'Toileting'

This is very common Loubyloo. You may find it useful to have a look on the website eric.org.uk, which gives lots of helpful info.

my 6 year old is the same ,her doctor says its because she doesn't eat enough fibre so she's constipated,he has prescribed mild laxatives along with advice on getting her to eat better...she's a real fusspot about food..The longer between going the more difficult it is for her and quite painful so we're hoping this advice works ..she does drink a lot of water ..no fizzy stuff or fruit juice ..though some fruit juice might help

Thank you, I'll check out the website and suggest some extra fruit juices.

Loubyloo Do you know why she is having such difficulty? Is it fear or does it hurt her to empty her bowels?

I ask the latter because for most of my childhood I had a medical problem that meant that it was very painful for me to empty my bowels. The problem wasn't really resolved until I was 13, when, a very good paediatrician sat down and talked to me about my problems instead of just asking my mother and aunt about them.

Plenty to drink, high fibre and plenty of exercise help, but if it hurts, it hurts. If you think this may be the problem please PM me and I can discuss it with you further.

Yes. The more constipated they become the more it may hurt to go - so it gets worse.
Prunes (if she will eat them, perhaps with icecream, yogurt or custard or perhaps prune juice), dried fruit of all kinds and pears are supposed to be very good as well as baked beans. Most children do like pears and baked beans.

Keep encouraging her to drink plenty of water too, as stools can become compacted and painful to pass and plenty of water helps - so we were told.

If it gets worse, get the GP to check it out as they can develop an anal fissure.

We're not sure what's caused her to start to do this really. She hasn't been toilet trained long, although took to it really well. We think that she may have passed a painful stool, was sore and now is just holding it in and says it hurts. Can't believe how long she can go and it's upsetting seeing her in discomfort.

Son 2 had an anal fissure, which caused him to retain stools. Not funny.

GP has prescribed Movicol. Fingers crossed it helps her, but having to put it in her milk as she won't drink it in water. Wondering if it will be as effective.

I think that there are suppositories specially made for children - sounds awful but they are only made of glycerin or vaseline and soften everything up to make it easier to go.

Thank you for the advice, much appreciated.

Jalima Yes, I had to resort to these with my DD. The benefit is that they only affect the area concerned!! They make the stool soft enough to ease any discomfort. Sometimes prunes etc can cause a bit of tummy ache, although they are brilliantly effective.

I was not talking about hurting to go because the faeces is hard and dry. I had a physical problem that made it painful to empty my bowels.

I am not going to mention the precise condition I had because if you google it, it gives you the full singing dancing disease and if this child had that you would know by now. In my case I had an extremely mild version that isn't always recognised, even now, as this particular problem and it took doctors quite few years to recognise that this was the problem I had..

If the child does manage to go (and it can be difficult and painful) then, if it is constipation and not something else, the stools may be hard and dry like little bullets. When they are passed, you could encourage her to sit a while longer and 'see if anything else arrives' in which case the faeces should be softer.
She may be frightened to go now if she has had difficulty.

Heinz used to do baby tins of prunes and custard but they don't seem to do them any more - I looked for some for DGD when she had a problem.

I think this is fairly common, one of my GC went from having toddler diarrhoea to chronic constipation and needing Movicol, just doesn't seem to feel the need to go for days.

My eldest son was like this as a small child to the point where we thought he had diarrhoea as it would liquify inside him. My SIL had him while I was in hospital with my second baby and discovered he was so constipated. We used to be given suppositories by the doctor for him but this is over 40 years ago. Strangely his own daughter also suffered the same problem but much worse and she was hospitalised a couple of times when she was 4 or 5. It was a nightmare at school as she was bullied - one problem leading to another really. She had fibre drinks until she was finally regular. I'm sure the doctor would advise.

Our eldest had a similar problem, when very young. We took him to see a specialist because he cried and withheld. It transpired he had a small internal cut. Probably caused by eating something sharp, a small plastic bit perhaps. Obviously without our knowledge!
Some medication did the trick.

I remember reading years ago that children like to hold on to their faeces (poo) because they worry they are losing part of themselves.

It was when I was potty-training DD1 that I read this - not sure if it was Dr Spock.

my GD doesn't like using school toilets so holds on all day which isn't good for her ,we're trying to get her to use other loos ,in shops etc but its hard going she'll cry rather than go

I have a DC who was like this. She would refuse to let go and after about 10 days she would go. By this time it was so big that it hurt coming out so that made her even more determined not to let go. She would never eat vegetables so that there was no fibre in her diet. She came round to the idea eventually but it was horrible at the time.
I think looking back I would have given her tons of veg and brown bread but it was difficult enough trying to get her to eat at all

Our DGD 4 always returns from school needing a poo. I think she does not want to have to wipe her own bottom! And Grandma tells her a story whilst she is seated on the throne!

When I was a child I used to get a dose of Syrup of Figs if there was the slightest mention of constipation.

LoubyLoo Movicol comes in three flavours - lemon and lime, chocolate or plain - so maybe you can try a different flavour to see if she likes it?