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Should your child's stools become
infrequent - that is, less often than once every three or four days -
and hard enough to cause discomfort or pain, then he is constipated.
Constipation is rare in very small babies and can nearly always be
corrected by giving your baby drinks of water. Constipation in older
children without any other signs of illness is nothing to worry about,
but if it causes child discomfort, consult your doctor.
Illness with a high temperature may be followed by a few days of
constipation, partly because your child has eaten very little, so there
are no waste products to pass, and partly because he has lost water
through sweating with the fever. This kind of constipation will correct
itself when your child goes back on to a normal diet.
Most doctors don't recommend using laxatives or purgatives for a small
child. You should never try to treat constipation in children with
laxatives, suppositories, or enemas without consulting your doctor.
Once your child is on a varied diet, he shouldn't suffer from
constipation if you are giving him enough fresh fruit, vegetables, and
whole meal breads; if he does, just give more of these. The complex
carbohydrates in root and green vegetables contain cellulose, which
holds water in the stools and makes them more bulky and soft, as do oat
cereals like porridge. A few stewed prunes or dried figs can help, too,
often producing a soft stool within 24 hours.
A child can become chronically constipated for several reasons:
1. If you are an over-fussy parent and obsessive about the frequency of
his bowel motions, your child may withhold them as a means of getting
attention;
2. If he has experienced pain and discomfort when trying to pass a
motion, and holds on to the stools to prevent the pain recurring; or
3. If he dislikes school or other strange toilets and is unwilling to
use them
Chronic constipation in children can also cause a condition called
Encoporesis. Hard stools become impacted in the intestine, and
loose, watery motions leak out past the blockage, sometimes causing the
condition to be mistaken for diarrhea.
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