What's Your Kid's Poo Telling You? Part 1 Constipation

What's Your Kid's Poo Tellin

Everything that goes in must come out.  So, it’s time to talk poo!  If you’re a parent I’m sure you have a funny or gross poo story (usually both), but what I’m talking about is what poo can tell us about how a kid’s diet is affecting them and what to do when poo isn’t happening.  Poo really has a lot to say - it can tell us if we’re dehydrated, not eating enough fiber or fruits or veggies.  It is indicative of how well we are digesting our food and whether or not your kid’s food agrees with them.  In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)  the smell, shape, color and firmness (or lack of) can tell us a lot about the body’s level of balance and health. WARNING:  This post is going to get pretty graphic so if you’re eating or if reading about poop gives you the willies, you might want to come back later.

What’s Normal

Normal poo in a baby or child who eats solid food should be formed and eliminated in long pieces.  Size and shape will depend on the age of the child and the quantity of food they’re eating.  Color will vary depending on the child’s diet but is usually brown.  It should be easy to eliminate and when wiping it shouldn’t take much to clean their bottom.  It should have an odor, but not an offensive one.  Your child should have a bowel movement anywhere from 1 to 3 times per day.

How Do You Know if Your Kid is Constipated?

In TCM, we view constipation on a spectrum ranging from difficulty passing stool to irregular elimination that can cause discomfort and abdominal pain.  Dry, hard, small “rabbit” poop or large bulky difficult to pass poops are not normal.  If you’re child doesn’t have a poop every day or struggles and strains when they go  then they’re constipated.

What Causes Constipation?

There are many causes of constipation.  Most commonly, though, it’s from the diet.  Short term it can be caused by illness & fever.  Longer term constipation may be due to imbalances in the gut flora or food sensitivities. These are the most common dietary culprits:

  • Too many white flour foods or refined carbohydrates
  • Not enough fiber, fruits or vegetables
  • Too many rich foods, especially pasteurized dairy products
  • Too many cold foods such as ice cream or frozen yogurt
  • Inadequate water intake

The health of your kid’s gut is just as important as what you feed them.  Sometimes imbalances in the gut flora or issues digesting foods are the culprit.  Food sensitivities create low level inflammation in the gut which contributes to bowel dysfunction.  Low levels of probiotics in the gut can be problematic, too. Just like adults, kids may have shy bowels and avoid having a bowel movement at school.  Even babies can learn to try and stop a bowel movement if it’s painful.  Delaying bowel movements increases the time stool remains in the large intestine, drying it out and making it harder to pass later. Conventional medicine usually recommends things like fiber, stool softeners, milk of magnesia, bulking or stimulating laxatives.  Don’t want to go there?   Want to heal the root cause of the issue?   Then you’ve come to the right place. Mother-Natures-Laxative.jpg

First things first, you need to help you child poop now.  Start here:

  1. Pediatric Tuina Massage - Massaging the belly in a clockwise direction around the belly button along with several other massage techniques on the back and hands can naturally stimulate the bowels to move.  Tuina massage is safe, natural and effective for treating constipation.  For instruction please see my post Pediatric Tuina Massage for Constipation.
  2. Soak prunes overnight and then serve with hot whole grain cereal the next day. For toddlers 18 months or younger give them a teaspoon of the water the prunes were soaked in to avoid too much purging or else they may have diarrhea.(2)
  3. For toddlers 18 mother and older and children, 1/2 cup prune juice + 1 TBS lemon juice + 1 cup water in the evening before bed.  This method may cause diarrhea in babies 12 months and under  so do not use it for them. (2)
  4. In babies 12 months and under  you can gently stimulate the anus to help encourage bowel movements.
  5. Herbal formulas containing extracts of figs, prunes, ginger, caraway and coriander can be beneficial.  There are many Chinese herbal formulas for constipation. Because they are so specific to the type of constipation, I recommend consulting a pediatric acupuncturist and herbalist who can prescribe the right formula.

CAUTION:  Be careful in using laxative remedies in babies 18 months and under to avoid diarrhea. I don’t recommend the use of stimulating laxative herbs such as senna or cascara sagrada in children as they can cause abdominal cramping, pain and discomfort.

Next you need to treat the root of constipation with these 5 food groups:

  1. Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) - make sure your child is getting enough essential fatty acids to help lubricate the bowels and soften stool naturally to make it easier to go.  Your child can get EFAs from walnuts, almonds, hemp seeds, and sesame seeds.  Coconut, coconut oil and avocados also provide a healthy source of EFAs.  You may also want to give them a fish oil supplement on a daily basis as well.
  2. Fermented Foods - such as miso, whole milk yogurts, kefir, sauerkraut, kefir soda, and other fermented fruits and vegetables provide a natural source of live probiotics.  Lactobacillus and bifidis are “good” bacteria that do many things to help our bodies, including digesting food. If you don’t have enough or the right balance digestive problems result.  You may want to also give them a regular probiotic supplement.
  3. Fruits: pears, apples, apricots, prunes, papaya, coconut and figs help lubricate the intestines and provide fiber (1)
  4. Vegetables: spinach, cabbage, sweet potato, carrots, cauliflower, alfalfa sprouts, beets, asparagus help lubricate and promote bowel movements. (1)
  5. Foods high in Magnesium - you know, the stuff they hate, like dark leafy greens.

Fresh homemade juices, green smoothies and serving fermented fruit over stuff they like are a few ways to add necessary foods if your child is picky and doesn’t want to eat their greens.  Make sure to offer water all day and avoid store-bought processed, sugary juices.

foods-for-constipation.jpg

Recipe Ideas from Real Food Bloggers

The best way to treat constipation is to get your kids eating more of the right foods.  Here are some recipes to help your kids get the fruits, vegetables and essential fatty acids they need: RealFoodForager.com recommends her Coconut Blueberry Pudding that is dairy free, Specific Carbohydrate and GAPS diet friendly.  It looks delicious! OhLardy.com had a variety of fermented fruit and vegetable recipes to help enjoyably increase their consumption of fermented foods: Fermented Cranberry Sauce - delicious over yogurt Fermented Berries can be served over pancakes, waffles, ice cream or yogurt and added to smoothies Dilly Carrots can be eaten like a pickle.  It’s a two-for-one carrots + fermentation! Fermented OJ - because what kid doesn’t love a fizzy orange drink!  Even though this is fermented, don’t go too overboard on cold juices when you kid is constipated. MorganWellness.com (that’s me!) - I recommend these GF Flax Chocolate Chip Muffins they are yummy and make a great breakfast or lunch box treat. CulturedPalate.com recommends probiotic friendly recipes: Yogurt Popsicle/Smoothies & Lemon Frozen Yogurt -  an easy way to get your kids extra probiotics.  Don't over do it on cold foods though. Fermented Carrots - You'll also like this recipe for fermented carrots. Red Flag: If your child has chronic constipation it may be a sign of a more serious condition such as congenitally narrowed anus, congenital megacolon or fecal impaction and you should seek medical care for you child.

What Kitchen Remedies Do You Use if Your Kid is Constipated? Please Join the Conversation & Leave a Comment Below!

References: (1) Paul, Pritchford. Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition. 3rd. Berkley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2002. Print. (2) Janet, Zand, Robert Rountree and Rachel Walton. Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child. 2nd. New York: Penguin Group Inc, 2003. Print. This post has been shared on: Thank Goodness It’s Monday at NourishingJoy.com Tuesday Archive Link Up from Wrinkledmommy.com TALU Tuesday  from Life on the Funny Farm      

   

32 comments

Weekly Link Love « Waking Up Happy
 

[...] can be a good thing. Kids BMs can tell you a lot about what’s going on in their tiny guts and this post gets down and dirty with the stuff you want to [...]
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Jeannette Kirchner
 

This is such a great article. I can't wait to see the upcoming series in this discussion. This says so much. I've actually recently started giving my 7 yr old daughter a fish oils omega 3 supplement in effort to naturally stabilize her moods. My sweet angel seems to have a light and a dark side to her :)
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Edi
 

Great article with perfect timing! My 9 month old has chronic constipation and I almost having a hard time getting anyone but my hubby to believe how bad it is. He hasn't had a normal movement since we started solids in November. :( hoping to get an appointment with a naturopath soon, but the ones I've contacted are booked until March.
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Robin Green
 

I'm so glad you found it helpful. Let me know how your baby is doing after using the massage and other remedies for a couple weeks!
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Kresha @ Nourishing Joy
 

This is such an interesting series and it's timely for me, as well, as we're trying to figure out the root cause of our 2 1/2 year old son's chronic soft stools. We're fairly sure we've determined the culprit, but now reading through and learning about constipation (the opposite of his problem!) has given even a couple of new ideas to deal with his soft stool. Thanks so much for a great post. Thanks, too, for sharing it in this week's Thank Goodness It's Monday carnival. I've pinned it on our "Thank Goodness It's Monday" Pinterest page, as well. :-) Blessings! Kresha from NourishingJoy.com
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Robin Green
 

I'm so glad you've found this post useful, even for the opposite issue! I'm working on my follow up post Part 2 diarrhea and will hopefully have a few more tips for you. Thanks so much for hosting your blog carnival and pinning it on your Pinterest page. Cheers, Robin
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Loose Stools: What’s Your Kid’s Poo Telling You Part 2
 

[...] really wants to talk or think about poo, but as I said in my last post on Constipation, it can tell us a lot about how well our kids are digesting their food and if their body is [...]
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Jennifer L.
 

What a great article. My 15-month-old seems to lean towards constipation when things are off in her gut. She also has eczema patches on her chin/cheeks that seem to come and go. The frustrating thing is that I can tell it's from food since when we go to all chicken soup with carrots for a day, things clear up. Then I try to slowly add things in and it all goes downhill. We had an allergy test done through US Biotek and it came back that she was intolerant of almonds and hazelnuts (from my diet since she is breastfeeding and hasn't had those foods). I've removed them from my diet (and we already do not eat gluten, dairy, eggs or cane sugar products). I make all of her food and thus far, the only grain I've introduced is sour dough teff in the form of injera. I already feel so limited that I am not sure what else to add/take-away since all new things seem to cause problems. Eggs = hives. The slightest bit of dairy in a probiotic = hives. We are giving her an infant probiotic from Klaire Labs and cod liver oil. She eats a lot of veggies and fruits, some raw (not too many--she mostly chews and spits the raw ones), mostly cooked, chicken, beef, fish, lamb, goat (all grass-fed/pastured), sauerkraut and some raw milk butter. I am going to try some more massage. Her poops are great right now, but her chin/cheeks are bothering her. Apples seem to be very problematic in a contact kind of way. Phew! I love these articles. I feel that a large part of my mommy job is checking poop to make sure the kids are digesting their food okay.
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
ben ryan
 

hello, im concerned abot my little kiddie. he seems to be having constipation very offen and ive tried all of your steps and they are not working! anymore tips?
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Robin Green
 

HI Ben, It sounds like your child has a stubborn case of constipation and that does not make for a happy child :( I appreciate your wanting to know what other natural ways you can help. Without seeing your child for a full consultation and knowing his or her history, I am unable to give you any specifics. There are many more things that an acupuncturinst can do to help balance your child's system to help relieve constipation. You can look on our directory to see if there is a practitioner near you who works with kids. You may also need to see a medical doctor if the constipation lasts for over two weeks or if it is accompanied by fever, vomiting, blood in the stool, a swollen abdomen or weight loss. I hope that helps.
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Renee
 

My son is 9 yrs. old and he just started football practice. Yesterday after practice he rushed to use the restroom saying he had to go number two. He typically takes 20-25 minutes. I often get embarrassed about how long he goes for but I'm more concerned if this means something is wrong. His doctor said it was fine. It's not constipation because he is popping almost the whole time and it's always long and normal looking, there's just a lot of it. He periodically has stomach cramps and doesn't poop everyday. Any feedback or ideas?
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Robin Green
 

Hi Rene, I can understand your concern for your little guy and I'm happy to see that you are checking out natural ways to help him. Without a full consultation and health history, I can't give out any specific advice. Generally, it's best for us all to be pooping every day. Stomach cramps are generally a good indication that something is not quite right in there. Probiotics as well as lots of cooked vegetables is a good place to begin. Also, check out my post on tuina for constipation here: http://www.kidsloveacupuncture.com/2013/01/29/pediatric-tuina-massage-for-c… Take care and let me know how it works! Robin
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
PaulMcKein
 

Hello, thank you for informative article!Author, great job! In case you need to find more information about home remedy for constipation fast you can check this new article written by me: http://homeremedieshelper.com/colon-cleansing-home-remedies/home-remedies-get-rid-constipation
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Tonq
 

thanks!!!!
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
jennifer
 

my almost 2yr old granddaughter is always constantly straining every time she wants to do a poo...although not much comes out wen she does...she is also passing a lot of wind as well...what is i need to do? any suggestion?
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Rachel VanDusen
 

Not knowing your granddaughter's health history, it's hard to say what may be the cause of her irregularity. I would suggest looking into massage, and if the issue persists seeing your local health care provider of course. Here is a link to my guide on pediatric Tuina massage for constipation! http://www.kidsloveacupuncture.com/2013/01/29/pediatric-tuina-massage-for-constipation/
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
jamie
 

@fuki yeah. agreed with u. i've also faced this problem with my little angle before this and my sister asked me to try out mamil. made mamil as my daughter's milk if she's in constipation and yeah, she feels better after used mamil. her constipation prevented.
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
lauren webb
 

one i think so many people are unaware of is dairy! my entire family is lactose intolerant so everyone immediately assumes loose stool but no one realizes constipation is a very common and real side effect. I've met several people who display all the symptoms of lactose intolerance but won't entertain the idea because they are chronically constipated! I've suffered from chronic constipation my entire life, but the minute i cut our dairy i became as regular as regular can be, same with my kids. it seems like we have a tolerance, like we can get away with a little taste of cheese from here or there but it will constipate us, on the other hand if we try to eat two pieces in a day or a milkshake we have to run to the toilet! on top of that my kids school keeps acting shocked when my kids literally poo themselves because a lunch lady gave them milk! the struggle is so real I'm glad you wrote this article poop is such a great way to look at our health whether anyone wants to admit it or not :)
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Armando
 

Hello, I have a concern with my 8 years old kid, he's a normal kid with no illness or problem at all, but he makes too big poop, really big, I mean much bigger than an adult since he was 3-4 years old aprox, he goes to the toilet everyday with no problems or pain. He eats very healthy, lots of fiber fruits and vegetables. His maternal half brother, who I met when he was 10 yrs old, had exactly the same thing, and he's now 21 yr with no problem at all. As an aditional info, his mother died of a methastasis caused by a colon cancer at 44 yr. Thanks in advance for your help. Rgds.
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Stephanie Yip
 

Hi Robin, My daughter has been having some problems with pooing, and I've talked to my Dr a few times and so far nothing has worked. Her stools are very big & bulky, and usually the head of it is very hard, so it gets stuck at the rear, and after the hard head comes out, what follows is a long bulky strip of poop, and with some blood from the hard beginning stool because it has scratched the sides of her anus. It's so painful to watch her poop everyday. She cries and screams and clings on to me for dear life. I read through your article and also alot of other sources however, my biggest problem is that my 1 and half year old daughter is not only a picky eater, but she eats very very little. We struggle with her 3 meals everyday. A typical baby bowl, she only takes 3-4 tablespoon (and this tablespoon is the toddler size spoon, not the adult one). I have tried prune juice, diluted prune juice, masking prune juice with apple juice, she doesnt take it or even if she does very little of it. I have tried giving her high fiber food, oatmeal with flaxseed, papaya, green leafy vegetables all got rejected. She wouldnt even take a spoonful of it. Water water water, I know this as well but she just doesn't drink a lot of it despite me giving her the bottle even 15 mins or so. She takes just a sip, her total water intake is probably only in the range of 200ml. I'm beginning to wonder if it's her formula milk that is causing this. But because she eats so little already, we worry about cutting back on her milk because milk is probably the only source of nutrients she can get along with the limited amount of food she takes in. Does little food intake cause constipation as well? I'm really desparate now, is there anything else I can do???
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Rachel VanDusen
 

I'm so, so sorry to hear about your daughter's difficulties! I would suggest she immediately sees a local practitioner. Without evaluating her health and what she's intaking daily, it's extremely difficult to give adequate advice. You can also try the use of Ready, Set, Go! by springboard. It may help, though I suggest having her see a practitioner before she starts any other supplements. I wish you both nothing but the best!
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Rachel VanDusen
 

As long as there is no blood or pain, the size of his stool should not be horribly concerning. If you are worried, I would suggest seeing a local practitioner for an evaluation. Without a health assessment, there's not much I can do in the way of advice! I wish you all nothing but the best in health and wellness, and thank you for reaching out to me!
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Jennifer L.
 

I would really consider a dairy allergy. Mine had a gluten intolerance and her poops were very weird for a while. Dairy does cause constipation and if her belly is upset, she might be using her self-defenses to limit her eating to not aggravate an upset belly. Obviously I'm not a doctor, just another parent who has had a kid go through some poop issues. Finding a naturopath might help too since they tend to take more time with their patients to find the solution instead of looking at your kid for five minutes and looking at their chart and telling you everything looks fine to them. Mine would always say inane things like, "Well, her weight looks great. You're all doing well! Have a good day!" Yeah, her poop still should not fly out of her bum like a liquid rocket! Different issues, but still needing solutions! The dairy screams out at me as a big potential tummy irritant. Good luck finding a solution--acupuncture was great for my daughter too.
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
BL
 

I have a question. Is there a reason that when stool is about to be passed that there's extreme sweating. ... dizzyness... nausea... occasionally with vomiting or fainting?
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
BL
 

Can bowel issues be genetic? My mom had nbs n i also have nbs along with shy bowls. Growing up I remember n still suffer from horrible stomach cramps pain in my lower back along with the extreme hot flash nausea dizzyness n from time to time faint or vomit. Now I have a 13 month old who has been having horrible stomach pains n then very hard stool ( would roll out of diaper if I didn't handle it properly. ) she's very hydrated pees tons drinks even more ... loves all foods... Idk what to do or if this will be for her as it was for me something u learn to suffer through n be scared by occasionally
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Rachel VanDusen
 

Bowel issues can be genetic, but in order to know for sure, your child and yourself would have to be evaluated by a practitioner. It's hard to guide you without physically evaluating you and your child, but I would make sure to stay hydrated and look for a local clinician that can give you more guidance and a thorough examination of your current and past health history. Wishing you the best, Robin
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Rachel VanDusen
 

Without evaluating the individual with these conditions, it's hard to say what they are experiencing and why. I would have them immediately evaluated by a local practitioner particularly because these symptoms can be quite concerning. In wellness, Robin
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Bernert Chim
 

thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Jessica Aldrich
 

My 2 year old had digestive issues as a baby. As a newborn, his gas would clear a room and his stools were always runny. The culprit was determined to be milk protein and corn intolerance. He outgrew that and has been fine on all dairy and corn products. Now the past 2 months, his stool has been hard, huge, and painful. He tears with every movement also. It is so large that it gets stuck until we take the diaper off. The gas prior to the movement is horrid like when he was a baby. He cries and screams to get it out. He drinks plenty of water, eats healthy for the most part, and has no other issues that we can see. Any suggestions?
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Robin's Team
 

Hi Jessieca, Sorry to hear about your son's difficult stomach issues. While we can't give you medical advice since we have not seen your son, we can suggest some ideas. If problems persist and worsen, please seek immediate medical attention. I would suggest starting with this post: http://www.robinraygreen.com/webinar-lets-talk-poo-loose-stools-41414-1230-pdt/ as well as post 1 and 2 http://www.robinraygreen.com/whats-your-kids-poo-telling-you-part-1-constipation/ We suggest making sure that you have him on pro-biotics :http://www.robinraygreen.com/healthy-eating-healthy-guts/ Bone Broth http://www.robinraygreen.com/chicken-start-to-finish/ both to help heal his gut. Best Wishes, Robin's Teams
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Kat
 

My daughter is having this issue too. She's 9 months and it started as soon as I began solids. I had to eliminate rice. I give her prunes and baby probiotics which help...but if that doesn't happen for one day the problem recurs. Did you find out your baby had this?
Read more
Read less
  Cancel
Katie
 

Help help please my 2 yr old daughter is fining it hard going for a poo. About a month ago she did these really big poos that did not look like her poo so we thought we would try potty training her. But her poo us not coming and she make you want to cay at the pain she in. She also got a high temperature for the last week but been managed by Calpol so I took her to the doctor today 24th 2017 doctor said she was fine but to carry on with the Calpol. Me and her dad so want to help her but don't know how to she always been a good eater and eat her vegetables and fruit
Read more
Read less
  Cancel

Leave a comment