Requesting Recipes for 4 Year Old's Constipation

Drinking cold beverages slows down digestion and puts out digestive fire, so try to give her water at room temp whenever possible. Even a warm herbal tea sometimes to warm up her insides.
Cheese is constipating, and so is white bread (use whole grain instead, like whole wheat).
Things to eat: apples, applesauce, raisins, prunes, fiber like beans, oats. Has she tried hummus, a chickpea dip? Kids like dipping carrots, celery or whole grain crackers into it.

Maybe it is what she is eating- try no dairy and no wheat, and see if that handles this- cow dairy is very constipating and has very little nutrient value- also no soy also will help-
do eat grapes- this time of yr frozen is fun see Fiengold diet on the web
also see ChildrensBehaviorHelp.com
no drugs!
best of luck-k

If she won't eat raisins, I would just give her some licorice or jelly beans. They will work and you won't have to try so hard to get her to eat them.

Fiber one has really good granola bars that have a good source of fiber. And they taste good.

When my daughter was a baby we actually gave her a few ounces of prune juice. Now that she is a toddler, we have noticed that raisens or dried blueberries seem to be very effective!

Congratulations on your little miracle baby!

R.

I mix in ground flaxseed (you can get a big bag at Sams Club/Costco) every day into either yogurt, applesauce, or into something my son won't see it. It is high in fiber and has lots of great vitamins and nutrients and doesn't taste bad at all (tastes kind of nutty). He goes to the bathroom normally within 30 minutes of eating that. It is also high in Omega fatty acids which helps them to "go" less painfully if they are constipated.

give her flax seed oil whenever the opportunity arrises to 'sneak' it in. flaxseed oil is a good fat and very healthy. it is found in the refrigerated section at whole foods and you do not heat it/cook with it, so you'll need to put it in salad dressing (for her to dip her veggies into, like carrot sticks, etc), a bit in her yogurt, a bit in puddings, things like that.

also make sure she eats well- fruits and veggies and beans. make quesadillas, burritos, tacos, etc, with veggies, some cheese (can be constipating), beans

look at fiber content when you go grocery shopping- buy breads w/ the highest fiber/lowest sugar you can find, tortillas like this, too.

Hi, K.. Well, recipes for cooked food aside, the best thing to keep a kid regular is fruit, especially fresh fruit. Apples are good for helping keep the digestive system balanced -- not constipated, and not loose. In case of emergency, though, if a child is truly constipated and hurting, a couple of prunes each day is a good remedy and a good prevention.

There are special prunes that have a little extra flavor and are individually wrapped. They are actually as sweet as candy, so if you have a picky eater who doesn't like anything healthy such as fruit or vegetables, if you tell her it's a special candy, and you eat one with her, then she won't know it's healthy and she'll be happy to eat it.

Prune juice is also very effective, especially given at night. It tastes very good, too, naturally sweet without artificial stuff.

In general, if she eats some vegetables and fruits every day, plus drinks enough water, your daughter's digestive system will take care of itself. Remember that here in South Florida, it's very important to drink enough fluids, especially in the summer, and especially pure, clean water.

If you're really worried about bloating, don't give her any soda or other carbonated drinks AT ALL. That may be the whole problem with her belly poking out.

Don't try giving her too much fruit all at once, because then she'll get diarrhea. Just start introducing the fruit and eliminating the soda pop gradually.

I hope this is helpful, and she has no more problems with her digestion.

Peace,
Syl

Hello K.,

I used to add pears --baby food pears are pretty tasty and you can sneak it into almost anything. Good luck!
could milk be causing her constipation?
C.

Hi K.!
Try adding raw veggies as a side dish to dinner. baby carrots and celery sticks with dip on the side are great in fiber and fun. You could also try celery stick with peanut butter as a snack!

warm apple juice is a great way to get her to go :=)

Depending on how severe the problem is, I give my baby brown sugar water, and that helps him straight away.

K.,

My daughter suffers from severe constipation and was put on miralax, it does work but without it she cannot go. It can become a serious problem, as my daughter became septic and was hospitalized for it. It is essential to good health to have normal bowel movements. I strongly urge you to see the doctor with your daughter before it gets worse.
R.

Hello K., banana and whole grain cheerios a day will help.

Give her a "dried plum" (prunes) & follow it with some warm tea - that'll clear her out!

oatmeal and water always does the trick for my son

Hi K.,
I have 3 kids, 2 of whom are often constipated (9 yo boy, 4 yo girl). The Ped. Gastroenterologist suggested Miralax (does not create dependency nor does it cause cramps, it's more like a stool softener). Amout of fiber a child should have is their age plus 5, so 10 grams per day for your baby girl. Things like Thomas' Light English muffins and Nature's Own Whitewheat are high in fiber for breads (8 & 5 grams respectively).
FYI, my 9 yo just got diagnosed 4 months ago with Celiac disease and one of his main symptoms was constipation, no diarrhea which is what is often looked for with this disease. This is treated with a glute-free diet but if you have any suspicion of this, please consult a Ped. GI first before you put them on the diet. Dr's are pretty resistant to diagnosing this disease, but the first step is a simple blood test.
Good luck!
C.

My daughter webt through a stage like that also and her pediatrician recommended yogurt with Activia in it. Worked like a charm.

Apple juice worked for my kids. For my older son, I also sneak a teaspoon of fiber powder into his oatmeal.

My daughter's pediatric Gastroenterolist highly recommends fibersur that can added to ANYTHING- my husband will add it to pancakes & muffins.

The best thing is to get her to eat lots of fiber, fruits & veggies (easier said than done).

Flaxseed is definitely more natural, so some kids are VERY picky about texture.

Check with her doctor first but my stomach doctor just told me Benifiber is the best thing on the market today...You can mix it in drinks or put it in a lot of different foods.

K.,

You definitely need to incorporate more fiber into her diet. However, you really need to discuss this with her pediatrician a little further. My son who is now 6 has been having constipation issues since he was 10 months old and we are still having problems. He takes 2 doses of miralax everyday and dulcolax on the weekends. I have incorporated fiber into his diet anywhere I can. There may be an underlying issue. Please don't just dismiss the issue and discuss this further with your doctor. I would not want to see your little one go through what my little boy has been going through for 6 years.

Good luck.

S.

I've heard that apple juice works well. Also, I would think about giving her the Activa yogurt or something similar. You have to give it to her every day or almost every day in order for it to help her get 'regular' but it is worth the effort. One of my sons has a similar problem with constipation but it has been completely cleared up as long as I remember to give him the Activa yogurt every day. If she doesn't like yogurt, the next thing I would try is Frosted Mini wheats. It has a TON of fiber and it comes in a bunch of flavors now. And it has vitamins too. Best of luck to you!
Jen
Mom of 3 boys - 5 yrs, 3 years, and 1.5 yrs

apple juice worked so well for my daughter
than there were times it seemed to exit the other end
as fast as she drank it! (though it can be to gassy for some)

I was also always an oatmeal fan,
which you can add pears, apples, etc to.

By the time my kids were your daughters age,
I also massaged their tummies in a clockwise direction
and taught them to do the same while they sat on the pot.
It was a great way to let them feel like THEY could do something to relieve their discomfort too.

Hi K.,

A diet high in fiber will help tremendously. It is also good to build the immune system as well as good heart health. Fresh fruit and veggies are best and your little one can never eat too many of them! Avoid white potatoes and sugars as much as possible. Prunes or prune juice is absolutely safe if the need arises.

Regards,

M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyourbabycouldtalk

My daughter began having constipation problems during potty training and when she was 3 1/2, I took her to a pediatric gastroenterinologist, basically a pediatrician who specializes in this type of thing. He gave me a prescription for Miralax, which is now over-the-counter. Children and adults can use it--just follow the directions on the bottle. It's not cheap, but it works wonders!! Good Luck!!

Have you tried to give her prunes? My son actually loves the dried prunes! I would also take prune baby food and mix it with his applesauce.

Mirilax works WONDERS. I highly recommend calling your pedicatrician and asking if this is the right stuff for your child and how much to give. It disolves completely in ANY drink and you can not taste it at all. I just recommend getting the doasge amount from her doctor because it is NOT a laxative, it is a stool softener, so if you use too much it will make her stool too watery and she will have accidents/leakage.

Just plain juice like any apple juice or anything like that it always works for my two kids.