With Matilda I still hold her hand while she goes to bed. I don't mind, I guess its a way of connecting right before she goes to sleep. If she wakes up in the middle of the night (rare now) I go and hold her hand for a few minutes and then stay until she is asleep. She's 4.

With Jovie, we sit on the end of the bed while she falls asleep. If she wakes up in the middle of the night, we co-sleep so we get rest. Otherwise we are up for ages getting her to sleep. Its exhausting. We did the same with Matilda, and she is now sleeping through most of the times and takes 15 minutes to get to sleep.... I personally would rather comfort them as much as we can.