Helping Kids Thrive Through the Holidays: Pelvic Health Tips for Bowel & Bladder Success

The holidays bring excitement — twinkly lights, festive gatherings, tasty treats, and a schedule packed full of fun. But for children (or adults) dealing with constipation, daytime accidents, bedwetting, or other pelvic floor issues, all the changes to routine can increase challenges.

The goal? Enjoy the magic of the season without extra stress on your child’s body — especially their bladder and bowels. Here are some holiday pelvic health tips to help your child feel comfortable, confident, and in control.

Holidays are fun but can be stressful for kids and parents with bowel or bladder issues!

✨ 1️⃣ Healthy Tips to Manage Holiday Stress & Pelvic Tension

Big emotions, disrupted schedules, travel, and extra social events can create stress — even for kids. Stress triggers the pelvic floor to tighten, which can contribute to:

• Trouble fully emptying the bladder

• More frequent accidents

• Holding patterns and constipation

• Bellyaches or urinary urgency

✅ Holiday Helper Tip: Practice “belly balloon breathing” with your child — slow deep breaths where the belly expands like a balloon on the inhale and softens on the exhale. This helps the pelvic muscles relax so the bladder and bowels can do their job.

Make it fun:

• Pretend to smell cookies (inhale)

• Blow out holiday candles (exhale)

🎅🏼 2️⃣ Happy Hour… for Kids!

Hot cocoa, soda, sparkling juices — holiday drinks can irritate the bladder. Caffeine, carbonation, and artificial dyes can increase:

• Urgency (“I have to go RIGHT NOW!”)

• Frequency

• Nighttime accidents

✅ Holiday Helper Tip: Encourage water between festive drinks:

• “One fun drink, one water!”

• Bring a familiar water bottle during outings

Small change, big difference!

Remember to hydrate during all fun seasonal activities!

🍪 3️⃣ Treats & Tummy Troubles

Holiday foods can be delicious — but rich foods + less-familiar meal times can lead to:

• Hard stools and constipation

• Painful bowel movements

• Increased withholding behaviors

When stool backs up, the bladder gets irritated too — sometimes leading to more accidents.

✅ Holiday Helper Tips:

• Include fruits or veggies at every gathering (grapes, carrots, clementines are easy wins!)

• Keep water flowing throughout the day

• Encourage daily toilet breaks, ideally after meals when the body is naturally ready to poop

Even on busy days, 2–3 calm minutes sitting on the toilet after breakfast and dinner can help keep bowels regular.

😂 4️⃣ Giggles, Games & Leaks

Playful fun is the best part of the holidays — tag with cousins, jumping on couches, or laughing at silly family jokes. But kids with pelvic floor weakness may leak when they laugh, sneeze, or run.

✅ Holiday Helper Tip: Teach the “Squeeze Before You Sneeze” trick: A gentle belly-to-bottom lift before coughing, jumping, or laughing helps keep urine in while the system is strengthening.

Make it playful: call it a “Superhero Squeeze”!

Family fun around the holidays can trigger bladder issues for many.

✈️ 5️⃣ Pelvic Health Tips for Holiday Travel & Routine Disruptions

Car rides, long lines, and different bathrooms can result in:

• Pee holding

• Skipping bowel movements

• Set-backs in progress

✅ Holiday Helper Tips:

• Keep bathroom timing consistent when possible

• Plan potty breaks every 2–3 hours during travel

• Bring a small footstool or use a suitcase under feet to support bowel emptying posture (rolls of toilet paper or a trash can flipped on its side also work in a pinch!)

• Travel with a bowel emergency kit - bring a few days worth of any medication or supplement you use to manage constipation and consider using it preventively instead of waiting to see if a bowel or bladder issue develops.

Routine = comfort + confidence = a happier holiday for everyone!

🌟 The Best Gift: Pelvic Confidence

Pelvic health shouldn’t take a holiday break — but progress doesn’t have to disappear during the excitement of the season. With a few proactive steps, kids can enjoy all the fun and feel great doing it.

If your child continues to struggle with:

• Pain with pooping

• Ongoing constipation or withholding

• Daytime leaking or bedwetting

• Frequent UTIs or urgency

A pediatric pelvic health therapist can provide personalized strategies to help your child thrive all year long.

🎁 We’re here to help! Reach out to schedule an evaluation and give your child the gift of comfort and confidence this season. You don’t have to navigate this alone.

Happy, healthy holidays from Fundamental Physical Therapy! ✨