Toddler Car Sickness

Have you tried maybe a dvd player so she's not looking out the windows? Or maybe putting those kiddie shades on the windows to block her view? If she's under 35lbs you can put her carseat back to rearfacing that may work.

K.,
When I was little I got car sick a lot. The doctors had me sit in the middle seat of the car so I could see the road in front of me, instead of everything rushing by the side windows. I was also given dramamine and got glasses in kindergarten. I rarely got sick after getting my glasses, have you tried the eye doctor yet? Just a thought.
R.

Ok, first I would say to avoid the earlier comment about the DVD or shading the windows. People get car sick usually because their head knows they are moving but their eyes aren't seeing movement. I have been car sick all of my life and my 4 year old daughter is too. I even get sick on swings and in rush hour traffic when I'm driving.
Here's what we do:
No reading, DVD's, playing or anything that takes her eyes off of the scenery outside. If I even look at the floor for a few seconds I start to get sick. Point out things for her to look at so she's busy and distracted. Have her find certain colored cars or trees or something.
Play kids' music and have her sing and jam along with you.
If it's sunny outside be sure to give her some sunglasses so it's not in her eyes. For some reason sun makes it way worse, I think it's because you're trying to look down to keep it out of your eyes. Make sure she's not hot or even a little too warm. Take off coats if on a long trip. If the sun is going to be blazing on her, move her to the other side of the vehicle.
Crack a window and give her fresh air and avoid strong air fresheners or the new car smell. My Mom had a vanilla air freshener in her car last Summer and just the smell of it made me get car sick right away. Fruity is best - I bought my Mom one :o)
On long trips I'll give my daughter some fishies every 1/2 hour or so to keep a good taste in her mouth and a full belly and if she says she's starting to feel sick I roll the window down to give a blast of fresh air and pop a tic tack in her mouth.
It's hard to believe but a full stomach is better than an empty one but avoid dairy products because they smell SO bad if they do come up. Every time we go up north I'll eat an entire big bag of Funyuns while we drive to keep from throwing up. You have to keep a good taste in your mouth all the time.
Pay attention to the road and be sure to leave distance. A quick stop can be all it takes.
When we went to Iowa last Summer I put Ainsley in shorts and a tank top, had an ice cream bucket next to her and we drove and munched on fishies as we pointed out all of the silos along the way. She didn't get sick once :o) The rest of the kids play with toys but she just can't and she knows that now.
If Ainsley is bored, warm and hungry sitting in the sun looking at the floor or a toy she's gonna throw up for sure :o)
Hope this helps, email me if you need any more tips,
J.

Hello K.!! Great Name!!! LOL!
My son also used to get carsick. Not so much the short trips...Like school or to the store, etc.... But when we went to Grandmas In West Frankfort, Ill,(a 6-8 hour drive) we had to have the ice cream bucket at his feet and Benadryl allergy works great!When he took that he didnt get sick at all. No diary! It stinks second tome around! LOL! But you said its more often with your child, poor thing! I'd call the doc and get some more input on this subject. Good Luck!!!

HI K.,
my name is S.. My oldest is now 10 but when she was also 3 i ended up spending thousands of dollars we thought she was sick she couldnt even ride 5 feet in a car it was bad lol but finaly a dr. told me to try something. pour a glass of coke or pepsi and let it sit flat .. let her drink it and it settles their stomache to where there is no more car sickness. try it once it really works!

Have you talked to her doctor about this? Our daughter gets sick in the car from time to time (she is 4). We moved her car seat to the middle because looking out the window at things going by did not make things better. We also give her a few crackers and water to snack on along the way if we are going a long distance.
Our doctor even suggested that when we are going long distances to give him a call about meds, I know one thing he suggested was Benedryl but you don't want to do that daily to her.
Not sure these were helpful but you are not alone.

My daughter who is 10 now has gotta car sick since she was a baby. At that time her doctor recommended giving her something to make her sleepy on long trips. By the time I took her in for it she was 2 and he said that i could give her a half of a pill of dramanine. My son who is now 3 was told that we could give him and cold medicine to make him sleepy so we had given him dimetapp cause that is what made him sleepiest. Good Luck

I feel your pain. My daughter started puking after 20 minutes when she was 14 months and now she is 22 months and she pukes after 8 miles. I have an anxiety attack in the car every time I have to take her somewhere. I do NOT like to drug her so we don't go anywhere. I've gone into a really deep depression because I'm trapped at home 14 hours a day at least 5 days a week. Why in the hell are these kids getting car sick? When I was a kid (26 years ago) this was unheard of. Is it something we are eating? Is it due to pollution? The doctors can't even help. They are clueless. Nothing except benedryl or dramamine works. Is there no hope for this to go away? I'm at the end of my rope. If I had known it would be like this I honestly wouldn't have had a child.