Constipation in children

The biggest difficulty for some children, during toilet training, is learning to "poo in the potty". While many children achieve this without any great difficulty there are a few who, for a variety of reasons are reluctant to part with solid matter. This may be related to a fear of the toilet or to discomfort at something weighted dropping away. Refusing to "poo", over a prolonged period, can cause constipation.

Children who have had difficulty in passing a bowel movement may have passed a hard stool which has resulted in a tiny tear in the anus. This can be painful and sting, consequently the child is reluctant to repeat the experience. Again, this leads to further difficulty and can compound the problem.

While it is important to have a good amount of fiber in the diet to help with the elimination of waste from the body, it is also important not to give children a diet too high in fiber as this may cause other problems. Children who are constipated may complain of abdominal pain, they may soil their nappy/underpants and may even have diarrhea as a symptom. This happens because the hard impacted stool blocks the bowel and some of the waste above this blockage is passed as fluid.

Encouraging the child to drink more water and eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, or drink more smoothies made with fresh ingredients, will certainly help alleviate this condition. Some children may require medication from the family doctor to soften the stool and allow this to be passed.

Prevention is definitely better than cure. Ensure that your child is encouraged to drink plenty of water and to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables will help in making elimination a lot easier. Praise your child when he/she uses the toilet. Encourage good toilet behaviour. Avoid allowing children to postpone toilet visits. If the child needs to go, they need to go.

Toddler Diarrhoea/Constipation

Toddler Diarrhoea is a common problem. Frequent stools which are too soft to be formed passed several times a day without any fever being present and with no dirty nappies overnight are often diagnosed as Toddler Diarrohea. The child is not vomiting and shows no other symptoms. There may be recognisable food matter, peas carrots or sweetcorn present. The stools often become more loose as the day progresses. The succession of dirty nappies start typically after the child first eats or drinks.
It is thought that this condition is due to gut immaturity and often it improves without any treatment.
Many dietary manipulations have been tried including reducing fibre, increasing fat to prolong transit times, and reducing sugar intake. Reducing fibre will help where the family have adopted healthy eating practices and have a normally high fibre intake. Tolerance of fibre increases as the child ages and arround 4-5 years a higher fibre intake is better tolerated by the child.

Constipation in children is particularly common following infection or after an anal fissure. There may also be a behavioural element to this. The child should be encouraged to eat a higher fibre diet including beans, wholegrain cereals, lentil soup, and baked beans. Encouraging fluids will also help. There is no place for mealtime battles over vegetables and young children should never be given unprocessed bran. With gentle encouragement and reassurance this is a simple issue that is easily resolved.