your darling child to just close their eyes and stay asleep can sometimes feel like an impossible task.

Even better, just when you think you've got it nailed and your bundle of joy is finally sleeping through the night, along comes separation anxiety to mess with all your hard work.

Not to mention sleep regression, that wonderful period that can crop up when your tiny human is around 18 months to 2 years old where they decide that actually, no, they don't want to sleep after all, thanks!

Lucky us then, because there are just so many websites, books and experts out there with wonderfully insightful advice to help you to get the little monsters back to bed. If only they could all agree with each other ...

• Check out all our articles about helping to get your baby to sleep for some actually helpful advice!

Here's a list of our favourite, incredibly useful sleep tips to follow, according to the collected wisdom of lots of people who have never met your kids.

1. Put your baby down when they're awake so they get used to self-settling.

2. Don't wake your baby if they fell asleep when feeding.

3. Don't let a baby sleep too much except when they've been napping too long. Then wake them.

4. NEVER wake a sleeping baby.

5. White noise helps a baby settle and sleep.

6. White noise has little or no effect on helping your baby fall asleep.

7. Naps should NEVER be taken in the stroller, car seat or baby swing.

8. If your baby has trouble sleeping, try popping them in a car seat, stroller or baby swing.

9. Don't sleep train until your baby is six months old.

10. If you wait too long before sleep training, your baby will never sleep without you.

11. Don't watch the clock and be a slave to routine.

12. Routine, routine, routine. It's the only way.

13. Keep the room they're sleeping in warm.

14. Make sure the room they are sleeping in is never too warm.

15. If your baby needs settling, feed them.

16. Never feed a baby just to settle them to sleep - it'll disturb their feeding routine.

17. Safely co-sleeping or letting your baby sleep next to you in a safe way can help them to sleep well.

18. Be careful as if you ever let your child share your bed - they will insist on doing so until they leave home.

19. Have a set time each day when you put your baby down for a nap or a sleep.

20. Be aware of scheduling as you will become a slave to your baby's sleep patterns and will become a prisoner in your own home.

21. Letting your baby cry it out can be harmful and cause possible damage.

22. Be careful not to be too soft as your baby will become dependent on you.

23. Sleep when your baby sleeps.

24. Hoover when your baby hoovers.

25. Clean when your baby cleans.

26. Ask your baby if they have any ideas about how to get them to sleep. You never know!

Is it possible that too much advice is a bad thing?