This morning, I took a look at toilet training in Russia's orphanages. Now I need to talk about what happens when there are problems with bathroom behavior, and most specifically about a problem called encopresis.

What's that? It is, in essence, what happens when constipation gets out of control. In slightly starker terms, stool gets so backed up in the large intestine that it begins to leak out into a child's underpants and clothing. The Cincinnati Children's... more

There was one part of Rose Alaimo's latest reports from Russia that I didn't share with you the other day: What she learned about toilet training in a Russian orphanage.

As those of you who have brought home toddlers already know, children are potty trained very early in Russian orphanages. Almost as soon as they can sit, they are made to sit on a potty after meals. Nature takes its course and the kids get into a bathroom routine fairly quickly. It is not... more