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Expert Q&A

 

By John Dorsey, M.D.
Pediatrician

My husband and I have recently divorced and it has been hard on my children. One of them, the 8-year-old, has been acting out, including wetting his bed. Is he doing this just to get attention?

The first thing to do in this case with your 8-year-old is to make sure there is no physical problem on his next visit to the pediatrician. It sounds like with what has been going on at home, it might turn out to be the result of sadness or depression about the home situation. You should continue to express that he is loved, and once it is established there is no medical problem, you might want to seek some sort of family counseling to help him and other family members cope with the changes at home. Many children of divorced parents go through a similar stage and it usually works itself out as they come to accept the changes.

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