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Constipation in children is probably one of the top five reasons that a parent contacts me.  It can be frustrating, both for the child and the parent.  When a child experiences pain passing a stool, they can often try to hold it in in the future - this only perpetuates the problem.  And, consider the last time you had a bout of constipation, your stomach feels so full that the last thing you want to do is put more food in.  Kids feel the same way.  Unfortunately, younger children are often more sporadic eaters.  You put this on top of the sporadic eating and it usually results with a very frustrated parent.

What Is Constipation?

First, lets look at how a normal stool forms:  as digested food moves thru the intestines, water is absorbed and the waste from the food is left creating the stool.   For a soft stool, enough water must remain and the rectal muscles need to contract to move this stool along.  When either the water or the muscle pathways fail, constipation results.   If these pathways are malfunctioning, the stool sits for longer periods in the intestines causing it to become harder and larger.  The larger it gets, the more it weakens the intestine muscles creating even more difficulty in passing it.  Additionally, the harder and larger the stool becomes, the more likely it becomes to tear the soft tissue of the rectum causing pain and often blood.   All of this combined causing the child to react by holding on to the stool longer as a protection from the pain.  

Causes Of Constipation In Infants And Children

• New foods or introduction of milk in the infant
• Poor consumption of fluids 
• Low activity levels
• Low intake of fiber - often the leading cause in a pickier eater!

Based on the common causes of constipation in children, the first steps in treatment are to: drink plenty, get moving, and add more fiber to the diet (check out a previous hot topic for more information on fiber).  However, if this doesn't stimulate the stool, your child may need medical assistance with a stool softener, but there are several natural laxatives you can implement.

The following fruits are natural laxatives that help regulate the intestines and soften stools extremely well.  You can add these fruits to smoothies, puree them and smooth on toast or add to oatmeal, and stir them into yogurt.   

This week, Joey's favorite meal is mac and cheese with strawberries and next week, he won't touch it. Frustration. As you finally have a small repertoire of guaranteed meals, Joey hits a food rut and won't eat any of it — now, he fights even coming to the table. Frustration peaks. If this sounds like your house, you are not alone...

To Read more:

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110614/entlife/706149922/#ixzz1QDpmstEq

My husband sent me this yahoo article a week ago, and as I'm reading it (finally!) today, I have complete mixed emotions.  For the full story, check it out at this link below:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110411/us_yblog_thelookout/chicago-school-bans-homemade-lunches-the-latest-in-national-food-fight

Essentially, there is a Chicago public school, Little Village Academy, where the principal has banned the students from bringing their own brown bag lunch and they are forced to consume the school-made lunch or go hungry. Now, many of the children are on the lunch program (income level is low enough to receive free bkfst/lunch from your school), however, a percentage of the children do not receive full lunch and are forced to pay $2.25 daily for lunch. The principal stands by firmly, stating that all the students are consuming healthier food this way. That's my quick and poetic summary - again, read the full article, much more said!

However, this got me thinking.  Having worked at Children's Memorial Hospital with the   Endocrine department, I saw TOO MANY obese children come thru the doors being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.  And, too many times, I'd educate the families on how to change their food habits only for the parents to scoff at my healthy suggestions or to state that they couldn't afford to buy healthy foods. So, for kids coming in from these situations, this system might be great.

However, the principal is, not only punishing those parents/children that do pack healthy   lunches (as this is also more economical than $2.25/day), but she is now taking away the   many avenues for nutrition education among her students and parents.  Instead of placing a ban, push for education of the parents on how to create healthier lunches that their kids would enjoy - they can be quick, economical and tasty all at the same time.  Think, Jamie Oliver's  Food Revolution.

Like I said before, I get what she's trying to do. She's looking out for the children that would show up to school daily with chocolate milk, candy and other junk in their lunch.  I get that she is well-intentioned.  But, forcing kids to eat a specific lunch is only putting a band-aid on our obesity epidemic. It's not teaching the family the fundamentals of planning, buying and cooking healthy meals for a lifetime of good health.

Love Sloppy Joes but don't dare give them to your kids because of all the messy sauce? I agree! So, here's our favorite sloppy joe dish - still lots of great taste but with a much more manageable sauce level.  The kids can easily pick up their buns to scarf it down and you don't have to watch Fido licking all the sauce off of the chairs and floor afterwards. And, for an extra perk, I add finely diced green peppers for an extra surprise veggie serving - my kids have never known the difference!

* Note, we love ground beef in our house but you can easily swap out ground turkey for a leaner recipe

SLOPPY JOES

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/4 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp yellow mustard
• pepper to taste

1. Add ground beef, green pepper and onion to a non-stick skillet and cook until beef is browned.
2. Mix in the remaining ingredients.  Simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occassionally.
3. Serve on a whole wheat bun with your favorite side dishes.

Bon Appetit!