Hello,
My nephew has been lactose intolerant since he was on formula. He had to be switched to lactose free milk.
He is now almost 4. Him, his sibling, and his parents moved in with me and my parents about 1 year ago.
Throughout the time he was with us, they’d give him cheese or butter.
7-8 months ago his parents said “he seems fine now” and switched him back to regular milk. For about 7 months he was having very bad constipation. They would give him a suppository every 3-4 days and eventually they started giving laxatives too. My parents and I begged them to take him to the doctor since he would be crying in pain trying to push it out. I also told them to try switching him back to lactose free milk or milk alternative since he could be sensitive to things in milk, other than lactose.
(My brother (nephew’s dad) and I are lactose intolerant).
Finally, they switched him to non-dairy milk about a month ago and he had been pooping everyday, without pain.
However, recently they started giving him regular cheese again. When I asked about the dairy free cheese he normally eats, my SIL said it’s done but they replaced it with regular cheese for some reason.
On Friday, my brother and his family went on a trip to visit his in laws in nj. My nephew has been constipated again and they bought laxatives today to give to him.
My dad called them in the evening and said both parents were zonked and could barely carry a conversation.
Is it okay to consciously give your child something that makes them sick? Is it okay to keep giving laxatives even without professional supervision? I’m not sure what to do about this situation since the child is the one that is suffering. I don’t want anything bad to happen to anyone in this situation like parents losing children or anything. But can CPS help in some way with this?
Note: They never took him to the doctor, they said they didn’t have money and were waiting on medicaid. Medicaid was approved beginning of April but my SIL has been waiting for me to find a doctor and make an appointment, although I don’t feel that is my responsibility. A week before the trip she said she will do everything when she gets back. They will be gone for two weeks.