I know “fake news” is a cliché, but seriously, the kindergartners-in-diapers “trend” is bogus and tiresome to read about. Meanwhile, journalists are ignoring important stories pertaining to childhood toileting dysfunction.

Few topics spark more controversy than potty training, a developmental milestone that, in the age of social media, has become a competitive sport. Now the UK government has weighed in with a campaign asserting it’s “best” for children to ditch diapers between 18 and 30 months of age. The campaign, while well-meaning, spells bad news for kids and, ironically, good news for the diaper industry.

Children with encopresis, nighttime wetting, and/or daytime enuresis absolutely can overcome these conditions and the chronic constipation that is the root cause.

Over the last half-century, the psychiatry profession has done plenty of harm to children with enuresis (bedwetting and daytime wetting) by linking this condition to emotional problems or abuse.

Potty-training struggles at age 2 or 3 are a giant red flag for chronic constipation and should not be dismissed ("no worries, she'll outgrow it") or treated as a psychological issue.

Few conditions are as misunderstood and mismanaged as nocturnal enuresis, aka bedwetting. Parents are told their child will “outgrow it,” that bedwetting is a “normal part of childhood development” and doesn’t warrant treatment until age 7, 10, or older. Common explanations run the gamut: an underdeveloped bladder, deep sleep, hormone imbalance, a bladder that “hasn’t caught up with the brain,” emotional stress or anxiety. All those explanations are wrong.  

How can you potty train to prevent constipation? What if your 17-year-old is still bedwetting? How do you wean your child off enemas without having accidents return?

My older child has struggled so much with enuresis and encopresis that I would do anything to avoid all that misery with my youngest. What advice do you have to potty training to prevent constipation?

By Steve Hodges, M.D., Here are a few questions recently posted by members of our p rivate enuresis/encopresis support group or emailed to me. Olive oil enemas, such as the Double M.O.P. and J-M.O.P. protocols, effectively help resolve fecal impaction. Q:  My son is 15 and wets the bed 4-5 times per week. We are desperate. His bedwetting affects many areas of his life, as well as ours. Where should we start? A: I have many teenage enuresis patients and understand your family’

Goodnites' ad campaign is insidious. It’s designed to “tackle social stigma in a way that is sophisticated and thoughtful,” a worthy aim, to be sure. But what the project actually does is perpetuate medical misinformation and leverage families’ distress for the purpose of selling product.