Huge Belly in Toddler

this sounds like a bowel peroration and you need to ask your own ped about this.this si something his own parents should be worried about it sounds like they are not.take some pics and go talk to the ped of your choice.soon

Have you ever watch Feed The Children---the kids there have extended bellies. Two reasons they are full of worms and they don't have enough to eat. Are the parents un-able to feed the child??? Are they really taking him to see the doctor? Doesn't sound right to me. Is he clean and are his clothing fairly nice??? What about his teeth???? I would look into it more.
Good Luck

What kind of bowel habits does he have? If he is "stopped up" and yet otherwise is very skinny, this could be a BIG reason. I just experienced having a child who lives w/ her mother and gets practically NO fluids, very little, if any...fruits and vegetables and NO exercise. She told me over the weekend she couldn't remember when she pooped and her belly hurt.

I gave her strawberries a couple of times, Mirilax, oranges, water, walked to the park and played with her, etc. From Friday night until Sunday at 2:30, the child (6 years old and about 48 pounds) pooped NINE, YES, I said NINE times. At LEAST 3-4 FEET of feces came out of her over the weekend. She clogged up my toilet FOUR times in one day! I couldn't be mad at her. It wasn't her fault. I was just glad she was getting rid of all the toxins. Her energy level increased EVERY single time she pooped. Imagine that!

She told me she had been to the nurse's office on Thursday because her belly hurt because she knew she hadn't pooped. I could NOT BELIEVE all that was coming out of her. It was so bad that at one point she told me she didn't have to push when she peed. I told her she wasn't supposed to push when she had to pee. She didn't even KNOW that! I realized she was so backed up that her enlarged bowels had been pushing on her urethra as well as God only knows what other organs.

Anyway.......might want to find out.

I subscribe to several baby newsletters, and this was addressed a couple months ago, but, unfortunately I don't specifically remember the source. Many toddlers have potbellies because abdominal muscles don't fully develop until they are about 3 yrs. old. My daughter's DR confirmed this. kaitlin has one, and I check regularly for rigidity or discomfort, and she has none. She's 22 months, so we'll continue to watch to see if something else develops.

Hi M.,
This is from the Univ. of Maryland Medical website - I hope it helps:

Question:

Is there any reason to worry about a child's potbelly?

Answer:

It is generally normal for toddlers to have potbellies. By the time a child reaches school age, the potbelly usually disappears and their bodies seem more proportionate.

The belly should feel soft and not tender. There is nothing to worry about unless a potbelly is accompanied by other symptoms (such as abdominal pain, fever, vomiting, or short stature), or if it appears suddenly swollen. Medical conditions causing an enlarged liver or spleen can be serious and must be ruled out by your doctor.

My neice had a potbelly also. Hers was from not having regular bowel movements. When my brother took her to the doctor for being constipated, the doctor told him she had an extended belly from her colon being inlarged. Once they got her going to the bathroom regularly her belly shrunk down. Now it is normal sized.

sounds like malnutrition. the round belly may be from fluid build up, ascites, when there is not enough intake. how does he eat for you when you care for him? it would be interesting to see what other responses you get today or the next few days. something in your assessment is alerting you to a problem. keep open communication with the parent and show that you care about the toddler. K. G.

HI, this didn't happen to me personally but to a nurse at my doctors office. She was telling me the same thing about her little girl. Her pediatrician and a few other doctors were saying it was nothing. She finally went to another doctor, I don't know who, and the baby had a cancerous tumor. She was treated and she is fine now. but she was little like this little guy and she was thinking the same things that you are...."this isn't a normal little childs belly."
I believe the doctor that finally made the diagnosis was here in medina. I am sorry, I don't have a name to give you.
I am with you...I would be very concerned.

How are his bowels? Is he frequently constipated? If it were my little guy I would look into it further.