Constipation: Over 12 Months

Sometimes your child’s poop may be hard, or your child may go to the bathroom less often than usual. Remember, every child is different, so don’t worry if your child poops less than once a day.

Potential Causes of Constipation:

• Not eating enough fiber
• Not drinking enough water
• Lack of movement and activity
• Excessive fluid loss due to vomiting or fever
• Certain medications
• Milk allergy

What Parents Can Do

Add two extra servings of high fiber foods to the diet every day. Fiber absorbs water, helping move poop through the body.

Add high fiber foods

• • Whole grain breads, breakfast cereals, crackers, even popcorn (reminder: popcorn is not recommended for kids under age 3 due to choking risk)
  • Beans, peas, and lentils (such as black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas)
  • Fruits 
  • Vegetables

Add more fluid

• • Fluids soften poop to help them move through the body
  • Frequently offer water
  • Offer prune juice. It is a natural laxative
  • If your child won’t drink extra liquids, offer foods like Jello, yogurt or frozen yogurt or clear soup
  • Limit milk to 16oz per day or less

Encourage activity

• • Exercise helps stimulate bowel motion, so a daily activity schedule can be established to help relieve constipation
  • Children with physical handicaps should be encouraged to be as active as their body allows

Constipation can take some time to resolve and require consistent, healthy habits to prevent it from continuing to happen.