If you are concerned about your child’s toilet habits and think they may be suffering from constipation, speak to your GP to ensure there are no underlying health conditions that could be causing it. Once medical conditions are ruled out, there are four main areas to focus on.
Fluid
Pack a water bottle on outings and offer your child a drink from it regularly. Make sure you offer water with every meal. If they really struggle, try juicy foods to aid hydration such as watermelon and cucumber. Keep milk intake to 2- 2 ½ cups per day.
Fibre
There are lots of ways to increase dietary fiber, offering more fruit and veg with every meal is a great place to start trying to increase your child’s intake.
Exercise
Moving your body can help get the bowels going. Try adding a ten minute-family walk after dinner or throwing a ball in the backyard.
Toilet routine after meals
The bladder and bowels have a memory of their own. Going to the toilet at the same time each day can help your body get into the routine of pooing regularly. Make sure you give your child some time on the toilet at least twice a day without rushing them and keep it relaxed by chatting, reading some books, or perhaps offering some privacy for older children.
Fiber, fussy eaters, and food chaining
It is all well and good telling parents to make sure they offer their children plenty of fiber, but it is another challenge ensuring the children actually eat it.
Fussy eating can occur at many stages of childhood and can be driven by several factors. If you think your child’s fussy eating is contributing to their low fiber intake and therefore causing constipation, you can try a few different things. Depending on their age and willingness to try something new you could offer them: pear juice frozen into an icy-pole, trail mix with dried fruit in it, flavored popcorn, or add ground flax seeds to your homemade baked goods.
Once you have found something they will eat, you can try a concept called food chaining. This is where you start with a food your child will eat and slowly transition to something similar that you would like them to eat. In this case, foods with more fiber.
Another important thing to remember is continual exposure to the foods you want them to eat. If it isn’t on their plate, they can’t eat it. They might not eat it the first twenty times it is offered, but eventually they might give it a go, especially if they watch you eating it at the table with them.
Read more from Bridge: https://issuu.com/continence.org.au