My son (aged 7) has started messing his pants. He covers it with toilet paper then hides his pants deep in the washbasket. Also, he is making an awful mess when he goes to the toilet, stains around the rim and seat, dirty finger marks on the wall and the towel rail and not cleaning himself properly. He is also bedwetting infrequently. He wasn't like this, this is not him, he could manage perfectly. I've involved his teacher(he has a few current problems in class, staring into the distance, not paying attention - he says he's bored)she thinks he is in the shadow of his older brother (aged 10)who is exceptionally gifted. There is no trauma at home, no major changes to routine, we don't treat them diffrently, we do lots of family things together. The only telling thing he said was he wanted a baby cousin. I think he doesn't want to be the baby of his immediate family. I am at my wits end, Please Help!

If he's hiding his pants he is ashamed of this situation, and rather suggests it's outwith his control.
He's not constipated and suffering 'overflow' is he?

Thank you for answering. Yes, he may be constipated, he won't tell me much and he won't let me into the toilet with him. I must say, I felt like that when I was a child and suffered greatly with constipation too. It's difficult to get him to drink much at the best of times and he's stated bringing home the oranges I send him to school with. I think a trip to the doctors in really necessary now. Thanks again.

I would take him to the doctor who may advise long term laxatives. My son also suffered really badly with constipation and has enemas etc. After nearly a year he still has a small amount of lactulose every day - the alternative is that he won't use the toilet for days and is in a lot of pain.