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Healthy and unhealthy bowel movements

Children are sometimes subject to problems with their bowel movements. So how do you tell when there’s a problem, and how can you treat it?

Toddler diarrhoea

It’s quite common for young children between the ages of one and five to pass frequent smelly and loose stools with mucus and bits of food clearly within them.

These kind of bowel movements are known as ‘toddler diarrhoea’, and often occur in children who are otherwise healthy and growing well. It’s often the case that the doctor can’t find the cause.

However, there are some ways you can treat the problem yourself:

• Be aware of how much fluid your child is taking at mealtimes and in between meals. If it’s a lot, then cut back.
• If your child wants a drink in-between meals, offer some snack food at the same time, such as a piece of bread and butter. This will help absorb some of the fluids.
• Try introducing more foods containing fat such as full-fat yogurt and cheese.
• If your child’s diet includes lots of fibre or wholemeal food, then reduce the amounts a little, as this could be making your child’s stools looser. Make sure their diet is varied and balanced.

Constipation

There are some people who believe that unless you pass a stool at least once per day there’s something wrong with you. This isn’t true – when it comes to a toddler's bowel movements, there's no normal number for each day. There may be up to two days between bowel movements. Various factors will influence how often he has a movement, including: what he eats and drinks, how active he is and how quickly he digests his food.

If you think your toddler could be constipated, look for the following clues;

• Very infrequent bowel movements with four or more days between them.
• Obvious signs of discomfort when he does have a movement.
• When a bowel movement does appear, it’s dry and hard.
• Surprisingly, very liquid stools in your child’s movements can also be evidence of constipation, as it can still slip past the blockage in the lower intestine. So if this is the case, don’t assume your child has diarrhoea.

Why is my toddler getting constipated?

The most likely reasons for your toddler's constipation are:

• Not eating enough fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
• Eating too much milk, cheese, yogurt, or peanut butter.
• Feelings of anxiety about going to the toilet that stop him from using it as often as they should.
• If your child becomes dehydrated his system will respond by absorbing more fluid from whatever he eats or drinks and from the waste in his bowels. This causes his stools to become dry, hard and difficult to pass.
• Movement and activity helps blood to flow to your toddler’s digestive system. So if he’s not very active, he may experience more problems with constipation.

How can I treat my toddler's constipation?

• Because some foods have a binding effect on the digestive system -including bananas, cooked carrots, squash, and large quantities of dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream – limit your toddler’s intake of these foods, and keep dairy servings to the equivalent of ½ a cup of milk per day.
• The kind of foods that will help your child to have a healthy digestive system include: whole wheat crackers, cereal, bread, prunes, apricots, plums, peas, beans and broccoli.
• Increase the amount of water they drink, including a little prune or apple juice. But remember to limit your toddler’s daily juice consumption to about 4 ounces per day, to prevent tooth decay problems.
• Encourage plenty of movement every day to get the blood flowing to his organs. This can include crawling, cruising, and walking.
• Try using massage to help the bowel movement to happen. First measure three finger-widths below his navel, and apply gentle but firm pressure with your fingertips. Press until you feel a mass. Then maintain gentle but constant massage pressure for about three minutes.
• Prebiotics are friendly bacteria that help ensure a healthy bowel and softer bowel movements. Introduce them to his diet with prebiotic yogurts and drinks. Aptamil growing up milk for 2-3 year olds also has prebiotics to help aid digestion.
• Encourage your child to use the potty or toilet as soon as the feeling arises.
• But if he says he never feels ready, suggest he spends five to ten minutes on the toilet after breakfast and dinner anyway, to see if anything happens.
• If your toddler passes stools that cause tears at the opening of his anus(known as anal fissures) treat them with some aloe vera lotion, and mention the problem to your doctor.
• If constipation is still a problem, talk to your doctor about treatment options.