Kids and constipation: What to do when your child can’t go
Constipation is difficulty moving the bowels – or pooping. It’s common among kids, particularly if they’ve had a change in their routine or been sick. Constipation is usually temporary, but it can lead to discomfort, accidents, and frustration.
If the issue doesn’t resolve itself in a couple of days, help is available. Elissa M. Downs, MD MPH, a pediatric gastroenterologist with M Health Fairview Pediatrics and an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School gives advice for what to try at home and when to see a specialist.
“Our intestines thrive on routine,” Downs said. “So if anything disrupts the routine like going back to school, traveling, illness, holidays, or eating differently, it's really easy to become constipated.”
Once a child is constipated, it can be difficult to get the bowels moving again. Sometimes it starts because it hurts to poop one time, so they’re hesitant to try later. As more waste sits in the intestines, it can get harder and more difficult to pass. The intestines also start moving slower, and then can stretch out as they hold on to more waste, which makes the constipation cycle harder to break.
Signs that your child is experiencing constipation include:
- Infrequent bowel movements, every other day or less often
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Complaints of abdominal pain
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Difficulty passing hard, dry poop
- Traces of soiling in their underwear
Here are some strategies to try.
Drink more water
“Start with how much they’re drinking because most kids probably don't drink enough water,” Downs said.
How much kids need might vary based on size, activity level, and the weather. Here are the American Academy of Pediatrics daily recommendations for fluid intake by age:
- 1 - 3-year-olds: 4 cups
- 4 - 8-year-olds: 5 cups
- Older: 7-8 cups
You can encourage more water by bringing your child’s water bottle with you when you’re away from home and having them bring it to school.
Add fiber
Try to encourage your child to eat fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds that contain fiber. Fiber helps move things along in the digestive system.
Kids can even eat these foods when they’re feeling sick. The old advice was to eat bland foods, like toast and applesauce, with a stomachache. But experts now recommend that people eat whatever they’ll tolerate because the bland diet lacked nutrients and didn’t help people feel better.
Downs also said that limiting kids, especially picky eaters, to two to three glasses of milk and one glass of a sugary beverage per day can encourage them to eat a wider variety of foods. “We tend to see that kids fill up on milk and then they don't want to eat other types of foods because they're full,” Downs said.
Get active
Running around outside, climbing on the jungle gym, and riding bikes strengthens kids’ muscles and helps prevent straining on the toilet. The more kids move their muscles, the more it helps food and waste move through their intestines, which also have muscular tissue.
See a doctor
If these home remedies don’t help, talk to your child’s pediatrician or schedule with a pediatric gastroenterologist. They can help identify the cause of the problem and, if needed, test children for more rare contributing issues to constipation, like celiac disease, motility disorders, or pelvic muscle strength changes.
To treat constipation, healthcare providers need to find the cause of it, which can take some detective work. You can help by noting when constipation started and if anything makes it better. Note what kinds of food your child is eating, how often they’re having bowel movements, and if anything happened around the same time, such as an illness or a vacation.
