{Yes, that toddler constipation pun was totally intentional. *high five for catching it*}
Dookie Dorito.
Chinese Star.
Pebble Poo.
What do things all have in common? They signal the DEATH of all your potty training hopes and dreams.
It’s hard enough to get that Toddler Tornado to sit still long enough to use the toilet in the first place! Making that “spot” one of pain and discomfort isn’t going to help your Ditch the Diaper! cause.
According to studies like this one, up to 28% of all children struggle with constipation. That means, of the ten kids in your toddler’s Storytime class, three of them are sitting on a congested colon full of backed-up boulders.
The last thing you need is a cranky toddler who really needs to poop, but is afraid to sit down and try.
Yes, you can (and probably should) do reward charts and offer candy incentives, but that the best way to help your toddler to sit down and go is to make “going” as painless as possible.
That’s what we’re going to go over today.
- How to prevent toddler constipation in the first place.
- How to fix toddler constipation as quickly as possible.
Let’s start with how you got into this situation in the first place. (So we can avoid falling into this pit again next week!)
Know Thy Enemy:
What Causes Toddler Constipation
Let’s begin, as the King of Hearts suggested to the White Rabbit, at the beginning. The easiest way to prevent toddler constipation is to avoid the things that cause it, right?
Not Enough Time on the Throne
Your toddler is BUSY. He’s probably not going to remember to sit on your comfortable throne without a reminder. I would recommend setting a reminder on your phone at the time you’ve noticed you’ve been changing a dirty diaper. Then encourage your Princess Pooper to sit on a comfortable toilet seat with a stack of books, a tablet, or some other distraction for 5-10 minutes.
Most toddlers should “release the Kraken” at least once a day. That said, if you have a family history of constipation, that may look more like once-every-other day.
Not Enough Fiber-Rich Foods
Start keeping a food journal and see what foods she’s been eating over the past several days. Are they highly processed? Or full of fiber? We all do McDonald’s runs from time to time, so ditch the guilt on that. The key is to sneak in some healthy roughage in between.
- Whole grain breads and pastas
- Apricots
- Plums
- Peas
- Beans
- Broccoli
- Pretty much any fruit and veggie!
Yes, I realize how difficult it is to get your toddler to eat some of these healthy foods! That’s the reason I wrote this article. It will help!
Not Enough Water to Stay Hydrated
Dehydration is a major problem with young kids. Your tot needs a lot of fluids to keep his body running smoothly! Pick out a silly water bottle (like this unicorn or dinosaur) and make that the “special” water bottle he can carry around every day.
Then give him a special treat or sticker every time you have to refill an empty bottle.
Fixing Toddler Constipation
with the Right Curd
A “curd” is what happens when milk curdles, or reacts to something acidic. Think of cottage cheese. That’s a very soft curd.
When your toddler drinks a glass of milk, or has a sippy cup of regular formula, the protein in that milk reacts to the acids in the stomach to create a curd in the stomach.
Be warned! Not all curds are created equal!
The Surprising Thing About Cow’s Milk
The curd that is formed in your toddler’s tummy after drinking cow’s milk is pretty dense. It seizes together like a baseball, tight and compact.
Many studies (here and here for starters) have shown that some kids can really struggle to break that cow’s milk curd down, since it’s so dense. The result is a hard curd that travels through the intestines, a real obstacle to the enzymes tasked to tear it down and contributing to chronic toddler constipation.
Switch Your Toddler to a Softer Curd
Ta DA! Enter goat’s milk!!
There is something significantly different about goat’s milk than cow’s milk. Basically, when it hits your toddler’s tummy and reacts to the digestive enzymes inside, it doesn’t bind together as tightly.
There are lots of gaps in between the protein strands. Easy spaces for those enzymes to get in there and start breaking down the food as it passes through the digestive system.
And what does THAT mean? Less chance your toddler will end up with a backed-up bowel.
Add that benefit with the additional prebiotics and other digestion-friendly magic elixirs put into a goat’s milk formula (instead of regular goat’s milk-in-a-carton), and you’ve got a Happy Gut Party to host.
Fixing Toddler Constipation with
Gut-Happy Enzymes
Not only does a goat’s milk formula like Kabrita make it easier to move through the digestive tract, recent advances in technology have enabled them to set their special toddler formula even further ahead of the standard gallon of white bovine excretions.
Certified Glyphosate Free (It’s Pretty Cool)
I’ll admit, when Carla first told me about Kabrita being the only formula to be Certified Glyphosate Free, I awkwardly congratulated her because I had no idea what that actually meant.
I hate feeling awkward, so I cracked my googling fingers and dug up some pretty interesting articles. Here’s the Cliff’s Heather’s Notes short version. (See citations at the bottom of this article for the whole shabang.)
- Glyphosate is a popular herbicide used to destroy weeds in fields by blocking their ability to grow.
- Humans don’t have that same biochemical pathway that’s being blocked. HOWEVER! The tiny bacteria living in our intestines does have that same pathway.
- For this reason, it is postulated that although the small amounts of glyphosate found in our food doesn’t harm us directly, it can be harmful to the bacteria colonies we need for a healthy digestive system.
So not only can the Kabrita Toddler Formula help with constipation by creating a softer curd, it can help develop a stronger microbiome to keep the digestive system healthy.
And did I mention they are giving away free samples? Yep. They are. Go here to claim one.
Preventing the Toddler
Constipation Grumps
There’s a lot in a toddler’s life worth being grumpy about. (“I wanted that toy!”) Feeling like he’s carrying around a few hundred rocks in his gut isn’t going to make your life any easier.
So here are a few additional prevent/treat ideas to tuck into your Parenting Backpack as you fight.
- Slip a little prune juice into his apple juice in the morning. An ounce should do it!
- Start keeping a 7-day food journal. Is he getting enough “roughage” in leafy greens and whole grains?
- Angle does matter! Try the Puppy Dog Squatty Potty to prevent squeezed-off sphincters.
- Let him carry around a special sippy cup full of water (like this unicorn or dinosaur) to keep him hydrated. Every time he empties the water bottle, he gets a special sticker!
- Switch to naturally sweet Kabrita Goat’s Milk Formula. Use that link for a free sample of their formula and some of their most popular toddler snack treats!
Happy Colon?
Happy Kid.
The number one factor that determines whether or not your toddler is constipated is texture.
Before you start gagging all over your phone, though, let me offer some reassurance: you don’t have to touch it to determine texture. (Unless your blind.) A quick peek should tell you everything you need to know.
- Does it look like a deceptive little iceberg compared with the grunts and effort your champion was putting forth to create it?
- Is it large enough to make you wonder if the dog snuck up onto the toilet instead?
- Are there streaks of red? (Sad face!!)
- Does it look more like the hard Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream that’s been in the freezer for 2 years under a bag of peas and less like a Wendy’s chocolate Frostee?
Those are the “signature styles” of a toddler constipation conundrum.
Stock up on your fruits and veggie, get your boy a special water bottle, and give goat’s milk formula a free try. It’s naturally sweet, and is a happy elixir for a troubled tummy! (Or, if you’d rather dive right in, you can save 10% on your order with code GENTLEKABRITA.)
It will be nice, I think, to not hear the daily scream of “MOOOMMY! NOTHING IS COMING OUT!”
It will be nice, I think, to see your potty training efforts really take off, as your little one learns that sitting on the toilet (and not on a pile of brown glass shards) can be a good experience!
As a matter of fact… *lightbulb*
He should sit on that special throne more often! *wink*
We Love Citations!
Constipation. NIH.gov
Easy and Natural Constipation Remedies. KabritaUSA.com
Intolerance of Cow’s Milk and Chronic Constipation in Children. NIH.gov
Does Milk Cause Constipation? A Crossover Dietary Trial. NIH.gov
What is “Glyphosate Residue Free” Certification? DetoxProject.org
7 Reasons to Get Prebiotics into Your Diet. DrAxe.com
Constipation and Toileting Issues in Children. MJA.com.au
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