Hints for a car sick 3 year old?

[Jayne J]

We are coming up on our annual family vacation and facing a 9 hr drive. I suspect my dd, 3 yrs old, is developing a tendancy toward car sickness (on the last long car ride of 2 1/2 hrs we had an incident, along with a more recent one on a shorter ride, although the shorter one involved cake and a bouncy house. Blue frosting on the cake. Ick.) Anyway, I am trying to cut this off at the pass if I can, but have never had to deal with it before. Any suggestions? I've heard ginger pills work, but don't know if it is ok for a three year old--how much? Thanks!

[Jenn in Mo]

Nyquil.

 

They'll sleep the whole trip.

 

Kidding. I found some homeopathic pills for my very carsick ds. Hyland's makes them and they are awesome. Even Dramamine didn't help him, but this stuff did the trick. And oddly enough, he stopped having trouble with carsickness after about 6 doses (spread over 1-2 years.) I don't know what the age recommendation is for this though. He was 6.

[Tammy]

What kind of car....and where is she sitting?

[twoblessings]

It seems to be worse when she sits in the back row of seats (minivan). I have her sit in the middle. It is also worse if she is sitting so low she that she can't see out the window good. she doesn't sit low in the minivan but, she rode in Sister in laws car and couldn't see hardly at all and she got sick :ack2:. she cant look or read books or color. This seems to make her sick as well. So she just listens to her mp3 and looks out the window.

 

HTH!

[Jayne J]

Tammy--It's happened in both vehicles, one a mini van, the other a Honda cr-v. Both times she was directly behind the driver. The infamous "cake incident" was in the van, the car she rides in most. The more official car sick incident was in the Honda, the one she will be riding in for this trip :(. Does it matter where she sits? (I'm a total carsick newbie, can you tell?)

 

Jenn--love the Nyquil suggestion!:lol: There's a solution for sooo many of my parenting problems!:lol::lol::lol: In all seriousness, I asked my MIL about this issue, since dh had carsick issues as a kid and she told me to dope em up with benadryl so they'd sleep most of the way!! Hence my question on this board. Thanks MIL, but...:D

[Chris in VA]

Have you tried SeaBands (not sure if it's one word)? It's a comfy, stretchy wrist band that applies a little pressure to a nerve in the wrist, and it's supposed to be a pretty good, non-medical way to prevent motion sickness. It was developed for cruises.

[Tammy]

Well I will assume in the minivan she can see out the window? Is she in a restrictive car seat? I think I would focus her attention on the outside views..... Also...I will also assume you aren't a bad driver, LOLOLOL. I mean driving fast around curves....turns, etc, LOL!

[TXMomof4]

We have had to use dramamine. We tried every non-medication trip I could think of, and we had puke on every car trip longer than 30 min. They have a non-drowsy version, but my kids still seemed to sleep with it. We also use audiobooks because none of them can read in the car without being sick. We started the dramamine when they were about 2. I can't remember the dose, our dr. recommended it, but it's been too long ago!

[Lolly]

My first advice is to make sure you have barf bags and a change of clothing handy. Second, I assume she is still in a carseat; if not make sure she is in one. The higher she sits, the better. Third, try a different position in the car. It does make a difference. Front seat is best, but being three isn't really an option. The farther back in the vehicle tends to be the worst, but I have one dd who can only ride in the very back because that is where hr visibility is best. Directly behind the driver keeps her from being able to see out. She sits in the middle of the back row when possible. That way she can see out the front. The sides on the back are better for her because the middle row seats are not as tall as the front seats, again yielding a better view forward.

 

If all else fails, Benadryl is not a crime. Sanity is sometimes worth preserving. Of course, some people prefer to drive long drives through the night to allow the children to sleep the trip. That is another option. It didn't work for me. Mine found it to be very stimulating to ride in the car at night and stayed up the entire time. Of course, no one got sick either. Maybe the darkness kept the carsickness at bay?

[JudoMom]

We have had to use dramamine. We tried every non-medication trip I could think of, and we had puke on every car trip longer than 30 min. They have a non-drowsy version, but my kids still seemed to sleep with it. We also use audiobooks because none of them can read in the car without being sick. We started the dramamine when they were about 2. I can't remember the dose, our dr. recommended it, but it's been too long ago!

 

Yep. Dramamine worked wonders for my ds7 when he went through a car sick period of time. He's since outgrown it for the most part, but there were a few icky years in there!

[HollyDay]

Have you had her eyes checked. My dd had trouble with carsickness until she got glasses.

[DB in NJ]

This is helpful: http://travelwithkids.about.com/cs/cartripstips/a/motionsickness.htm

 

We use dramamine for our kids. Be careful of the non-drowsy formulas; they all contain Lactose, which can be a problem if your child is lactose intolerant. I saw another motion sickness medication that was specifically for little children; it was a pill that dissolves on their tongue. I can't remember the brand name now, though. Sorry. It was right next to the dramamine at the pharmacy.

 

Oh, and we always get books on tape. The Whipping Boy is an all-time favorite :D

[elegantlion]

Motion sickness sufferer here. I have it still. Agree they need to be able to see out the window and see how fast they are moving. As a child I always ended up in the front seat, obviously not a option at 3.

 

Do not feed the child right before leaving, have saltines and ginger ale available. Agree with the change of clothes and barf bags.

 

No reading in the car. Nothing that would make them have to look down for periods of time. Road trips games that force you to look out the window are great.

 

Sea bands are great as long as the road isn't too curvy. Dramamine is a wonder drug, don't know how young you can give it however.

 

Keeping a moderate temperature and air moving in the car is another helpful hint. I have to keep air moving, otherwise we are stopping the car, KWIM.

 

Motion sickness is real. It took years before my dh would believe I couldn't simply will it away. I carry my sea bands and dramamine anytime we travel, and I always get to ride in the front seat now. :D Ironically, the same roads that make me naseous when I ride in the car are not a problem if I'm driving.

[Julie in CA]

Several of my kids used to get car sick too. Their doc recommended Benadryl. He said that it's easier on them than Dramamine, more widely available in a pinch, and almost impossible to overdose.

Makes the ride more peaceful overall, too! ;)

[Angel]

I get carsick, still, and both girls inherited it. We've had some nasty times! I agree with all Elegantlion said! I want to add that the air moving in the car, for us, needs to be fresh. AC makes me sick (and my girls, too). Open the windows some. Definitely have wipes handy and extra clothes, and don't put anything under her feet (don't ask me how I know how hard it is to clean regurgitated french fries off toys :ack2:). We keep Walmart bags in the seat next to them for those times that we can't get over 3 lanes of traffic and they feel the need to puke. For us, the wrist bands didn't work. If you try them out, have other options handy. Dramamine is our best friend. Make sure you give it 30 minutes before you get on the road!! You can give it to kids as young as two and it does say on the package the dosage! It takes a bit to kick in. One thing that has helped my girls is our portable DVD player. If it is something that they really like to watch, sometimes (sometimes) it distracts them. One last thing, Coke really help in little sips. My dr. once told me that coke, warm and flat, was a great aid for upset tummies. It really does work great.

 

Good luck!!

 

Angel

[Jayne J]

Wow! Thank you all for your replies! Never having been car sick (I can read, do cross word puzzles and juggle monkeys in a car, no prob) I would never have thought about things like seeing out the window or fresh moving air. We will definately make sure of those things! The Puke Kit is already packed, with extra clothes, wipes, plastic bags and odor remover (the smell makes my dh sick, literally. Guess who cleans up all the puke at our house?) but now I will be adding dramamine or benadryl, ginger ale and soda crackers. Thank you all again! Wish us luck! :auto:

[Paula in MS]

I suffer from car sickness and so does my dd6...even with short rides. Give her dramamine for the long ride. Start looking now because sometimes chewable has been hard to find. She needs a very cool car. She also needs to be able to see out of the window. I know that kids really need shoulder strap seatbelts, but if she were in the middle of a backseat and could see through the bucket seats of the front row, this would help. It would also help her get more air conditioning. Air conditioning is a big help.

 

The problem that I have with my dd6 is the short trips. You can't drug them everywhere you go. I have been known to pull over and put her in the front seat right under the air conditioning if she is getting sick. (This isn't the safest place to ride, but sometimes it is all I can do to help.)

 

You may could try benadryl to make her drowsy if the dramamine does not work. Our vet recommended this for our dog, so it might work for her. At least it is safe for 3 year olds.

 

Have a safe trip,

 

Paula

[tiffanyl]

I was worried about motion sickness too when our family took a 15hr non-stop plane trip last year. My children & especially my mom all get car sick easily, so I knew this may be a very miserable trip. So, I searched the internet to find a natural alternative we could all take. What I found worked amazing! It is natural with no side effects and my mom who always gets car/plane sick was fine all the way there. We almost thought it must have been luck the first time. But she did even better on the going home flight, unheard of for her! My kids also responded beautifully to it. My daughter slept for a few hours & when she woke up was visibly sick & thought she might throw up. I gave her some of it & she was busy playing within 5 min. I asked her how she felt & she said she felt fine. Whew what a relief! So now I recommend this to everyone, since I have personally seen how it works.

 

What I found was this~http://www.nativeremedies.com/tpp/cantravel-digestive-comfort-travel.html

 

 

Tiffany

[Maverick]

You got some great suggestions here, but in my experience your best bet is to train her to use a barf-bag. My ds almost 15 has gotten carsick since he was a baby. We still talk about one of the incidents in my parents' minivan when he was two. Fortunately they don't have that car anymore. ;) A couple years ago he was riding to a church retreat with a friend's dad (3 hour trip over a mt. pass). The dad had stopped at a mini-mart and let the boys buy pop. After David guzzled a huge cup of pop it all came back up. He just barfed right into the cup--to him it was no biggie! I felt bad for the dad, though!:tongue_smilie:

[Melissa in Australia]

my sister got car sickness really bad. she got sick while the car was going out of the driveway. eventually my mum gave her junket tablets 1/2 hour before getting into the car. junket is a desert tablet that you add to milk. it makes the milk set, it also sets the contents of your stomach, so you might feel sick, but can't be sick. it worked like a treat.

[Tap]

Dramamine works good for car sickness. Make sure to get the one that's active ingredient is meclizine and not the other (doxalamine I think). There are two Dramamines, and they are two different ingredients. The meclizine works better for motion sickness for most people. If you find that it works, you can order it in a 100ct bottle from the pharmacy in the generic form (you may ask the pharmacist if they have any while you are there) but make sure to get chewable unless your kiddo can swallow the pills. Try to give it about 1 hour before you leave.

 

Cruise ships have copious amounts of food because it is proven that people get more motion sick on an empty stomach. We find that small salty or sweet/salty snacks (honey roasted peanuts are a favorite here) often work great. We drink only water in the car, and especially avoid anything carbonated! Protein rich foods last longer for our kids so nuts or trail mixes are great.

 

Getting out to walk around, even for 5 minutes, helps too. Traveling with a toddler you will probably need to stop often anyways but take the opportunity at the restroom breaks to have everyone walk around for 5-10 minutes helps to break up the trip and helps with the motion sickness too.

 

Dd9 gets very car sick and I do if I try to do anything in the car. Sending 1 text message is about my limit of riding while doing anything.

 

You have been given some good suggestions. Dd can do tactile things like play with a stuffed animal (puppets are her favorite for the car) but not any thing that requires concentration like reading, playing the gameboy or playing a game for more than about 20 minutes. She tries to sleep a lot in the car so a small snugly pillow is very necessary for trips.

 

Motion sickness gives me a very bad headache so if you little one gets cranky, a Tylenol may help with that symptom.

 

 

Hope you have a great journey,

Tap

[Robin Hood]

When the kids were little, throw up was not a big deal to clean up. They are 9 now and it's just plain gross. I have resorted to dramamine. I cut it into a tiny piece and it still works. They complain of nausea in both my tiny Focus or in our big Suburban even in just short trips to town, but I only do dramamine on long our 5+ hours more drives.

[ljf]

We used Dramamine and sea bands. I used to break the pills in quarters to get the right dose. I also put a thin blanket on her lap. Hopefully the blanket catches everything, and I can roll up the blanket and seal it in a bag. Barf bags are good in theory, but mine never gave the warning needed to use them.

[AustinTea]

My dd and I both get car sick. What works best for us is Coca Cola, original formula and not diet. Flat is better but we ususally don't have it flat.