how to firm up stools We have a 5 year old whose stools seem to always be soft. Really no big deal but he always has issues wiping his butt. Due to the soft stools he wipes and wipes and wipes and still cannot get clean. Can we firm up his stools so when he is done going hopefully his butt will be fairly clean.

How about getting him some of those flushable wipes? Does he drink too much juice or eat too much fruit?

DS is 4 1/2 and not a good wiper, also has softer stools. So I still keep a package of flushable wipes on the back of the stool and use those. They also make individual packets, which I keep in my purse or pocket, when we're out of town or out and about with DS 'cuz toilet paper in public restrooms is the worst -- too thin.

Thank you. I know the question was not written in a politically appropiate way however it was written in the simplist terms. Thank you for the advice. We do already use the Kando wipes. This does help. However we still have issues. We will try more fiber. Apples to start. Then maybe the benefibre.

Try some probiotics. They're little capsules that you can buy in the health food aisle in the grocery store. You can give even to babies and my doctor always recommends using them with my children anytime they are one antiboitics. The probiotics helps regulate the digestive tract. It's just a little capsule that you open up and pour into a drink or mix right into the food.

Try cocoa. It's been shown effective for children's diarrhea.

I agree with probiotics, they allow good bacteria to grow. I would stay away from apple juice, it loosens stools. It is what I give my daughter when she has too much milk. You really have to evaulate your childs diet and adjust it from there.

Adding more bulk/fiber should probably help. Sounds like you should be glad that it is this way and not constipation which is harder to deal with.