Dehydrated toddler

[rehydrate]

My 2 year old appears to be dehydrated over the past couple of weeks. He is having difficulty passing motions and when he finally does they are rock hard and like dried mud (yuk, I've been inspecting it,  sorry!)
He does seem to go through a lot of fluids but these seem to be mostly at meal times e.g. 2 glass of milk at breakfast, 2 at dinner, a glass of water at lunch, a glass of something with his mid morning snack and afternoon snack so I would say he's having a litre+ of fluid a day. Of course I will try and give him more water between meals. My other son demanded water all the time so I didn't have this problem with him.

Is that not enough? How else can I hydrate him throughout the day. He doesn't like fruit juice and is not a big fruit lover. We have to whizz it all into his breakfast.

P.s. At this stage I do not think a trip to the Doc is necessary.

Any ideas gratefully received.

[Book Worm]

Home made ice lollies?

[taste buds]

ribena or something - or is that classed as fruit juice? 

You could give him tea - when we were kids we always drank tea - milky weak tea. 

[Not a doc]

The amount of fluids you're giving seems perfectly normal to me. Why wouldn't you consult a physician? Two weeks of difficult motions sounds very uncomfortable. Not meaning to take the piss, but wouldn't you go to the doctor if you felt like that yourself and nothing worked?

[rehydrate]

It's actually only happened 3 times over the past 2 weeks, not every day. I will try and up his fluid intake and if it happens again doesn't then of course I will take him.

[Dr. Phil]

The fluid intake you describe is woefully inadequate.
Iced lollies is a very good idea. Iced cream, yoghurt, but yogen fruz healthier option.
You need to get him interested in water, drink a little frequently to acquire the habit rather than a lot infrequently.
Ribena will rot his teeth its full of sugar, worse than coke and has destroyed many children's' teeth in UK.
Check with your doctor if your child is active he will require more fluid.
We adults use rehydrate which we can buy from the pharmacy perhaps there is something approved by doctors suitable for children.
Protect there heart, consult your doctor.

[taste buds]

Ribena will rot his teeth its full of sugar, worse than coke and has destroyed many children's' teeth in UK.

I wasn't talking about a perma-straw coming out of a vat of the stuff, I meant a small amount added to water to make it more interesting if he's not drinking enough.  Some kids find water boring, a tiny amount of cordial flavours it without making it too sugary.  All you need is half a teaspoon (probably less than most adults have who take sugar in their coffee).  I have friends who have done this with their children and it has worked.

I've still got all my own teeth and we had ribena and kia-ora and all that kind of syrupy cordial stuff when we were kids, but we weren't allowed to have it too strong.

[mum 2-2]

I think I would be tempted to drop some of the milk and try replacing it with water or at the very least skimmed milk. Not the best thing to have - try googling toddler constipation - it can be one of the things that actually causes it.

[Book Worm]

Did you check the colour of his wee wee? That's more of an indication of dehydration. Maybe the constipation is an indication of something else lacking in his diet - like oil or fat. I sometimes think advice on here becomes a little too precious. My teens are athletes, robust, hydrated and .... they drink Ribena, milky tea with sugar and had a bacon sandwich for breakfast today followed by pizza for lunch/dinner.

[popeye]

The fluid intake you're giving doesn't sound too bad to me. Try all the other options suggested but also take into consideration what kind of food you're giving him. Grains, nuts, cereal (even if healthy) and milk can also lead to constipation.

Loads of fibre, roughage that kind of thing. For eg, plums and apples really don't do much even if it's fruit. Since he's not a big fan of fruit to begin with ... that make also play a part.  How is his veg intake?

I know firsthand spinach is wonderful for doing the trick for constipation. My son swallowed something a gold (neutral non-reactive) by accident when he was a tot.

The pediatric hospital staff actually laughed when they saw it in the scan! Two days of spinach diet (mixed with lots of enticing other favorite food) and voila, it was out.

[In the pink]

The poor wee man's bound up tighter than Dr Phil's clenched fists in bed at night.

And as for you "doctor", I turn my back for five minutes and just look at the mess!...the mark of your verbal diarrhea is all over the forum.

Now OP, unless the lad's in a coma, or scratching at his throat and panting, it's highly unlikely that this is a medical emergency. The PPP's are on the money here I believe. He's bunged up. So how do we fix it when the lad's not a fruit eater? Back to the potty with him!

It appears you are no shirker when it comes to the nitty gritty of your child's bottom habits, and this is a good thing, because you're going to need to focus here. Eyes down for a full house...as it were. You'll remember from the original 'potty training' that after a while, and practice, the whole act became second nature (or so you'd hoped) and all was sorted. Well, for some children, and indeed some adults (see above), there is a regression phase that if ignored may present as a medical issue later. It's a bit like learning to juggle, to use a rather clumsy analogy, and sometimes you need to go back to throwing and catching one ball when the three- ball-cascade's gone awry.

The dumping reflex OP. Yes, that magic time, after eating, when the body's natural inclination is to purge. This time is your friend, and you need to use it to your advantage. Revisiting and compounding (loosening) your original potty regime with one of nature's true wonders. You should be ready to whisk the child to the head anywhere from 10-30 minutes after eating. The signs may be a little more subtle than what your used to - a blank stare, a pause, a flicker of the left eyelid...off to the bog!

As the clever boy establishes a newfound confidence (a new toy,,,boys love that), with your encouragement, his poo won't have time to hang around long enough in his lower intestine to lose moisture, and you'll be able to relax and realise that you are in fact doing a fine job.

Time for a cool dink before lights out,

Toodle pip.

[Ex-pat]

Prune juice.  This will solve the immediate problem of the constipation.  I was told to give this to one of my kids when they were a baby. I made it myself by soaking some prunes in warm water and squeezing to extract the juice (like tamarind).

[seriously]

The fluid intake you describe is woefully inadequate.
Iced lollies is a very good idea. Iced cream, yoghurt, but yogen fruz healthier option.
You need to get him interested in water, drink a little frequently to acquire the habit rather than a lot infrequently.
Ribena will rot his teeth its full of sugar, worse than coke and has destroyed many children's' teeth in UK.
Check with your doctor if your child is active he will require more fluid.
We adults use rehydrate which we can buy from the pharmacy perhaps there is something approved by doctors suitable for children.
Protect there heart, consult your doctor.

you should be banned from this site or have your name changed to "witchdoctor"

[milk???]

Maybe it's too much milk, mine get consitpated if they have too much dairy, I guess a slight intolerance. Worth a try, or try some lactose free dairy.