Bed wetters' parents ask: What's a few wet sheets?

A while back, I received a letter from a 12-year-old whoseparents were making him sleep in a crib. They told him that if hewas going to act like a baby, they'd treat him like a baby. This,along with beatings, was how they chose to deal with the boy'sbed-wetting.

After I printed the boy's letter, many readers wrote to offerempathy and advice. A sampling:

From a father: "When I was 8 years old and wet the bed, I'dsometimes get spanked. I went to bed afraid and tense. Maybe Istayed awake too long, trying not to have an accident, and then Ifell asleep so soundly that I couldn't wake up.

"But on my 9th birthday, my mother hugged me and said, `It's OK,honey. …