Why do children liek about accidents? Can constipation persist despite enemas? What's the best treatment for teen bedwetting? Dr. Steve Hodges answers parents’ questions about bedwetting, encopresis, constipation, accidents, and M.O.P.

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.

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.

By Steve Hodges, M.D. It's a myth that Ex-Lax is unsafe for children with chronic constipation. Parents often ask me how long children...

I’ve treated enuresis and encopresis for 20+ years, and if there’s a one insight I could share, it’s this: Miralax won’t cut it.

We covered poop and pee withholding, bladder medication, Ex-Lax and Miralax, a recurrence of accidents in a teenager, and explosive pee acci

When I explain to parents that their child’s bedwetting and daytime accidents are caused by constipation — not an underdeveloped bladder, de

Poop smears, aka “skid marks,” aren’t caused by a failure to use toilet paper; rather, they signal the child’s rectum is harboring stool an

By Steve Hodges, M.D. If there’s one critical lesson I’ve learned in my 20+ years of medical practice, it’s this: Encopresis and enuresis...