What Are Your Ways to Help a Kid Ride in a Car If Prone to Motion Sickness?

Dramamine. Sitting in particular spot (some kids do better in the middle vs the window). Not reading, if that makes her sick. A Sea Band if she can't do dramamine.

Don't leave home w/out being prepared for ANY situation. Change of clothes, clean up stuff, yes some ginger of some kind. Maybe don't feed her before leaving.
My sister would get car sick. I don't know what stopped it. Maybe just growing up.

Don't give anything to concentrate on, tho. I've tried doing a puzzle in the car and that will make me feel nauseous. Falling asleep will conquer it.

Cool car and a seat where she can see out clearly, eg, move her seat to the middle so she can see between the front seats to the road ahead. Also, no electronics, movies, etc, in the car. She needs to watch the road and not be distracted.

If she's old enough - bonine. It's the only thing that helps my motion sickness. Dramamine doesn't do a thing, and neither do any of the homeopathic suggestions like ginger-based stuff.

Have her focus on the road ahead and not look at books or other things that move when the car bounces. Looking out the front window at the entire road is often better than looking out the side window when things appear to whiz by so quickly. Trying to focus on rapidly moving objects can be upsetting.

Ginger is good to settle the stomach but watch the ginger ale because of all the high fructose corn syrup in it and also the bubbles. Burping can make things worse, and so can the need to pee from too much liquid. Some kids do well with a ginger tea mixed with water - they can drink it cold.

I got car sick growing up. I spend many years sitting in the middle seat of our station wagon with my feet straddling the hump on the floor.

I focused my eyes on the line on the road ahead of us. I had the air conditioner blowing straight on my face. It is amazing what cool moving air can do for that nauseous feeling.

My parents gave all 4 of us kids Dramamine for long trips...yep we were pretty much drugged on long drives. Get in the car...everyone popped a little yellow pill and the next thing we remember was waking up at the Grand Canyon..or Uncle Joe's a state away. It is a family joke now how "fast" our station wagon got to these destinations.

Maybe break off a tiny little piece of Dramamine so it doesn't make her sleepy but instead just relaxed and less woozy.

Good luck and best wishes. You are a great mom to look for ways to relieve her discomfort.

Dramamine.
For a few years our son could not take long car trips without throwing up - which was weird because short car trips always put him to sleep.
When we were visiting my Mom (8 hr car drive) we gave him Dramamine 30 before we had to leave and he'd sleep through most of the trip.
It worked great for us.
Fortunately he outgrew this by the time he was 6 yrs old.
If you're trying ginger - try some crystallized ginger.

I have motion sickness every time I ride in a moving vehicle. When I was a child my parents were not very sympathetic and were probably tired of cleaning up vomit! I ended up feeling very guilty about it and thinking it was my fault. Thanks for trying to help your child and remember it isn't her fault. If I had 3 wishes my first would be to get rid of my motion sickness! My coping skills have mostly been mentioned: cool air blowing on my face and possible wet wipes, sea bands, front seat, no side view, cold water and motion sickness medicine if I know that their are switchbacks or curves on the trip. Good luck and hugs to your little one. Motion sickness is no fun.

We found a cool car was helpful. When my daughter was warm the nausea was worse. Also, I'd second the "no looking out the side window" idea. Hard to do, but it works.

Down-play it if possible, without being dismissive of your daughter's feelings. On the up-side, my daughter pretty much out grew this (as did I as a kid). She's 19 now and has been reading in the backseat for about 10 years -- something that was sure to induce motion sickness when she was much younger.

Ditto the cool car. Sitting where the airconditioning can hit her in the face.

Unlike a lot of the other posters, my daughter's motion sickness seems to be getting worse as she gets old. She used to only feel sick if she tried to read, or play her DS in the car. Now, she feels sick on any ride longer than 15 minutes.

Her class went on a field trip on Thursday that required an hour long bus ride. I got her some Sea Bands and she said she didn't feel sick at all, just had a slight headache.

I say no to dramamine! It makes me drowsy and cranky.

Sea Bands, even if they are psychological, and a clear view out of the front window work for me. I can't read magazines, mess with the cell phone or anything with a lighted screen, but my old kindle, with ink, doesn't bother me at all.

If you absolutely must medicate for a long trip then use Bonnie. It's milder and doesn't cause drowsiness.

rolling down the window to let in outside air help. but the best thing we've found is damamine for kids. Its chewable .

We made sure she wasn't holding anything while the car was moving - books, hand-held games, etc. We also made sure she didn't have an empty stomach when we drove.
We also tried those seabands. Got them at CVS for about $4. They went right on her wrists, with the little ball on her pulse point. They seemed to help, although I'm not entirely sure the "helping" wasn't in her head. The seabands turned into the 'have to have' item for each and every car ride for her. Even the five minute car rides.
She is 8 1/2 now and seems to be coming out of the motion sickness problem.
Good luck!

I suffered terribly from motion sickness as a child, and still experience it occasionally. The only things that worked for me was to sit where I could watch the trip through the front windshield. No side windows and NO READING or other up-close focus. Fresh air helped a bit.

Great input below. May I add that if she is drinking before or during the ride, no straw! (It increase air in the stomach.) Also, for me, I needed something in my stomach: dry Cheerios, pasta or pizza! I also had a cute little hand fan that I could use if I felt I needed more air (still use this on an airplane, while waiting for take-off.) While I am better than I was in my childhood, I still ask to sit in the middle if I'm a passenger in the back seat!

My daughter was never prone to carsickness, but I have also heard that ginger works well.
I would stay away from ginger snaps - cookies are likely to make her more prone to throw up.
I would go with GUS (Grown Up Soda) ginger ale. I find it at Whole Foods and Fresh Market. It's a little more expensive than other brands, but it's made with real sugar, rather than HFCS, and real ginger, rather than artificial ginger flavoring, and it's less sweet then conventional soda. Less sweet is less likely to cause nausea.

peppermints help with nausea. Also carbonated beverages and lollipops

We had this problem with my son - at the drug store they sell wrist bands for particular pressure points; they worked pretty well. And be sure and tell him to look out the window - way out - and definitely don't try to focus on anything.

Then as soon as he was old enough/tall enough - I forget the specifications/laws - we moved him to the front seat. I don't totally understand it - but for some reason the front seat doesn't make him sick; it's worked for my sister - and she's in her 60's now!!!

Good luck!!!

absolutely nothing to look at in the car....no video games, movies, books....encourage them to look out the window, but as forward as possible....don't focus on the things passing by to their side, pick something far out....the horizon...a cloud...not anything very close. and always keep a window cracked so that a fresh breeze is blowing over their face...or get one of those little battery operated personal fans.
(I work in aviation.....these are the rules for airsickness in the planes)

Have her vision checked. Sometimes motion sickness is caused by bad vision. The stuff outside the window blurs as you drive by and the person gets car sick.

When I was pregnant, I got motion sickness in the car. I chewed mint gum and it helped a lot. Don't know why and don't remember where I heard that trick from, but it worked. My doctor recommended opening the window and a bottle of water.

Benadryl, we don't leave home without it. I slip them some about a half and hour before we go and it takes care of it nearly every time. They sometimes get a little drowsy.

Gum, no reading, drawing or video games and sitting by a window helps one of my girls. And a long trip means taking a break so she can get out and walk around a bit.

AV is right. Reading makes it worse. Eyes need to roam and not be static--for some reason.

I have suffered with motion sickness for a long time. The BEST product I have found is called Motioneaze. The car doesn't bother me so much because I'm driving most of the time. I found this product when we took my daughter on a dolphin cruise for her bday and I was going to opt out. The person who sold us tickets guaranteed I'd be fine if I used this product. I did and was able to enjoy the trip. It is made of several essential oils and you apply behind the ear. You can apply frequently because it is all natural. For me, I applied every 2 hours and didn't have an issue. Before when I took a 45 minute ferry I would be throwing up and then feel awful for 3-4 hours after. I have recommended this product to friends who get air sick with the same great results. Their website is www.motioneaze.com if you'd like to look at more info about it. Motion sickness is the worst. I hope you are able to find something that will work for your family.

My friends in the Dallas area are able to pick it up at Whole Foods. If you need it immediately, you might check at your local health/natural grocers type stores.

Blessings!
L.

Buy the motion sickness wristbands. They are a little spendy, but they can be used multiple times and even washed up to five times. For best results wear one on each wrist (each box has a pair). They have helped my kids and me on boat rides.

Chewing gum works well for me and my children.