As parents, especially new parents, of course worry when they find a change in their baby, no matter how small it is. Examples of changes in appetite, active behavior, to bowel habits. If your child suddenly becomes rare or even more frequent defecation in a day, you might be panic and hurry to consult a doctor. Actually, how many times do toddlers defecate in a day? Calm down, see the full explanation below.
How many times should toddlers defecate in a week?
Every toddler may have a different frequency of defecation. There are toddlers who defecate once a day, every three days, but there are also toddlers who can defecate three or more times a day.
Actually, there is no specific benchmark for how many times a toddler must defecate in a week. Because the problem of defecation is a unique thing that tends to be different in each person, including the little one. This is also influenced by food intake, age, and daily physical activity.
In toddlers aged 3-5 years, ideally defecate at least once a day. But rather than focusing too much on the frequency of bowel movements, more important is to pay attention to the texture and color of your toddler's stool.
According to Dr. Michael Lee, a pediatrician at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, reported from The Bump, the most important thing is to ensure there are no red spots or bleeding when toddlers defecate. If you find your baby's stool tends to be small, hard, and looks like a pebble or ball, then the chances of your child experiencing constipation.
While the opposite, if a toddler becomes more frequent defecating with a more fluid stool texture, this is probably a sign that your child has diarrhea.
Thus, how often toddlers defecate is not always interpreted every day, the important thing must be consistently. Changes in the frequency of defecation need to be watched out for if sudden changes occur, both becoming more frequent or less frequent than usual.
What is the normal frequency for toddlers?
Starting at the age of one year, toddlers will experience significant dietary changes. From initially dominated by breast milk or formula milk only, now routinely given more dense foods. Each type of food consumed by your little one will have an impact on the shape and color of your baby's stool. An example is when your child eats green vegetables, the texture of the stool can become denser and greenish in color.
A normal bowel movement in toddlers basically tends to be like peanut butter or cottage cheese which is soft and does not make the child sick. Typical feces of toddlers who still consume breast milk usually tend to be yellowish like mustard sauce, while in toddlers who consume formula the fecal texture tends to be like caramel pudding.
Regardless of the age of the child, the problem of defecation in toddlers can be seen from changes in the frequency and shape of the stool. Immediately bring your child to the doctor if you find the stool in conditions like the following:
- White (the sign of the child's body is not able to produce enough bile)
- Black (symptoms of bleeding in the stomach or small intestine)
- There are red spots (a sign of blood coming from the large intestine or rectum)
- There is mucus (a sign of infection or food intolerance)
- Toddlers defecate more or less frequently after you introduce new food (a sign of allergies)
- Toddler's stool still looks runny at the age of one year (a sign of diarrhea children)