5 year old with constipation

[RainbowBear]

what can I do? have tried prunes and prune juice unsuccesfully. she is incredibly grumpy, windy and moans about the pain. have taken her to the doctor before about this and he just said more fruit and veg.. what over the counter stuff can any one recommend?? any advice really appreciated..

Lots and lots of fluids...lactulose can be given to children I think but check with the pharmacist. Don't leave it too long before going to the GP though.

Weetabix is also great.

If this is a long term problem, perhaps she doesn't drink enough? That is often the case. She should be drinking between 4 to 8 cups of fluid daily.

xxKaren

she doesn't drink enough - and i try and up it constantly, but she just doesn't want to. any ideas?

vary the drinks you give her so that each drink is a different flavour etc...

try fruit smoothies...fibrous and full of goodness and water

use straws in a cup...they tend to make a child drink more

Have a drink with her and say cheers each time before you drink some!!!

invest in some nice sippy cups or sports bottles for the older child to sip at whilst watching tv, listening to a story being told etc...One point though...some of these can be really hard to drink from and quite frankly I wouldn't bother if I were a kid putting in that much effort!

all I can think of off the top of my head. Persevere though as I bet that is your route problem. I think honesty is always good for children and you could explain how not drinking affects her poo.Remind her that if she doesn't drink her juice or whatever she is having, the pain might come back in her tummy as her poo will be too hard etc...Not in a frightening way but gently.