Many children struggle with constipation. For some children it can be fleeting – a single meal or a day without sufficient fluids might cause a problem but their system rebounds within a few days. The more troubling concerns are when a child repeatedly (every few weeks or more frequently) experiences constipation. The good news is that parents can use at-home tips to manage their children’s constipation.
Behavioral Adjustments
For some children, addressing constipation is as simple as increasing the amount of fiber in their diet (through consumption of vegetables, primarily) and increasing their water intake. This is the first approach parents should take to address this problem.
For other children, constipation is a result of being involved in activities and not wanting to spend the time sitting in the bathroom for a bowel movement. (These are also frequently the “fear of missing out” children.)
Parents will need to incentivize going to the bathroom. You can try using a sticker chart so that your child can put a sticker of choice on every day (or multiple times per day) when they have a bowel movement. You can also let them know they can get rewards for getting a certain number of stickers on the chart – perhaps a playdate with a friend, a favorite meal for dinner, or a visit to their favorite park or zoo. Parents can also make the bathroom more exciting/rewarding by letting the child read a favorite book or play with a favorite toy while in the bathroom. Often a combination of these tactics will be sufficient to remind the child to go to the bathroom promptly.
Massage
There are a few simple massage techniques that will help a child have a bowel movement. One is to press slowly and with moderate pressure in a clockwise circle around the child’s abdomen (below the ribcage). This follows the path of the colon and helps to guide the bowel movement out. Make sure your hands are warm and your child feels willing and receptive before you begin the massage. Check whether the amount of pressure feels comfortable for your child.
Another location to stimulate bowel movements is at the very low part of your child’s back, where the back meets the top of the buttocks. The preferred massage method in this area is to swipe the skin of this area downward with the pads of your fingers, one hundred times in a row.
For either or both of these massage techniques, you can do them one to three times per day.
Additional Therapies
If behavioral changes and at-home massage are not sufficient, you can bring your child in to see an acupuncturist and herbalist. Both acupuncture/acupressure and Chinese herbs have been shown to stimulate movement of the digestive tract (peristalsis) to aid in daily bowel movements.
