Bathroom accidents with my 9-year-old

My son has been having bathrooms accidents on and off for several years. His pediatrician says it's normal in some boys and to remind him to go frequently. Frequent reminding helps with number one, but the other is still a problem. He says that he can't feel it before it starts coming out. The pediatrician has also recommended stool softeners but that doesn't seem to help him get the signal earlier. Sometimes he'll have an accident in the shower right after sitting on the toilet.

Should I find another pediatrician? What else can I do? I'm so worried for him.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

The odds are that he is fine medically but, if he has never been evaluated by a pediatric gastroenterologist, he should be. If he is OK on that front, the most frequent cause for such a condition is impacted bowels resulting from constipation. When that occurs, the bowels essentially have to be cleaned out via a regimen of laxatives and stool softeners, under a doctor's guidance.