After having tried over a million tricks myself (the paper brush over the face was epic!), and even given advice by a "nice" gentleman on a long 10 hour flight that Benadryl works as a charm (As a person with a pharmacist degree sir, I will have to kindly decline). I have come to the conclusion that it all depends on the child. Each child is unique is his or her own way. My oldest slept earlier and got into routine without much interaction. My youngest on the other hand, still needs me to rock him to sleep (Yeah me!). It really is a process of trial and error until the perfect solution is met. There is also quite a lot of information about sleep training out in cyber land or in books, but as I mentioned earlier, it all depends on your little one. What has your experience been?