Is it safe to give a toddler a stool softener and if so what should I give her?

My son has SERIOUS constipation issues which cannot be solved by a change in diet. We were told that miralax and lactulose are the only safe stool softeners for babies. Lactulose dosage should be discussed with your pediatrician. Miralax is over the counter and you can start with 1/4 teaspoon in one of her bottles once a day. My pediatrician described miralax to me as a medicine that the dose is based on the need. Try the 1/4 for five days (it takes that long to kick in). She will probably have cramping at first but this will stop. After that, the dose can go to morning and night if needed. Wait two days. If you need more go up to 1/2 tsp morning and night. It's really a play it by ear thing. And don't worry if she has near-diarrea movements at times. It is more important that she gets it all out because if she gets impacted she could spend 6 weeks in the hospital and have to be on a special diet and possibly have surgery. In an emergency, if she becomes too uncomfortable and has not gone for "too long." Trim and file your pinky fingernail, wash your hands well, put some KY lubricant on your pinky finger and insert it into her rectum only up to the first knuckle and loosen any bowel you find. Trust me, she will thank you for it. Our GI doctor has done this for our son before and it is TOTALLY NORMAL.

I found this link provided by paeditrician Dr. Jeffrey Hull about constipation in infants and toddlers and common treatments.

In addition to the things already mentioned, he recommends glycerine suppositories. We did use these once when my daughter was about 7-9 months and I recall that they worked well.

Our pediatrician told us to try 1 oz. of Gerber White Grape Juice (or any other baby brand) between feedings until the constipation was over. Seems to have worked for us.

I find olive oil on the veggies is tastier, healthier, and acts as a good natural laxative.

From our experience, there doesn't seem to be any "instant" cure for constipation. Correcting the diet will prevent future problems, but the normal remedy for the immediate situation is time.

Since you are already using some commonly-mentioned remedies for constipation, I would recommend two other things:

1. Ask your physician. This is the first thing you should do. You don't need to go to the doctor with your child, just call the doctor's office.

2. The "Inverse" BRAT Diet: Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. Removing these things from your child's diet can help alleviate constipation (the actual diet is a treatment for diarrhea, but is no longer commonly prescribed). Check the Wikipedia article on the BRAT diet and this link (about 2/3 of the way down the page) for more information.

Finally, check this Treatment Guide for more tips about how to help relieve constipation in toddlers.