for quite some time we’ve been engaged in a mostly friendly "battle" with odin.

he wanders into our bedroom at night to snuggle with us and we take him back to his bed. the battle waxes and wanes; sometimes, for weeks at a time he sleeps soundly in his own bed. and other times we’re carting him back to his bed several times a night.

seeking a constructive solution to the problem we resorted to trying an incentive program. for each night he slept through, he’d could put a sticker on a chart. we agreed on milestone incentives such as a trip to the children’s museum after receiving 15 stickers before the main prize could be claimed – a new toy of his choosing.

It seemed to work fabulously for 40 nights. he slept in his own bed. we all awoke in the morning feeling well rested and happy. he savored the experience of putting a new sticker on his chart while monitoring his progress.

the very next night odin came toddling back into our bed. you might guess his answer when we asked him why he wasn’t staying in his own bed anymore.

"because i’m not getting any stickers anymore."

hmmmm. suggestions?