Daily Fiber Recommendations For Toddlers With Chronic Constipation

Your toddler may be constipated if she has infrequent stools, if she has pain and difficulty when passing stools and if she produces small and dry stools, according to Health Services at Columbia. While a blockage from time to time isn’t likely to be problematic, chronic constipation – that which lasts over two weeks -- can cause your child pain, sleep and eating disturbances and sometimes cracks or tears in the skin around her anus. Although you should seek a pediatrician’s advice, you may be able to reduce her constipation by increasing her fiber intake.

Significance

Both insoluble and soluble fiber help combat constipation. Soluble fiber – in foods such as apples, beans, peas and oats – dissolves in the water within the intestines and can help make your toddler’s stool soft and gel-like for easier passage, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. Insoluble fiber – in whole-wheat products and leafy greens – doesn’t dissolve in water. Rather, it absorbs water and can help make your toddler’s stool bulky, fluffy and easier to pass.

Grams of Fiber

Toddlers need enough grams of fiber to equal his age plus five. Therefore, a 2-year-old would need about 7 g of fiber every day, according to “What to Expect.” If you know that your toddler hasn’t been getting too much fiber in his diet, immediately giving him 7 g of fiber each day may cause him gas, bloating and cramping because his system isn’t accustomed to passing it through. Start with small amounts and gradually increase his intake. Also increase your toddler’s intake of sugarless fluids such as water to keep the fiber moving through at a steady pace; fiber and not enough fluid may make constipation worse.

Foods to Emphasize and Limit

Use whole grain crackers, cereals and bread rather than refined varieties such as white bread. Legumes, vegetables such as leafy greens and fruits such as pears, plums and prunes are high in fiber. Include the peel on fruits and vegetables whenever possible. Refined grains have been stripped of their fiber content and they may make your child’s constipation worse. Some otherwise healthy foods, such as dairy products, bananas and cooked carrots can also have a binding effect and worsen your toddler’s constipation if you feed her too many of them.

Servings

A serving size for a toddler is about 1 tbsp. for each year of age or approximately ¼ of an adult serving size per year, according to Health Services at Columbia. A sample fiber-rich meal plan for a 2-year-old could include four whole grain servings, two fruit servings and two vegetable servings. Avoid giving your toddler foods with bran unless your pediatrician recommends it.

Other Helpful Tips

Although water is an ideal fluid choice most of the time, your toddler may have fewer constipation problems if you offer her about 4 oz. of apple or prune juice per day, according to BabyCenter. Also consider giving your toddler’s belly a massage by applying gentle pressure three finger-widths below her navel until you feel a mass, then maintaining the same pressure for about 3 minutes.