Constipation is a rather unpleasant, but very common occurrence in children of all ages. From birth to a year, a chair in a child usually does not cause any special problems, and with the introduction of complementary foods, it is finally established. However, after the baby is one year old, the problem may return again. Parents usually manage to cope with it on their own, making adjustments to the diet. This article will give a diet for constipation in a child.
Causes of Stool Problems
There are many factors that influence the appearance of constipation. Among them are physiological, due to the characteristics of the age period. From 1 year to 3 years, a delay in stool can be triggered:
- slow intestinal motility;
- dysbiosis - although recent studies claim that such a disease does not exist, nevertheless, a violation of the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract and a lack of probiotic bacteria are quite capable of provoking various difficulties in defecation;
- helminthiasis;
- new food introduced for the first time;
- a sharp change of scenery;
- lack of fluid intake;
- products causing intestinal dysfunction;
- enzyme deficiency.
The diet for constipation in a child should be carefully thought out. About it below.
Additional factors
Children over 3 years old also often suffer from the inability to defecate normally until they start school, that is, up to 6-7 years. In addition to the previous list, they have new reasons:
- pain during bowel movements due to too dry and hard feces, and a child at this age can already consciously refuse to go to the toilet if he feels discomfort;
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract - in these cases other symptoms will necessarily appear, it is important to immediately go to the pediatrician with the baby;
- cracks in the anus, causing severe pain;
- hesitation to empty the intestines in public places, next to other children - in kindergarten, school, sometimes there is a very developed disgust in a child, which also prevents you from visiting the toilet anywhere except at home.
Most often, the culprit in constipation in children from 1 year to 7 years is an incorrectly compiled menu and non-compliance with the drinking regime. A diet for constipation in children 6 years old will be the way out.
The effect of drinks on stool quality
Inadequate fluid intake can cause constipation even in adults, and even more so in children with their delicate, just formed digestive system. The introduction of complementary foods, the transition to solid food, the cessation of breastfeeding or refusal to feed the mixture must necessarily encourage parents to reconsider the issue of adequate provision of the child with drink. The diet for constipation in children of 1 year is made taking into account this.
Children of different ages require a different amount of drink per day, and it does not have to be pure water. Compotes from dried fruits, decoctions of herbs, for example, chamomile, fennel, special baby teas, freshly squeezed juices, except sour, fresh sour-milk products, will be useful for constipation. All drinks should be of low concentration, prepared without added sugar.
The diet for constipation in a child is based on this.
Fluid rate depending on age
Normally, the amount of fluid entering the body, including with food, should be approximately as follows:
- 1 year - 1.1-1.3 liters;
- 2 years - 1.4-1.5 liters;
- 3 years - 1.5-1.6 liters;
- 4 and 5 years - 1.6-1.7 liters;
- 6 and 7 years old - 1.6-1.8 liters.
What does the diet for constipation in children 5 years old take into account?
What liquid to give?
It is not recommended to give kids coffee, strong black tea, carbonated sugary drinks. Limit the amount of cow's milk, especially fresh milk, packaged and freshly squeezed juices. The first contains a lot of carbohydrates, the second are quite concentrated, capable of causing allergic reactions. Such juices must be diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 3. This suggests a diet for constipation in children up to a year.
It is useful to give your child a glass of clean, cool water before breakfast. Warm is not suitable, as it weakens peristalsis. The lower the temperature, the better the stimulation of the gastrointestinal tract. First you should give water at room temperature, then gradually lower the degree, bringing it to a very cool, but not causing discomfort.
General Nutrition Guidelines for Stool Normalization
It is necessary to form the right eating habits from the very beginning of the introduction of complementary foods, especially in the presence of a hereditary tendency to constipation. A grown-up child, who often received tasty, but not too healthy food, can resist the transfer to food necessary for good bowel function. The diet for constipation in children 2 years old should be as balanced as possible.
Allowed Products
The diet of all children from year to seven suffering from difficult bowel movements should include products that stimulate rapid bowel movement, containing enough vitamins, trace elements, beneficial bacteria, fiber:
- Cereals - buckwheat, brown or brown rice in small quantities, oatmeal in large flakes or oats, wheat. Do not get involved in cereals.
- Vegetables - beets, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and white cabbage, pumpkin, bell pepper, cucumbers, tomatoes, some potatoes and others should form the basis of the diet.
- Fruits and berries - apples, plums, apricots, bananas (little by little), currants, raspberries, kiwi.
- Greens - spinach, lettuce, Beijing cabbage, dill, parsley.
- Dried fruits - prunes, dried apricots, raisins, dates, figs.
- Sour-milk products - kefir (only fresh, up to 3 days, otherwise the opposite effect will turn out), bio-yogurt, yogurt, fermented baked milk, children's cottage cheese.
- Dried bran or rye bread, bran itself.
- Honey and homemade jam made from suitable berries and fruits.
- Low-fat meat and fish products.
Dishes should be boiled, stewed, baked, steamed, while still adding a little olive oil. Salads of fresh fruits and vegetables, seasoned with the same oil or natural yogurt, cottage cheese, have a good effect.
Diet for constipation in a child - prohibited foods
From the list of food, you definitely need to exclude fast food, sweets, rich soups, marinades, pickles, smoked and fried foods. Specifically, it is worth minimizing the use of:
- Macaron
- Semolina porridge and white rice.
- Blueberries
- Pears
- White bread.
- Cocoa, coffee, strong tea.
- Chocolate.
- Kissels.
- Fatty fish and meat - mackerel, herring, trout, lamb, some parts of pork, duck and goose meat.
- Dumplings, dumplings.
- Cheese, milk.
- Legumes - peas, lentils, beans - should be limited.
This is the basis for a diet for constipation in children 2 years old.
Any products that slow down the defecation process or condense feces should be limited as much as possible, and it is better to completely remove them from the diet, doing this gradually, step by step. Ideally, they should not be given to a child from the very beginning.
For a child under 3 years old, it is very important to strictly follow the nutritional recommendations. After 3 to 7 years, you can sometimes make some concessions, but it is important not to backtrack too often. So the diet for constipation in children 4 years old will slightly differ from the diet of a two-year-old child.
Special table
For children and adults, who often have constipation, even a diet has been developed, which is listed under No. 3 in the list of therapeutic diets. This is a completely balanced menu enriched with essential nutrients, the set of products of which has a positive effect on difficult stools.
Consider what the number 3 diet for children with constipation includes.
Servings of food should be small, and the total number is divided into 4-6 receptions. So it’s easier for the stomach to digest incoming food, and the intestines are easier to remove. Recommended Products:
- Vegetables - tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, zucchini, pumpkin, carrots, beets. White cabbage should not be eaten, as it provokes strong gas formation, which slows down peristalsis. Potatoes can only be eaten peeled and baked.
- There are almost no restrictions on fruits and berries: strawberries, currants, blackberries, strawberries, cranberries, lingonberries, bananas, apples, pears, apricots, plums, watermelons. An exception is grapes, as well as cabbage, which contributes to flatulence.
- White fish - perch, pike, bream, carp, cod, hake, pollock.
- Low-fat meat and poultry - turkey, rabbit, beef, veal.
- Dried rye or grain bread with bran, seeds or other grain additives.
- Greens, celery.
- Homemade preserves, jams, compotes, sweetened with honey - allowed only for the children's menu.
- Dried fruits.
- Cottage cheese and sour-milk drinks, preferably home-made.
- Porridge made from barley, buckwheat, wheat.
- Sunflower and pumpkin seeds, nuts.
Diet for constipation in a child 3 years of life: recommendations
Soups are boiled lightly, on meat and fish broths, diluted with water or slightly boiled, but without the addition of meat and fish. All dishes must be baked, boiled, stewed or cooked in a double boiler.
Meat or fish is consumed once a day. Occasionally, you can replace them with turkey ham. It is undesirable to remove the peel from fruits and vegetables, since it contains the highest amount of fiber. You can add yogurt to fruit salads, and a couple of spoons of bran to vegetable salads.
Unstable children’s organisms under 5 years old will benefit from baked vegetables and fruits, you should not get fresh to do so, so as not to overload the stomach and not break only the established digestion process. For example, baked apples are an excellent remedy for constipation.
Porridge should be cooked friable, since liquid will envelop the walls of the stomach, inhibiting the digestion of food. For the same reason, it is undesirable to cook mashed soups, but light broths with crackers made from black bread will do well.
Children will appreciate delicious dishes such as pumpkin porridge, pumpkin and dried fruit pancakes or just baked pumpkin or apple greased with honey. These dishes can be offered as dessert, afternoon snack or breakfast. Meat and poultry are included in the menu up to 3 times a week, the rest of the time protein is obtained from fish, dairy products and steamed omelettes.
Kids recipes
If the doctor prescribed a diet number 3 for children with constipation, then feeding the baby correctly, tasty and varied will not be difficult. From the allowed products you can cook a lot of delicious dishes that will appeal to both kids and older children.
- Beetroot and prune salad can be given to children from 2 years. Boil the beets until cooked and grate, prunes - soak in boiling water and chop finely. You can fill a salad with natural yogurt or sour cream of 10% fat content.
- Hold the prunes in boiling water until soft, cut into small pieces or make mashed potatoes for babies from one year old. Mix dried fruit with fresh kefir, bio-yogurt, yogurt or fermented baked milk and take it shortly before bedtime.
- Baked omelet with zucchini, herbs and tomatoes. Beat the egg with a spoonful of water or skim milk, mix with finely chopped or mashed greens. Oven utensils should be greased with a thin layer of oil, put tomatoes and zucchini, pour with egg mixture and bake until browning - 10-15 minutes.
Conclusion
Most parents who cook the right dishes for children to help eliminate constipation note that the effect is observed after only 2-3 weeks. In children, bloating disappears, stool becomes much softer, bowel movements occur every day.
The diet itself is usually prescribed for a period of 2 to 4 weeks, but the list of products allowed and prohibited for constipation should always be at hand and actively used. If the problem is due to genetics, it would be better to switch to such a diet for the whole family so that the child does not feel deprived.
In general, such a diet helps not only to normalize the stool, but also to improve the general condition of the child and strengthen his health. The main thing is not to forget that with any problem of the child’s body, you must first consult a doctor and do not treat yourself.