My husband and I love to travel so we plan short getaways whenever we find the time. Most people worry about travelling with kids since kids can be moody, and sometimes grumpy. Fortunately for us, both, Aarav and Aarna, enjoy travelling and do not throw any tantrums (unless they haven’t gotten enough sleep!).
One issue we do face, however, is car sickness – every time we go on long drives. Both of them suffer from car sickness – but rarely together. Can’t blame them though. You can’t really pinpoint a cause for car sickness. You could do everything right but your child could still end up feeling restless on a long car drive.
Over the past couple of years, I have learnt a thing or two about car sickness in kids and how you can deal with it. Hope this helps!
What causes car sickness
I’ve heard that car sickness is a type of motion sickness such as seasickness that we hear about so often. This sickness is basically caused by a confusion in the perception of motion by the various sensory organs. Let’s say your child is reading a book in the car. His or her inner ear senses that up-down-left-right movements of the car but the eyes don’t; since it is fixed to the book. The conflict, hence, causes car sickness in the form of nausea, vomiting, sweating, shortness of breath, drooling, dizziness, restlessness, headache, uneasiness, and so on.
Remedies for car sickness
Car sickness is not impossible to treat. Severe cases may need attention from the doctor but majority of the times you can find a remedy yourself, some of which I have mentioned below:
Gaze outside the car window
Ask your child to look outside the window at stuff far away. You could do the same and point out interesting things at a distance to encourage him or her to look toward the horizon, preferably in the direction of travel.
Take a nap
The possible conflict between the inner ear and eyes can be prevented if your child keeps his/her eyes shut. So, if your little one is suffering from car sickness, ask him or her to keep their eyes closed or maybe even take a nap. Kids sleep easily in the car thanks to the motion of the car on smooth highways.
Take in fresh air
Taking in fresh air always helps. The constant air conditioning and possible food odour can worsen the sickness. Fresh air helps relieve headaches.
Chew food
Chewing on some snacks and treats can reduce car sickness. Don’t feed your kids too much though! Most people feel better by chewing gum but offering chewing gum to kids isn’t the best idea so I give my kids some light snacks such as chips or crackers and occasionally some sweet treats.
Distraction
If your child is quiet the whole time, he or she might feel car sick. So, engage in conversations, sing songs, or play simple games so that they’re distracted.
Pull over
If your child is too car sick to go any further, pull over. Get your child to walk around and take in some fresh air before you resume your journey. If you’re going on a long drive, stopover frequently to prevent car sickness.
Tips to prevent car sickness
We looked at the remedies for car sickness, here are a few ways that will probably help you keep car sickness at bay.
Eat light meals
Never overfeed your kid before a journey. Heavy greasy food will only make them throw up due to car sickness. Give them a light meal and stop by to feed them when they’re hungry.
Do not read
Focusing on something, as we learnt, is one of the causes of car sickness so avoid letting your child read a book or play on the phone. Instead, play some fun games to keep his or her mind off the sickness and enjoy the trip too.
Make sure the eyes see what the inner ear feels
Make your child sit near the window so that he or she can see outside the window. This way, his or her eyes can sense the motion similar to the one his or her inner ear feels.
The key to ensuring that your child does not get car sick is to make your child comfortable, stop frequently, and engage him or her in fun and games during the journey.
If your kid suffers from car sickness, try these remedies and let me know if they work!
