Constipation, you ain’t no friend of mine. Dear friends you find me in an extremely sticky predicament. In fact I am a tad embarrassed to update you on my sluggish bowel movements, but unfortunately I am in deep doo doo..or not as the case is. I appeal to your good Samaritan help to offer any suggestions to relieve me of my stressful state. Just Mum, my darling mother sits with me in the toilet, as the minutes tick away, my tummy grumbles, but alas nothing makes an appearance. Another false alarm Mum I say as I pull up my smart pants and head out. Big sister runs in just as I was leaving, saying she needs to do a poo. Whatever sis, such a show off, downcast I give Teddy a hug, I’m envious of anyone with proper bowel movements. What am I to do?...Well it all began like this, I was in my usual routine, wake up, bottle, potty time every morning like clock work.

Then the other day I got my hands on a whole load of stashed chocolate that Just Dad had hidden away in his drawer, don’t ask that’s another story for a rainy day. Just Dad and his chocolates!!!. Anyways so what does a gullible little toddler like me do when he finds  a drawer full of Twixes, Mars Bars and a few Dairy Milk’s thrown in for good measure, hey I ain’t telling anybody. Yeah I sure did have a good afternoon stuffing my face with as much good stuff as I could. But darn it, my espionage skills went all array, for Mum caught the chocolate marks all over the dresser cupboard, accompanied by sticky finger prints along the floor which led to my face..yeah she put two and two together, came up with twenty and there went my dream treasure. Well to cut a long story short, after that glorious and sweet incident, I’ve got constipated. So I’m ready to try anything, I’ve drunk gallons of water, enough in opinion to fill the Minneriya water tank.

Then someone suggested to Mum I eat green bananas not yellow but green..yikes that was a tad difficult, but whatever it takes to relieve the discomfort, ten bananas down I think I’m going to puke and if I see another green banana again in my life I’ll scream!!!!well after a couple of days of fruit juices, lot more carb filled yukky foods, on a quiet night at three in morning, I had a bowl movement…YES!!! Mum and I threw a party, but hey hold back on the chocolate cake eek!!!!

Constipation in children

Constipation is a very common problem for children. For most children, constipation means passing hard poo, with difficulty, less often than normal. Regular soiling (often mistaken for runny diarrhoea) may indicate that a child has bad constipation with impaction (a blockage of faeces). Where no particular disease or illness is the cause of the constipation, it is called idiopathic constipation. It is important that constipation be recognised early to prevent it from becoming a long-term (chronic) problem.

Your child’s bowel movement….what is normal?

Parents often get very worried about their child's bowel habit. This anxiety can start when the child is a baby, with concern over the number of dirty nappies. The main thing to realise is that every child is different. Normal can vary quite a bit. It is a change in what is normal for your child, that suggests a problem. Babies will open their bowels anything from several times per day, to once every few days. The frequency of bowel movements is not very important. What is important is that the poo (faeces, stools or motions) is soft and easily passed. Breast-fed babies tend to pass runnier, mustard yellow-coloured stools. This is because breast milk is better digested than infant formula (bottle feeds). Newborn breast-fed babies may open their bowels with every feed. However, it is also normal for a breast-fed baby to go up to a week without a bowel movement. Bottle-fed babies often need to open their bowels daily, as the stools are bulkier. Bottle-fed baby stools smell worse.

How to prevent constipation.

A high-fiber diet with plenty of fluids. This means loading your child’s plate with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, high-fiber cereals, whole grain breads (look for at least 3-5 grams of fiber per serving), and a variety of beans and other legumes, like chickpeas and lentils. Foods containing probiotics, like yogurt, can also promote good digestive health. While focusing on fiber, don’t forget fluids. If your child is eating plenty of high-fiber food but not getting enough fluid to help flush it through his system, you can make matters worse. Your child should be drinking plenty of water throughout the day, along with some milk. Limit sugary drinks to 4 ounces a day in younger children and 6-8 ounces in school-aged kids. Also regular toilet time helps to alleviate matters.

By Mayuri Jayasinghe