Reddit mentions of Imaginations: Fun Relaxation Stories and Meditations for Kids (Volume 1)

Take a look at the numerous posts on this sub about young children having trouble sleeping by themselves, and you'll see that your daughter is not a "little brat" but a completely normal kid struggling with the challenging (and often developmentally inappropriate) demands of independent sleeping -- on top of whatever other stressors may be going on in her life right now (new baby? starting kindergarten? etc). She's FIVE, of course she wants to sleep near an adult who makes her feel safe and comforted! If kids didn't have that instinct, we'd have all been eaten by wolves and died out long ago!

That said, there are certainly things you can do to work on building her confidence being alone at night. Think of it as problem-solving with her, giving her the skills to succeed, rather than trying to force her into compliance. I'll paste in what I wrote on another recent thread, hopefully some of this will be helpful:

> If he's experiencing separation anxiety (i.e. repeatedly coming out of his room to find you and your wife), talk about what might help him feel more comfortable staying in his bed. You could think about getting a special nightlight that he helps pick out, a dreamcatcher, glow-in-the-dark stars for his ceiling, etc. Teach him how to take deep belly breaths or tighten muscle groups one at a time (toes, then legs, then stomach, etc up to his face) to help him relax. This site has some great ideas for kids relaxation exercises, and there are several books such as Starbright and Imaginations which have relaxation stories you can read aloud (and this book features familiar fairytales retold as relaxation stories). There are also recordings of such stories you can download for him to listen to as he falls asleep, like Still Quiet Place, Indigo Dreams, and Bedtime Meditations for Kids. Listening to calming music can be good too.
>
>The nice thing about introducing a tool like these is that instead of "lay quietly in your bed" you can tell him to "lay quietly and listen to the music" or "lay quietly and watch the glow-in-the-dark stars on your ceiling" -- something positive for him to focus on. You can also talk about what fun things he'd like to do in his dreams, and help him imagine those happy thoughts; even agree to "meet up" and play together in your dreams so he won't feel like he's going to be alone all night. Again, this gives him something to focus on instead of thinking about trying to fall asleep.
>
>I should also add that if he's gotten used to having a parent with him to fall asleep, you may have to wean him from that support gradually. Maybe sit by his bed reading until he falls asleep, but not cuddle with him (after his bedtime routine); the next night, move your chair a bit further away. You can give him brief verbal reassurance that you're there, but remind him that it's time to lay quietly and listen to his music/watch his stars/think about playing in a treehouse in his dreams/whatever. Over time, you can move your chair further and further away until you're in the hallway, and then if necessary, offer to come check on him periodically until he falls asleep.

[edited to fix links]