Toddlers and Constipation
The Hidden Hazard of Potty Training
Whatever the reason, a toddler that becomes afraid to have a bowel movement may begin resisting his urge to poop and start holding it in. Unfortunately, holding it in only makes the problem worse. The stool gets larger and harder to pass, often times stretching the intestines. This directly causes weak muscle tone, making the stool even more difficult to pass. When a child passes a stool at this stage, the large stool can tear the rectal wall, creating an anal fissure. This can cause a small amount of bleeding and some pain, which often intensifies the child's fear of bowel movements.
To prevent constipation, a parent should be aware of the possibility during the potty training process. It is very important to encourage, but not pressure, your toddler to use the potty for bowel movements. Too much pressure could lead to the child's need to feel in control of the situation. He controls it by holding in his poop.
Some signs that he may be holding it in are infrequent bowel movements coupled with obvious pain or discomfort. Complaints of stomach ache and irritable behavior are other signs that your child may be having a problem. Some children will even refuse to eat or drink in this state.
It's important to act fast, yet discreetly, at the first sign that your child is holding in bowel movements. Try to determine if he is afraid to poop in the toilet. If your toddler is only comfortable pooping in a diaper, let him use a diaper until he seems ready to try the toilet. Many toddlers, who are otherwise potty trained, will request a diaper when it is time to poop. If your child has a history of holding it in, it is wise to honor his request.
Make sure your child is drinking plenty of liquids, especially water and fruit juice. Offer liquids throughout the day and provide plenty of high fiber foods, such as fruits and vegetables, but refrain from telling your toddler that these foods will help him poop. If he refuses to eat and drink, try to get him to take a teaspoon of liquid corn syrup. Often, something high in sugar will help move the bowels.
If the problem persists, take your toddler to the doctor. Constipation in a toddler is not a problem that should be ignored. The doctor may prescribe a laxative for more serious cases.
Many toddlers suffer from mild constipation during the potty training process. A healthy, high fiber diet and no pressure to poop on the potty can make this phase a short one. Watch for the warning signs of constipation and be sure to follow up with a doctor if the symptoms persist.
Published by Barb Hacker
Lucy is thrilled to be realizing her dream of freelance writing. She got her start at AC, has branched out into a few other content writing sites and has now started to expand into print media. View profile
- Infant Potty Training: Is It for You?Many parents around the world are now trying what is known as infant potty training. This is a process where parents begin potty training their kids at around five to six months. But does this really work?
- What You Should Know Before You Start Potty Training a ChildBefore starting to potty train a toddler, parents should make sure that the child is ready for potty training.
- Eliminating Stomach and Bowel Disorders in Toddlers Sometimes, old-fashioned remedies from the grandma and grandpa can help children get relief from common stomach and bowel disorders.
- How to Naturally Treat Constipation in ToddlersToddlers frequently suffer from constipation and it is often diet related. Since most children under 2 cannot take commercial laxatives, you will want to treat the problem naturally, if possible.
- Potty Training a Three Year OldOne mom finds potty training success with patience and financial concepts. And patience.
- Positive Reinforcement in Potty Training
- Potty Training Your Child: What Works
- 9 Potty Training Tips for Your Puppy Dog
- Tips on Potty Training Productively
- Potty Training by Age One is the Wave of the Future for American Parents - Some Ca...
- Prepare Yourself and Your Child for the Potty Training Challenge
- Puppy Potty Training 101
- Some toddlers are fearful of bowel movements.
- Let your toddler continue to use a diaper to poop if he is afraid of the toilet.
- Do not pressure your toddler to poop on the toilet.
17 Comments
Post a CommentThis is such a helpful article. I thought that I was the only mom going through this sort of thing LOL. My almost 3 year old had a really big, hard BM one day & this in result has cause her to be scared of having a BM because of the pain & uncomfortable feeling. She was so bad one weekend I had to give her apple juice & even babylax & when she finally went it was a good one but then she had diarrhea afterward. I hate seeing her go through this & she is reluctant to using the potty...Just doesn't wanna do it? I suppose when she's ready she'll go but I just hate to see her crying & have a tummy ache...She eventually will go after a few days but it's very stressful on me as her mother cause all I can do is comfort her & try remedies to help her have a softer stool!!! This article was so very helpful!!!
if u dont like kids then what the hell r u doing on this web page, pedophile! maybe ur the one that needs a little help...
Great Article! My daughter is almost 4 and she had a few bad experiences with constipation and is now afraid to have a bowel movement on the potty or even in her diaper. We are now to the point that she will go 3 or 4 days without a bowel movement. When she finally can't hold it anymore we have to give her a babylax to help her because she is so impacted. I don't know how to get her out of this cycle. She eats vegetables, fruits and I have even been giving her metamucil in her juice in the morning, which the doctor recommended. Nothing seems to be working at this point. I plan on making another Dr's appointment to have them check for any medical issues that may be going on that we are not aware of.
My 2yr old girl has been getting constipated ever since i started her on the gummiebear vitamins, at first i thought it was cause of the iron but, i read on the lable and they dont have iron. she is not potty trained yet and i dont push her to go in the toilet. she still drinks milk but she didn't have a problem with the milk before i started her on the vitamins. my question is could it be the vitamins or something else
My daughter is 2 and has been holding in poop for days at a time for about one year.
My doctor said it was just a phase, so I let it go and have been giving her flax seed oil, baby lax....which didn't work.
I FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT!!! It is milk. She was on lactose free milk so for some reason, I thought it could not be the milk. Come to find out there is a milk allergy, a lactose allergy and a dairy allergy! She does not eat cheese or yogurt-so its not dairy, she was drinking lactose free milk, so it wasnt lactose...it has to be the milk. Sure enough. It has been 9 days since I took her off milk. She pooped on her own by day 3 and has every day with no grunting or sweating or holding it in. No more hard as rocks, huge poo's. The consistency is like playdoh-how it should be. And she is so happy when she does it. she says "good girl, went poo poo didnt hurt". Awwww, just breaks your heart.
Please all you mothers, try taking away milk for at least 7 days and see if it works for you t
Whoops. Great article, LUCY! :) See what sleep deprivation will do to you? ;)
Great article Amy. Thanks!
unfortunatly we are beyond this point, we had to take our 2 year old to the Emergency room yesterday because he held it in so long, 3 hours of on and off the potty and mommy tring to console and "help" and we had to manually extract the bowel on the nurses behalf, and he bled so badly that we took him in to get checked, long story short, he had an adult sized enima, and we have to see a pedi-gastro. speciallist now... his medicine the doctor provided gave him diareah.. we'll see what the doc says...
Great Advice. This is my two-year-old exactly. I wish I had read this article earlier then we might not have had the problems we have had.
Good article! :) We are trying to get her used to the potty early (10 months) so it's done before she's totally used to getting her to go in her pants. Hopefully this will relieve some of the pressure when she's older.