My son won't eat any other vegetable than broccoli. Now he's tired of that, bran cereal, strawberries, and blueberries. I can't think of other creative ways to get him to eat more fiber and he beginning to complain of constipation. Are there other tricks of the trade? Can he take a supplement -- benefiber?
Cherry Prunes - i used to get them at Rite Aid but see them at A& P now.
We found Mangos help too.
Drink a lot - exercise
My daughter had constipation issues when she was the same age. I used to make her smoothies with just fruit and she would love them. I also used to make "cupcakes" with hidden ingredients such as carrots, etc. Another trick is to put about 1/2 teaspoon of mineral oil in his drink. Mineral oil is a natural laxative and usually does the trick. If you give it alone, it will be oily of course, but no flavor. Mix it with a "thicker" drink like orange juice. Drinking lots of water also helps!
try cherries or green grapes.....enough of those are like a natural laxative..haha
Give him a lot of fluids. One of the traditional remedies has been the use of prune juice. Avoid constipating foods and drinks, such as white flour, cheese, fried foods, sweets, salt, beef, pasteurized milk, all junk food, carbonated drinks. Certain berries with a large amount of seeds, such as strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, should be avoided, too, as they have a tendency to constipate.
My daughter was on Senakot for almost 3 years for constipation. It is natural and does work. You can also try a little Karro Syrup in some water, or mix prune juice with some other beverage he might drink. If he eats pasta with tomato sauce, try pureeing kidney beans or some other one and mixing it into the sauce. My daughter doesnt like beans, but I do that when I make chili and she doesnt even know they are there. Good luck.
Prune juice.
It will move his bowels that same day and does not taste horrible.
You can cut it with water if you like.
good luck
My son doesn't eat vegetables or fruit at all so giving him something with fiber is important. My sister suggested I give my son Whole Ground Flaxseed it no taste so youcan put it in everything. Its got 4g per serving. it also has lignans & omega-3 fats which is also very good for him as well. What I like is that it's all natrural. good luck with your son my son is 3.
Prune juice (Sunsweet makes it) and also have him drink lots od water. Also all the fruits that begin with "P" (pears, plums, peaches). Good luck.
Try dried fruit... like raisins and or figs. I give them to my son and he stays pretty regular!!/
Take your son to the doctor if the constipation doesn't get better. Stay away from binding foods like starches, bananas, apples (yes, they can bind) and foods that the body doesn't like to digest like red meat and certain veggies (corn, lima beans, etc). My son has chronic constipation which has led to a condition called encopresis where he has "accidents" because he is always so "backed up". It is terrible and we have started to have to give him stool softeners. Now we are going through bowel retraining with him.
Maybe take him to a dietician? Good luck!!!
my son is alittle over 2 years and he tends to get constipated if he doesnt eat his fruits and veggies. a family member recommended over the counter mineral oil. the brand i bought was kondramul. you mix it in food. i put it in yogurt and it works very well. there is no yucky taste... i believe its safer and natural then other things on the market. ask your pediatrician....
Hi A.. My 2 little guys are almost the same ages as yours. :)
Does he eat any other fruit?? Apples, grapes, pears? Grapes actually almost always do the trick for mine. I usually have to limit how many they eat. What about oatmeal in the morning?? I've read on here how some other moms puree veggies and put them in tomato sauce. I've never done it myself, but read it a few times. There are other cereals besides bran cereal that contain fiber also.
Hope that helps a little. :)
Hi A.-
I had have the same problem with my daughter. We started letting her chew on celery...she thinks its fun and she eats it in the mean time. We also found a chicken noodle soup with alot of different vegetables in. She would eat every vegetable in the soup without hesitation. The broth from the soup makes the vegetables a little tastier. If you get something like Campbell's Chunky Chicken soup...the pieces of vegetable are bigger but not too big. Hope this helps!
Hi A.,
My son went through the same thing! My pediatrician recommended Benefiber for my son. He likes the orange flavored ones the best. (Berry is kind of gross)If he starts having problems where he witholds his stool because of the pain associated with constipation, you may need to talk to your doctor about Miralax (my son took this for awhile, also).
Don't worry, he'll eat veggies again. Try to increase his fruit intake during this phase but keep putting veggies on his plate even if he doesn't want to eat them.
Good luck.
Oh, one more thing; broccoli is a great veggie, if he likes eating it but is getting tired of it, try to do different things with it like chop it up and put it on pizza, baked potatoes, smother it with cheese, etc. He may like cauliflower, too. My son and I pretend we're giants in a forest and see how many "trees" we can eat. Just a thought.
I have a 3 year old with the same problem, and the pediatrician recommended Benefiber or Miralax. The Miralax worked better for her, and accordingto her pediatrician it is very safe. You can buy it at the drug store. He used to prescribe it for her, but now it's sold over the counter. She has to take it everynight and ou can mix it in anything and best of all it's tasteless. If your child goes to loose then give him a little less. It's worked wonders for my daughter.
I'm not sure about Benefiber, however there is a kids cereal that has alot of fiber. Let's just say, when my son eats Fruity Pebbles, he just about misses the bus. He almost immediatly has to go to the bathroom. I too have had that experience with Fruity Pebbles. I'm not sure how you feel about a sugar cereal but as we all know, even the 'good cereal' contains plenty of sugar and other ingredients we may not expect it to contain. You could also add some Wheat Germ to it, though I'm not exactly sure how much fiber that contains. Good luck!! Let me know how you make out.
My son loves Weetabix, i put a biscuit in warm milk and mix it up until its the texture of oatmeal. It really helps keep him regular. Another trick is to substitute things he already eats with a brand that has higher fiber, like pasta or breads, if the taste is a little different put a little sauce or cheese on it and hopefully he'll eat it! Good luck.
Try crumbling up bran cereal so it is really fine and mix it in with foods he will eat. They may even sell something that is already crumbled up, like wheat germ. I am sure that a health food store has something.
A.,
My son has the same problem with consitpation. He eats a lot of fruits and veggies, but sometimes still get consitpation. He sits on the toliet and wiggles his legs and runs around in circles because of the pain. when it finally comes out, it is huge because he has been holding it for so long. When I took him to his pedi, he prescribed Mirlax. I put it in his drinks. It works. Plus I have gotten him Plumstart. He really likes to drink that. He hasn't had a problem in months.
Hope you find something that works.
Hi A.,
try hiding it in a chocolate muffin... use a muffin mis, but at soffend mushy bran cereal to it. you'd be surprised.. now i know you can't do this allll the time but as a semi healthy treat you'll at least no he's getting SOME fiber. Also try hiding some of the same cereal in flavored oatmeals, and if yoiu cook, meatloaf, mac and cheese also if he's getting constipation... try getting him to eat prunes or even drink prune juice... or a mix of juices that contain prune juice. If he's already taking a multivitamin i'd say ask your pediatrician before giving another supplement. hope this has helped
-N.
Does he eats patties? I make different ones for my daughter with veal and spinach, or ground turkey with any other ground (and boiled) veggies. I add bread crumbs and they come out yummy. Also I cook them in water rather than frying, which is healthier.
Why don't you try plums, grapes, and even prune juice? Also Flax seed is a great one. I buy the pasta that is whole grain and made with flax seed, and boy does that work!!! I think they also sell in a powder or seeds, and you can add it to the foods you cook and totally natural and safe. My pediatrician recommended it when my son got constipated at 4 months, so I think it's very safe and holistic.
I have the same problem and I dont know what to do with my 4 years old. Please I need help too.
I have been dealing with the same issues with my 4 year old since he was a little one. When he was smaller it was easier to deal with since I could get him to eat baby food prunes and he would think it was applesauce. Now that he is older I have gotten him to take a liking to apples and bananas, even if it meant taking extra time to cut it into fun shapes. You can also use a benefiber supplement in his foods too. What I also found to be helpful is to make sure all starches are whole grain, like whole wheat saltines, barilla plus pasta that is made with chick peas (not totally whole wheat), whole grain cereals (all of the post brand ones are whole grain) and Fiber one granola bars. The fiber one bars are very sweet and have peanut butter on them. They do the trick for him (and me too!). I got sick of pulling my hair out with him only liking broccoli too but these other items really worked well. Extra milk seems to make him "go" too. When he is really a pain in the tookus with eating, my last resort is the pediasure vanilla drink with extra fiber added, look for the ones with the green oval on the label that say fiber. Good luck!
