From late infancy to about age three, our twins had bowel movement problems and experienced constipation off and on. Since I had never heard of toddler constipation and our friends and family were only too quick to point out how they had never had any problems with this, we automatically jumped to the conclusion that we were doing something wrong or that there was something wrong with our children's digestive tracts. After consulting with our pediatrician and doing our own research, we discovered that toddler constipation is a relatively normal phenomenon.

In fact, it is estimated that about half of all toddlers will experience toddler constipation at one point or another. Symptoms of toddler constipation include infrequent bowel movements (going 2-3 days between bowel movements), hard stools, straining during bowel movements, and trying to stop a bowel movement from happening. Toddler constipation actually becomes a vicious cycle: the bowel movements hurt, so they try to hold them back, which makes the stools harder, which makes them hurt more. Fortunately there are some simple things that you can do to help alleviate toddler constipation that just involve a few lifestyle changes.

The first thing you need to do is to give your child high fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, breakfast bars that are high in fiber, fiber cereals and even peanut butter all are good foods to give your child to help toddler constipation go away and help keep it away. Make sure your child has a good fluid intake. Sneak in a glass of water or fruit juice during the morning or afternoon playtime. You might have to cut out the milk and cheese for a few days until the bowel movements become regular again. Start implementing a 5-10 minute potty time after meals, which seems to be the best time to get them to go.

You should not give your child an over-the-counter laxative. In fact, you shouldn't give your child any medicine for constipation without consulting the doctor. Fortunately, there are a lot of natural remedies for toddler constipation so that you don't have to rely on medications.