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Potty training and constipation - helping your little one.
Are you toilet training your toddler and having trouble with constipation?
When toddler potty training, constipation can be a normal - but not fun - part of the process.
I have toilet trained four children and yes, we experienced our fair share of constipation along the way. Here are some proven ways I helped my kids overcome constipation during potty training time.
Potty training and constipation solutions.
Short term toilet training tips matter most when your child is suffering trying to have a bowel movement. If your child is severely constipated you'll need to contact your pediatrician for help. A stool softener is often a good idea at this point, too.
Another key to solving potty training constipation problems is to teach your toddler to stay relaxed while sitting on the potty chair. Constipation tends to turn on itself; meaning the more your toddler experiences difficult bowel movements, the more he will tense up and hold his poop inside of him.
That just makes matters worse, of course.
Try using soft music and rubbing gently on her tummy, if she's comfortable with this. Read a story together and wait for the bowel movement to come. As the moment arrives, your child is going to get panicky. She will need you to keep completely calm and matter of fact so that she can relax and let nature take its course.
Once you can get past the difficult bowel movement, you're ready for longer term solutions.
One of my sons was quite constipated during the potty training process. We gave him a spoonful of honey every morning with breakfast. Within days, he was regular and stayed that way. Now, I was concerned about his teeth using honey daily like this; but my dentist informed me that as long as I thoroughly brushed his teeth directly after giving him breakfast, his teeth would be fine. And they are.
Prunes are another excellent fiber alternative and they're quite sweet, which makes it easy for toddlers to love them. A few prunes a day will help keep your potty training toddler quite regular, which will also help you to train him to recognize those body signals and get to the potty chair when it's time to poop.
Potty training constipation solutions definitely include a strong look at diet and exercise. Usually toddlers do well on exercise all by themselves, but there are the few toddlers who are sitting too still watching TV or videos!
Make sure your toddler is very active. His body and head needs the motion. Check her diet, too.
What is she eating? Make sure your toddler is eating lots of fiber and whole grains. Think whole grain cereals, breads and fruits and veggies. Also check the water intake.
Your potty training toddler is going to need a lot of water every day. Not soda and not too much juice. She's going to need plain water. It's excellent for her (and you, too!). Make sure you and other family members are modeling healthy food and drink choices; that makes it easier and healthier on everyone.
When potty training a child, (and it doesn't matter if you are toilet training boys or potty training girls
) you're going to encounter toilet training problems. That's just the nature of potty training.
Something that helped me a lot, was to realize that potty training is more like potty practice. Even if you start out by potty training in 3 days or something similar, you will still need to have potty practice for the next several months.
After all, what you are really doing is helping your child gain healthy bathroom habits that will last a lifetime. That won't happen overnight.
Potty training and constipation - one more thing.
Many parents wonder if they're doing something wrong when their toddler develops constipation and the answer is usually no.
If you are making sure your toddler or preschooler is getting adequate nutrition, water, rest and exercise, you are doing fine! Constipation is a normal bump in the growing up road. You just don't want to stay there any longer than necessary! Here is an article about constipation that I found very helpful and maybe you will, too.
Keep moving forward and before you know it, you will have many potty training stories to share with other parents, too.
Popular potty training topics.
Potty Training Child
A list of all of our articles to help you while potty training your child.
Toilet Training Tips
Many times just one new piece of toilet training advice that I hadn't considered before was just the help I needed to help my child over a potty training hump.
Potty Training Boy
Additional tips to help if you are potty training a boy (I've trained two boys myself).
Potty Training Girls
Specific tips to help potty training for girls move smoothly (I've trained two girls myself).
Colleen Langenfeld is a mother with over 29 years of parenting experience and helps other busy moms around the globe at www.paintedgold.com.
Note from Colleen: Remember, I earn my living making excellent recommendations to you, Mom, so when you choose to click any of the links on this website and make a purchase, I may earn a commission.
Naturally, that means I care about what you think! If you try a product or service I recommend, I'd love to hear from you. How else can I keep my recommendations top notch for all my visitors?
And thank you, for stopping by.
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