What Your Child’s Poop Says About Their Health, According To A Doctor

Most parents spend lots of time thinking about what goes into their children's mouths — but little to no time thinking about what comes out the other end.

As an integrative pediatric neurologist, I'm often the first doctor to have even asked about their child’s stool, so parents are genuinely shocked by the suggestion that it might hold secrets to the problems in their bodies and brains.

But more and more studies now show that what’s happening in the gut can affect what’s happening in the body and brain, and vice versa. For example, an unhealthy gut can manifest as symptoms like anxiety and migraines. Even though it’s waste, stool is an external reflection of what’s happening inside of our children’s bodies — from how their bodies interact with the food they eat to whether their gut microbes are in balance.

If your child has a healthy gut and digestion, here's generally what you should notice: Your child poops at least once a day, and it should take under 5 to 10 minutes between entering to exiting the bathroom (of course, bringing a book or a device might artificially increase toilet time). The stool should come out easily, without strain or pain, be brown and shaped like a tube or banana, and clean up easily. It should flush easily — no clogging the toilet or sticking to the basin. And while there may be an odor for a short period of time, it shouldn’t linger for long after the toilet is flushed. Gas, burps, and stomachaches should be minimal.

Digestion starts with careful chewing. Does your child have time to eat in an unrushed way — or is he or she always running to school, the next class or activity, or bedtime? Proper digestion won't happen if eating is rushed. Undigested food may also indicate that your child lacks sufficient stomach acid to break down food.

This can present as any of the following: infrequent, hard, or painful stools; stool that comes out in balls; or a sense of incomplete emptying after moving the bowels.

Constipation can be caused by many culprits. It can be a manifestation of food reactivity (such as dairy or gluten). It could also be from eating too many processed foods, and not enough fresh produce (especially vegetables) or unprocessed grains (less bread, cereal, and crackers and more quinoa, unprocessed oatmeal, and sprouted rice). Or, it can be caused by chronic stress, as movement of the digestive tract is shut down by the fight-or-flight response.

We may not want to hear it, but too much sugar in the diet can cause gas, bloating, or loose stool. Sources of sugar can be obvious like soda or candy, or less so, as with fruit juice, sweetened yogurts, or sometimes excessive amounts of fresh fruit.

This often indicates that fat isn't getting absorbed effectively in the digestive tract. But it’s not necessarily because your child is eating too much fat — remember, kids need a lot of healthy fats in the diet for immune system and brain development.

The gallbladder normally adjusts to more fat in the diet by increasing production of bile, which binds fat and helps it to be absorbed. Without enough bile, fat ends up in the stool, making it float and glisten.