Natural Calm is an Effective Home Remedy for Constipation in Children

Natural Calm Magnesium works quickly to relieve constipation in children. Natural Calm Magnesium Citrate is a very effective home remedy for constipation in children and comes in child-friendly flavors.   One of the quickest, safest and most effective ways to treat constipation without using a chemical laxative is with Natural Calm Magnesium.  After my son had horrible side effects from Miralax, I switched him to Natural Calm Magnesium with great success.  If you would like more information on Miralax and the side effects many children have experienced while on Miralax, please read my article Is Miralax Safe to Give to My Child?

Magnesium Deficiency

Many of our kids are magnesium deficient. It is hard to get enough just by diet alone, especially if your child doesn’t have an ideal diet.  Most kids don’t have an ideal diet no matter how hard we as parents try!

Signs of magnesium deficiency are fatigue, muscle weakness, cramps or spasms, or even heart palpitations.  Magnesium deficiency can trigger panic attacks, anxiety, diabetes, depression, migraine, liver or kidney problems, PCOS, fibromyalgia, asthma and of course, constipation.  So you can see that getting enough is really important.

How Does Natural Calm Magnesium work quickly to relieve constipation in children?

Magnesium works as an osmotic. It pulls water into the colon softening the stool.  When you get too much magnesium, the stool is very soft or liquid and you expel the stool and the extra magnesium.  No matter what type of magnesium you use, it can cause dehydration, so please make sure to drink lots of fluids.

Natural Calm Magnesium is Magnesium Citrate.  Magnesium Citrate is not well absorbed by the body so it is not great for magnesium deficiency.  But, this is what makes it really effective for immediate constipation relief. When the body gets flooded with magnesium citrate and can’t absorb it, it flushes the excess out of your body in your stool.

Magnesium Citrate has a long history of being used for constipation and is usually well tolerated by children.  Magnesium Citrate is what was used for colonoscopy preparation or Clean Outs before Polyethylene Glycol (Miralax, PEG 3350 or Golightly) was invented. If you are curious about how to do a clean out on your constipated child, please read my article How to do a Clean Out for Your Constipated Child

How Long Until Natural Calm Works For Constipation

Natural Calm Magnesium Citrate usually works in 1-3 hours but can take overnight or if your child is severely constipated it can take multiple doses over days to break up a hard stool in your child’s intestines.   Magnesium Citrate can be used to get your child going daily to shrink the bowels while you are looking for the root cause of their constipation. 

Many of the bottles of liquid magnesium citrate have PEG (Polyethylene Glycol) or saccharine in them. They are flavored and are kind of like soda so some kids will drink them easier than other options.  I try to avoid Saccharine because it is a neurotoxin and a carcinogen. I would avoid those if at all possible but they are still a better option than many over the counter laxatives.  Using them occasionally for a cleanout is probably not going to cause long term issues but I wouldn’t use them regularly.  

Natural Calm is Kid Friendly and Tasty

Natural Calm Magnesium works quickly to relieve constipation in children. Natural Calm Magnesium is my preferred type of Magnesium Citrate. It comes in child-friendly flavors like Lemon or Raspberry lemon, Orange and Cherry.  There is even a 4 pack with Lemon, Cherry, Raspberry Lemon, and Orange (Amazon Links) so you can try different flavors to see what your child likes best.

You need to add hot water to the Calm powder to activate it and then once the fizzing stops, add water, ice, juice, lemonade, etc. 

Calm has Stevia for a sweetener which can take some getting used to.  You can add honey or sugar as well if your child doesn’t like the taste. You can dilute the Calm in a large drink as long as your child will drink that much or you can just add a small amount of water and put it in your child’s mouth with a syringe if they really don’t like the taste. 

I used Natural Calm personally with my son and have had good success getting my “Super-taster” son to take it.  I add in cut up lemons or limes and put in lots of ice after activating it with hot to boiling water.

Some of my readers have had good luck freezing it after they mix it up in popsicle molds. You can also make a slushy with Calm after you mix it up adding ice, lemonade or limeade and blend it up. Some kids will drink it that way that won’t drink it straight up. 

Natural Calm Gummies For Constipation

Natural Calm is now selling a Gummie ( Amazon Link ) which kids really seem to like. The gummies can be a great way to get magnesium in your child if they won’t drink anything flavored or take pills.  Many of my readers have reported that they don’t feel that the Gummies work as well as the powder for producing a bowel movement and have to use slightly more than they had to use of the powder for their child to achieve a bowel movement.

How Much Natural Calm Magnesium to Use For Constipation Relief

I have had people tell me that they have tried magnesium citrate for their child’s constipation and it didn’t work for them.   If your child is magnesium deficient, their body is going to hold on to the magnesium to try to keep as much as possible.  It may take many doses, and more than the normal dose, to produce a bowel movement or do a clean out. Parents are often surprised at how much magnesium it is taking to get their child to go.

It can be tricky to determine the correct dosing of magnesium for your child.  Every child is different. Some small children are very magnesium deficient and need more than an adult. Different types of magnesium work differently in different children.

The way to figure out your child’s dosage is to dose them with a small amount every two hours until you get loose stools. The next day, give less than the total you gave the day before that caused them to have loose stools. The dosing can change over time as they build up magnesium in their system. If they get loose stools, lower the dose slightly. If their stool is hard or they miss a day, increase the dose the next day.

Don’t wait to dose until your child hasn’t gone for a few days. Dose daily to keep things moving so you don’t end up dealing with an impaction.

I found it very helpful to track how much Calm magnesium I gave my son and what his stools were like on a chart.  If you are interested in getting a free chart to help you figure out a dosing regiment that works for your child, click on the link and sign up to receive a Free Bowel Movement Tracker to help you find a plan to manage your child’s constipation.

If you are curious about other types of magnesium and how they work for constipation relief, please read my article Magnesium for Constipation.

My children’s book, Dash’s Belly Ache, is a book for children who can’t or won’t poop. The star of the book is Dash, a border collie pup who won’t poop.  His doctor gives him a special treat in the book that helps him to have a bowel movement.  The recipe for the treat is in the book and also in this article.  If your child is struggling with constipation, withholding or is resistant to pooping, Dash’s Belly Ache is a helpful tool to add to your arsenal to help them overcome their struggle.  You can buy Dash’s Belly Ache on Amazon.

I would like to invite you to join my Facebook groups People Against Miralax or Natural Constipation Solutions for more information on how to treat constipation and for support on your journey.

Disclaimers

This post contains affiliate links

*DISCLAIMER, I AM NOT A DOCTOR OR MEDICAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL. ALL IDEAS DISCUSSED AND DESCRIBED IN THIS POST ARE MY OWN AND ARE NOT MEANT TO TREAT OR DIAGNOSE. IF YOU HAVE A MEDICAL CONDITION PLEASE SPEAK WITH YOUR DOCTOR.

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