My 3 1/2 year old has been so constipated that now she is afraid to go #2 at all! I have given her only prune juice to drink the last couple days; have given her a mineral oil laxative, gave her a children's over the counter laxative, and she still kicks and screams, bawls and screeches in fear if I try to hold her on the toilet. How do we get over this?
Thank you everyone so much for your time and responses. We tried Miralax and, although she was afraid at first, it did the trick. I also started putting her on the potty after every meal, and reading her stories while she sat on the potty so she could relax and kind of forget it was potty time. That really helped too. Thank you!
I'd probably give up on the potty until the constipation is fixed then reinstate it.
My daughter has had really hard poops a few times that are the size of goose eggs. My doctor said to give her 1/2 a capful of miralax mixed into her drink. I've used it with her a couple of times just once a day and now she seems to be back to normal. You may want to try it it has no taste and is gentle. It works great.
Good Luck
I am actually going through this with my son right now. I feel so bad for him. Our doctor recommended Miralax. He does 1-2 teaspoons everyday in his juice. At first it was closer to 2 tablespoons until he went and now we continue it daily. Our doctor says that there is nothing wrong with taking it daily and some people just need the extra help. It is working great for us.
My daughter went thru the same thing. BE careful with
laxitives and mineral oil, I've heard it makes it so their
bodies don't absorve nutrients from the food they eat.
I ended up just putting a diaper on her so that she would go......there was blood in her stool one time, because she
had held it for so long. Lots of fruits and veggies, water.
Also, try baby food - anything with a P, such as pears, peaches, prunes - I would put it on ice cream for her at night. Be patient - - she'll get there.
Good luck.
Hi, we have the same prob. Pediatrician said to go ahead and put a diaper on her so she will go. We also do Miralax daily to make it easier but only 1/4 to 1/2 tsp in juice. Apple juice works really well too or even a suppository (Pedi-Lax). We've tried them all. It also helps if they are really relaxed, you might try putting a smaller potty seat in the room where there's her fav movie playing or a portable dvd player in the bathroom. Good luck, it's rough. Our Children's Hospital out here has a clinic for "poop and pee" issues called the Bee clinic. I would check with your doc to see if there is something similar in your area.
Maybe this is just obvious, but the reason she is afraid to go is because it hurts! She needs reassurance that it is not going to hurt anymore. Talk to her about why you are giving her the prune juice, etc. Let her know that you will help her make sure she eats the right things so that it won't hurt anymore. Then research everything she is eating to make sure you don't keep feeding her the thing that might be the culprit--bananas? rice? apples? dairy products? Also make sure you continue giving her plenty of fluids, mostly water. Her digestive system needs lots of fluid to work well.
Don't hold her on the toilet, this sounds like it has turned into a big power struggle with your daughter. If it has been more than 3 days since she has had a boel movement, take her to see your doctor. If it is not that bad, then continue to treat it at home but do not try to force your child to potty. Try giving her probiotics, you can find yogurt with porbiotics in it that will be really good for her digestive system. You can also add ground flax seed to many of her foods, just a sprinkle here and there will not even be noticable. Prune juice is good, but also give hr plenty of water to drink. If all the home remedies kick in and she does not feel stressed and pressured to go by you, then she will go on her own. If the home remedies fail, take her to the doctor. There are 3 absolute certainties in parenting, you can not force your child to eat, sleep, or poop.
Put her in diapers. Then feed her lots of food with fiber -prunes work better than prune juice; apples, raw veggies, whole grains, etc. Lots of water too. (Make these foods part of your families diet, too). Then let nature work. If she has a diaper on, she can go wherever she feels comfortable. Once she's not afraid any more, you can get her back on the potty.
If she is too constipated, she could become impacted. Take her to the doctor if its been very long. You don't want her to get septic.
JS,
Have you talked to your family doctor? Perhaps there is a lot to this that you are not aware of?
With my whole heart, C.
When it turns to a power struggle, time to just give up for now, not forever but for now. Does she have a little potty she could go on? Do you have a fun potty seat for the big toilet so she feels more secure? I say look at her and say "well I understand you don't want to do this. I will put pullups back on you. I don't want you to get sick from not going poopy and you need to let me know when you are ready to go back into underwear" -"when you are ready to be in BIG GIRL pants again, you let me know"..then take a a few big girl priviledges away from her when the time arises. Be matter of fact, end of discussion and put pullups back on her. Let her be and let her tell you when she is ready. If she went before and then started this I would say it is about power and independence more then anything. If she has a fear over the potty then you need to get her on a kid potty, potty seat for the big toilet or let it go for now. The harder you push the harder it will be and it shouldn't be a negative experience.
My daughter regressed and I just let it go until she came back around. She is also an age explaining how bad it is to hold poopy in on her body.
You can try incentives, like charts working towards a reward she wants, have her favorite character call her (family friend or family member). Santa called my daughter shortly after her third bday and it was done, she got her underwear on and we never went backwards.
You just need to see if it is truly fear, fear of what and work that direction to take it or let it go. You cannot force her and her holding her poopy can cause medical problems.
Hang in there, I doubt it will last long if you let it go!
Hugs
My kids doctor prescribed an OTC Miralax when my 3 yr old was going through that also. When she did go , it was man size.
Needless to say she kept holding it in and it got worse. After the Miralax, it softened up and she was no longer afraid to go number 2.
Contact your doctor for the right dosing.
Good luck.
I use psyllium every night for that. I wonder if it's OK for kids? You get it at Whole Foods
