Diet advice to help more regular pooing!

[Eledamorena]

My DD (3.5 years) has been toilet trained for a year and we have no problems with weeing. She still wears pull-ups at night but doesn't wet that often. She has not pooed in a nappy at night for at least a year except when she's been ill.

She only poos about twice a week and it is usually a bit of an 'event'... she will look panic-stricken and say she needs a poo, we go to the loo, then she will change her mind (sometimes after sitting on the loo for a while). She often does this a few times a day for 2-3 days before she eventually poos. It is definitely sometimes a bit painful when she does finally poo (and massive, obviously!)

My question is - what can I do diet-wise to encourage more regular bowel movements? She is clearly witholding deliberately and this is understandable if it sometimes hurts. She starts full-time kindergarten in a couple of weeks which is worrying me a bit as I'm not sure staff will 'read' when she needs a poo and I'm not sure I can expect them to hold her hand and make soothing noises when she finally goes!

She eats a fairly good diet though she has certainly become fussier in the past year or so. Porridge for breakfast, 'real' meals for lunch and dinner (or a 'snacky' meal e.g. crackers, egg on toast, cheese etc) and she eats fruit but mostly sticks to the same few things - apples, grapes, oranges. She drinks plenty of water and (perhaps too much) milk. We live in a hot climate but she is a very good drinker.

Any tips? I bought prune juice the other day thinking I could maybe use that as a 'treat' every day as she I never give her juice or squash. She was excited at the prospect but didn't enjoy it so hasn't had it since.

Please give me your suggestions!

Many thanks

I would go for more soft fruits, ripe apricots, plums, peaches. Drinking lots of water and prune juice watered down with apple juice and crushed ice. She needs more fiber so veggies, bran flakes. Castor oil and milk of magnesia. These are all tips from dr DH.

I am having chemo and the soft fruits and lots of water help. Plums and apricots are yummy, she have them with her porridge as well.

Fewer than 3 poos a week that are very large and that she struggles to pass sounds like constipation. Very common in toddlers, but changes to diet won’t really tackle the whole problem. She could be very backed up and need clearing out, followed by a good maintenance regime while her bowel shrinks back to a normal size. The standard NICE approved approach is to treat with a macgrol laxative (like movicol or laxido) to achieve a clear out, then drop down to an ongoing maintenance dose. Avoiding certain ‘bloating’ foods like weetabix, lots of milk and increasing water will help, but will not solve the problem in its own. Check out the ERIC website for more info about children’s constipation.

Thanks both. We've recently moved to a different country and I don't recognise half the fruit and veg here but will persevere with finding suitable options!

Will follow this up with medical advice and look at ERIC. I once worked with a little boy (8-9 years old) who had really bad encopresis so I am very aware of this issue and want to deal with it now rather than let it linger!