Traveling with a Carsick Kid

Our parents live far away from us. When we go to see them, it means a week's vacation, tons of luggage, and a long, multi-state car trip. Sounds like an adventure, right?

Well, since my kids are prone to carsickness, it's more like a horror movie, every single time. After five years of making these treks and dealing with car sick kids, I've found a few helpful coping strategies. Hopefully a few of them will help you with your own car sick kid. With a little forethought and a few good backup plans, it's possible to make these long trips bearable, if not fun.

1. Drive While the Kids are Sleeping - Most kids make themselves carsick by looking out the window, then back into the car, then out the window again. As long as their asleep, their stomachs are settled. Try to leave at a time of day when the kids will sleep for the first 3 -4 hours of the trip. This way you can get plenty of miles in before the carsick cycle starts. I prefer leaving very early in the morning (around 4 am). Some of my night-owl friends claim 11 or 12 at night is even better.

2. Feed Carefully. An off-kilter stomach can make carsickness worse. Choose your car snacks carefully - I've found that trail mix, crackers and cheese, and fruit work well. Greasy foods seem to make the queasiness worse, so try to avoid them. Also, don't feed your child while the car is moving. A little juice is fine, but eating seems to make things worse.

When you stop for a snack, make sure your car-sick child gets to run around for at least fifteen minutes. Long rest stops mean longer travel times, but if you let the food settle, you reduce the chances that your child will get sick.

3. Consider Dramamine- For our last trip up and down the mountains of Tennessee, we talked to our doctor about Dramamine. The pills are disgusting, but a dose gives 4-6 hours of relief from carsickness. They worked like magic-our normally green and nauseous children were rosy cheeked and alert. Unfortunately, the Dramamine did make them cranky, and it was hard to get them to take the pills. Still, the benefits of a sick-free trip outweigh the nastiness of the medicine. We'll definitely be bringing Dramamine on all our future trips.

4. Be Prepared for the Worst - Even if you take all of these precautions, your car sick child might still throw up. Be prepared. Bring a bucket, a full container of wet-wipes, a roll of paper towels, spare plastic bags (for trash AND for soiled clothes), and 2 to 3 complete (including underwear and socks) changers of clothing for each day of car travel. If you're traveling through areas with few rest stops, consider taking an extra jug of water, too. That way, you'll have some handy to clean up your child if you're stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Traveling with a carsick child isn't much fun, but with a little bit of careful planning, you and your child can survive the trip.