Full Day Diet Chart for Constipation in Kids — What to Feed and What to Avoid

Dr. Sandip Gupta

Parents often come with this complaint: our child passes very hard potty, cries while passing it, doesn't pass potty for three or four days, and sometimes gets stomach pain because of it. This video gives a full-day diet chart for constipation, meant for children above 1 year — and the same items can be given in small quantities to children above 6 months. The doctor also explains the scientific reason behind each item, and ends with five foods that cause constipation. Breakfast — oats. Oats contain a fibre called beta glucan which increases the movement of the intestine and helps make the motion soft and clear it. You can give oats khichdi or make something from oats flour. Ghee also contains certain fatty acids, such as butyric acid, which help make the motion soft and increase intestinal movement. Mid-morning (around 11 am) — a fruit. Give a fruit that helps soften the child's motion. Four options are given, which you can rotate across the week rather than cooking something different every day: Ripe papaya – contains the papain enzyme which helps digest food and softens the motion. Kiwi fruit – research has shown it helps soften the motion. Orange – helps soften children's motion. Mosambi – can also be given. Whenever you give any fruit to a child, always remove the seeds — there should be no seeds in it, this is very important. Prunes – if your child is above four years, you can give four prunes, soaked overnight in water. Lunch — rice, dal and a green vegetable. In India we give rice and dal, and with that a green vegetable should be given. Options the doctor has tried with his own patients include broccoli and spinach. You can also add these green vegetables into khichdi, or give them with sambar. Curd-based options the doctor suggests: Grate cucumber into curd and give the child a dahi-kheera raita; or mix strawberry or berry purée into curd to make a kind of fruit yogurt; or mash sweet potato with curd. The probiotic in curd improves intestinal health and helps digestion, which also gives relief in constipation. Dinner. Give the same type of food as at lunch. If you gave rice and dal in the afternoon, at night give whole wheat roti with dal, mashed well with some green vegetables mixed in. You can also make upma with vegetables, or khichdi — besides rice khichdi you can make dalia khichdi or sabudana khichdi. Don't forget to add vegetables — boil broccoli or green peas in small pieces, mash them and feed the child. Water intake. Giving children water is very important to make their motion soft. Once the child is six months old and you are giving semi-solid food, start giving a little water with a spoon after the semi-solid feed. A detailed video on how much water a child should drink by age is available separately. Five foods that cause constipation: Apple – if the child has a lot of constipation, the doctor advises stopping apple for some days. If you do want to give apple, mix apple purée with a cereal such as suji or ragi. Biscuits – many parents feed children biscuits. Biscuits contain maida and lack fibre, which makes the child's motion hard. Too much cow's milk – a big problem in India. Giving too much cow milk also causes constipation in children. Cow milk can be given to children after one year. Packaged and fried foods – chips, kurkure, french fries, fried items and packaged foods that parents give when going out. Packaged food has very little fibre and a lot of unhealthy fat, which causes constipation. Don't let the child develop a habit of packaged food — teach them to eat home food from the beginning. A final tip — morning toilet habit. For a child above two years or one who is toilet trained, build a habit of passing motion in the morning. If the child does not pass motion in the morning, the fecal matter stays in the stomach, and the intestine cramps in between trying to push it out, which causes the child stomach pain and distress. Important: In the beginning, when constipation is severe and the child has not passed potty for 3–4 days, medicine is sometimes necessary to clear the potty. Everything described here is for habitual constipation — constipation caused by dietary problems rather than by a disease. Relevant for: parents whose child passes hard stools, cries while passing motion, or goes 3–4 days without passing potty; parents wanting a full-day meal plan for a constipated child; parents asking which fruits and vegetables soften a child's motion; parents asking whether apple, biscuits, cow milk or packaged food worsen constipation; parents asking how much cow milk is too much; parents wanting to know when to start giving a child water; parents asking about building a morning toilet habit; and parents wondering when constipation needs medicine rather than diet changes. Disclaimer: This video is for general information and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Every child is different — please consult your pediatrician before making major diet changes or giving any medicine, and if your child's constipation is persistent, painful, or accompanied by blood in stool, vomiting, or poor weight gain.