With the holidays right around the corner many of us will be loading our families into the car for holiday vacations, trips to see family, or just little get aways.  If you have a child with car sickness you know that the trip (at the car ride part of it) isn’t going to be much fun.  Kids can have a hard time in the car for long periods of time as it is, if you add motion sickness to the mix you are bound to end up with a big, meltdown filled mess on your hands.  Making the ride a smooth one, free of motion sickness will mean everyone arrives safely and sanely at the destination.

Here are a few things you can do to help your child curb their car sickness:

• If you know your child suffers from severe motion sickness talk to your child’s pediatrician about giving your child an over-the-counter medication, like dramamine, to help with their nausea before it sets in.
• Before you head out the door offer your child some low-sugar, high-carb snacks such as crackers.
• Bring along water, ginger ale and green apples for your child to eat in the car to help keep their motion sickness at bay.
• Make sure your child gets plenty of fresh air by cracking the windows for them and making frequent stops where they can get out stretch and breath some fresh air.
• Make sure the car and your child are not too hot.  Don’t blast the heat and make sure your child is dress appropriately for the temperature in the car.
• Your child that suffers from car sickness should sit in the middle back seat so that he or she can clearly see the road ahead.  Watch what’s coming and keep his or her eyes forward will help ease motion sickness.
• If your child is prone to motion sickness skip the books and movies, these will just contribute too and possibly make their motion sickness worse.
• Help keep your child’s mind of their car sickness by engaging them in games, turning up the radio and singing along to the music together.

If your child suffers from motion sickness he or she is likely to be miserable throughout the car ride, just do what you can to help ease their symptoms, distract them from their nausea and make the trip as tolerable as possible.

My husband and I both suffer from motion sickness, it sucks.  Luckily my daughter hasn’t shows any signs of being prone to car sickness yet.  Hopefully it stays that way, but if she does start to experience car sickness we’ll know what to do to help her from our own experiences with motion sickness.