A 180-year-old boy suffered from bedwetting — a very large boy: height 12 cm, age XNUMX years. His parents came with him and began to tell me how they punish him for a wet bed: they poke his face into the wet sheets, and deprive him of sweets, and do not let him play with his comrades. And they scolded him, and flogged him, forced him to wash his linen, clean up his bed, did not let him drink after noon. And poor Joe went to bed for twelve years in a row and dutifully made his bed every night without exception.
Finally, in early January, his parents brought him to me. I said, “Joe, you’re a big boy now. Listen to what I tell your parents. Dear Parents, Joe is my patient and no one should interfere with my patients. You, mother, will wash Joe’s clothes and put his bed in order. You will stop scolding him. You will not oppress him. And stop reminding him of the wet bed. And you, father, will not punish him or deprive him of anything. Treat him like a model son. That’s all I wanted to tell you about Joe.»
I put Joe in a light trance and said, “Listen to me, Joe. It’s been 12 years now that you’ve wet your bed. Learning to sleep in a dry bed takes time. In your case, it may take more time than usual. Everything is fine. You have the right to a certain period of time to learn how to sleep in a dry bed. It’s the beginning of January now. I don’t think we’ll be successful in less than a month, well, February is generally a short month, so decide for yourself when you’re done with dampness, I think April Fool’s Day would be nice.»
The period from the beginning of January to St. Patrick’s Day (before April Fools’ Day) seems so long for a boy of twelve. This is by children’s standards. So I said, “Joe, it’s nobody’s business when you start a dry life — on St. Patrick’s Day or April Fools’ Day. It doesn’t even concern me. It will be your secret.»
In June, his mother came to me and said: “Joe has had a dry bed for a long time. I just noticed it today.» She couldn’t tell how long ago it had started. I didn’t know either. Maybe on St. Patrick’s Day, or maybe on April Fools’ Day. This is Joe’s secret. Parents paid attention to a dry bed only in June.