Foods to Eat When Your Child Is Constipated
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What foods should my child eat if they are constipated?
Some foods help soften bowel movements so that stool moves through the bowel faster. These foods can be helpful if your child has a slower moving colon.
Your child should eat these foods to help soften their bowel movements:
High-fiber foods
- Whole grain cereal, bread, pasta
- Brown rice
- Bran
- Oatmeal
- Dried fruit
- Most vegetables, especially raw (if not a choking risk for your child). But winter squashes, sweet potatoes and potatoes may constipate.
- Beans
- Most fruit (except banana and apples without skin)
Foods with natural sugars
- Fruit juice (apple, pear, prune, or cherry)
- Pears, plums, apricots, peaches, prunes, watermelon, kiwi
Natural Laxative Recipes
Try these recipes to help your child have regular bowel movements:
Jell-O laxative
| Ingredients |
|---|
| ¼ cup applesauce |
| 2 Tablespoons psyllium (generic Metamucil) |
| ¼ cup apple juice |
| 1 small package Jell-O (any flavor) |
Directions
- Mix the ingredients together.
- Add water to make the texture you like.
- Freeze in ice cube trays.
- Thaw before serving.
- Give your child 1 cube as needed for constipation.
Fruit paste
| Ingredients |
|---|
| ½ cup dried prunes |
| ½ cup dried figs |
| ½ cup raisins |
| ¼ cup lemon juice |
| 1 ounce (2 Tablespoons) Senna tea leaves |
| 1 and ¼ cup water |
| ¼ cup brown sugar |
| ¼ cup prune juice |
Directions
- Boil fruit, lemon juice, Senna tea leaves and water for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add brown sugar.
- Allow to cool.
- Using a mixer or food processor, turn fruit mixture into a smooth paste while gradually adding the prune juice. Fruit paste will not become solid but should be as thick as ice cream.
- Recipe makes about 2 cups. You can store the paste in a container in the freezer and scoop out small portions as needed.
- Mix the paste with oatmeal, yogurt or other soft foods your child likes.
Fiber recipe
| Ingredients |
|---|
| 1 cup applesauce |
| 1 cup unprocessed bran (increase or decrease the amount as needed) |
| ½ cup prune juice |
Directions
- Mix the ingredients together.
- Store in the refrigerator or in ice cube trays in the freezer.
- Serve to your child with a full 8-ounce glass of water:
- Begin by giving your child 2 Tablespoons of mixture every day, followed with an 8-ounce glass of water.
- After 1 week, increase it to 3 Tablespoons
- After 1 more week, increase to 4 Tablespoons
- Continue with 4 Tablespoons every day.
- In the beginning, your child may have some gas and feel bloated. This feeling will go away in a week or 2. You should begin to see a change in your child’s bowel habits and regularity in 2 weeks. This is not a one-time laxative. Make this a part of your child’s daily habit.
To Learn More
- Reconstructive Pelvic Medicine
206-987-1240, option 4 - Ask your child’s healthcare provider
- seattlechildrens.org/patient-education
Free Interpreter Services
- In the hospital, ask your nurse.
- From outside the hospital, call the toll-free Family Interpreting Line, 1-866-583-1527. Tell the interpreter the name or extension you need.
