Help Your Kid Handle Motion Sickness

Kinetosis, or, in simpler words – motion sickness or travel sickness – is basically a disagreement between your sense of movement (detected by the vestibular system) and the perception of movement. Kids are prone to motion sickness a lot more often and it usually passes with time, but some of us who are less lucky, also suffer from it well throughout our adult life. What happens when we travel by car for example, is our sensory system detects movement, but our body remains still, so this conflicting information may cause nausea, dizziness and headache.

I’ve bumped into very good material on how to make your child’s car trip more comfortable and help them handle motion sickness, and I can confirm some of this stuff did work for a couple of kids that I know.

Keep the car cool and don’t overdress your child to avoid overheating.

Place your child’s car seat towards the center of the vehicle.

Avoid greasy or fast-food meals that may cause tummy upset.

Avoid stop-and-go driving—sudden jerks and windy roads can make it worse.

Giving a book to a child to distract her may make it worse. Have your child instead look straight ahead at the horizon rather than to the side at fast moving-traffic and landscape.

Play music she likes to distract her.

Pull over if symptoms get too intense

Be prepared with a bib, wipes, changes of clothes, and a removable car seat cover for washing in the case of consistent vomiting.

Feed her 30 minutes to an hour before you leave, giving the food a chance to settle.

Offer small dry snacks periodically, such as crackers, to help nausea.

Ask your pediatrician if medication is appropriate.

Remember that results may differ from individual to individual, and in some cases – these may be useless. It’s more of a trial and mistake thing, so keep trying. Safe trip!