Sir.—A friend recently asked me for a "sidewalk" consultation about her 6-year-old son who had been having episodes of fecal incontinence. As an internist, I knew I had little advice to contribute to this pediatric problem, but nevertheless I listened carefully to the mother's story. The boy had been healthy with no past medical, social, or psychological problems. His toilet training was on schedule, and his bowel habits were normal until 2 months previously. Recently, he had had several episodes of fecal soiling, which occurred only at home during waking hours without diarrhea, pain, bleeding, or itching. In addition to these accidents, he had had several close calls when continence was preserved by sprinting to the bathroom.
The careful watch of a mother's eye soon recognized a pattern—it was Nintendo (Nintendo of America Inc, Redmond, Wash). Every episode of incontinence happened while her son was spellbound by "Super Mario