putting a 7 year old to bed

I think that's tough. My seven year old still sleeps with us often and my nine year old occasionally. It may be that the parents are having you do it because they feel it will be easier for her to separate if it's you.

It doesn't sound like you have much control over the situation, but if you could change it, it seems like something more incremental might work. Like if you could start by staying with her but not in her bed, then slowly move the chair closer and closer to the door over a course of weeks until you're sitting outside.

Yes, it does seem that the parents want you to do the dirty deed. It won't be
easy if she has slept in Mom's room for 7 years and should go "cold turkey"
now.
Perhaps you can strike a deal with the girl. Tell her that you'll stay and read
her a story if she promises to be good and go to sleep afterwards. You also
have to tell her what happens if she doesn't comply - no bedtime story and
lights off immediately.

It's a rotten thing to do for the mother to let you do the weening off, it really
should be her job, but I think you like the girl and have compassion, so it's
better to help her than leave her traumatized and scared in her room alone.

We had this trouble with our grandaughter. Parents were going thru a divorce, but the child was a difficult sleeper anyway.

She needs a physical, first to rule out any physical issues. (UTI, diabetes, etc)

Then - re-do the room. Get her involved. Let her choose a "big girl" bed. Get some stuffed animal friends for her to sleep with. Bulletin boards for her to put artwork and or pictures.

The idea is to make her room the most comfortable room in the house for her BUT it is her place to sleep.

Good luck, my grandaughter still has sleep problems. She is just one of those kids that does not require a lot of sleep. but she does stay in her room.

Mom has to be supportive and help her decorate the room. (Adults DO have a roll in this. My daughter was not consistent with insisting she stay in her bed. It can be exhausting to do this process of breaking this habit. )

Is there a father in the home? (My daughter was single over this time, and her daughter may have thought she was taking her father's place in the bed)

That's so sad! Very much agreed with FreeDuck and CJane that it's not fair for you to have to do the dirty work.

Something to look forward to seemed to really help my daughter with this -- as in, not just laying there thinking "I will not get out of bed, I will not get out of bed" but "if I stay here I will earn ______." We had a chart at first, with staggered rewards. (i.e. a reward immediately after one night, then another reward after she did it for two nights, then another after three, etc., with a big reward after a whole week.)

At seven, is she having sleepovers? That can be a good motivator, too -- if she can go to sleep on her own, she can have a sleepover/ go on a sleepover.

give her bena drill thts what my foster parents do to me when i was like 12 now im 13 its just knokes uss out