Sadly, travel sickness is something that I am all too familiar with. Unfortunately, this is something that my 6-year-old still suffers from now. She has suffered for a number of years I think it is actually all of her life. We have tried a number of things to try and combat her travel sickness. No matter how long, the journey is or the temperature she can be sick. There is no pattern either and it is has happened when different people have been driving and in different cars too. Today I am going to be sharing with you some of the things which we have tried and may have helped. Obviously, for travel sickness one doesn't fit all some things may work for you and not us and vice versa.
Playing Music and Talking
Keeping their mind busy is something which I have been told to do. We always drive with music on this is so that they are more thinking about the music and singing along. This sometimes does work for Jess but it has been known to not work for us. We found nursery rhymes were something that helped because they took her mind off the fear of going to be sick. I have a feeling I used to know the songs on the album off by heart. Now we often drive with music on and usually, it's the same kind of playlist because then it is familiar for her.
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Make sure the car isn't too hot
This is something which we have used making sure the car is not too hot. We have been known to be travelling in the car basically cold because we do not want Jess to get too hot. This is something that has been hit and miss. However, I must admit if the car does get too hot, I actually can feel sick myself. Maybe having the window down or the air con on if you can may help. It is always worth a try just to make sure that you are not too cold if there are other people in the car more so little children who cannot tell you.
Sitting in the middle seat
This is one which I have heard works however, this is not one which we have tried yet. Apparently, this helps because you can look forward and look at the horizon. This is a tip that I have been told a couple of times. This is something which I think we may have to try. I need to see if her car seat would work in the middle of our car to be honest. If possible, sitting in the front of the car is also meant to work for the same reason. However, with the age of Jess, this is not something I feel comfortable doing yet letting her sit in the front of the car.
Closing Your Eyes and Focus on breathing
I know for sure this is one which Jess does it is one of the tell-tale signs she feels unwell. Apparently, this is something which my partner used to do. This is one which sometimes we have found delays her being sick which means we can at least pull over and get her out. I am unsure why this is works but it may be worth it if your little one struggles. Asking them to try and sleep because this then may make them feel a little bit better and delay how long you have till they are sick.
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Plan your Route
We have noticed that Jess is less likely to be sick if we are travelling on the motorway or a straight road. This is a tip because if you can use these kinds of roads. We do try and avoid the country roads which is not always easy. I am not saying that she is never sick on straight roads because sadly she is. We have found that the chance of Jess being ill is a lot higher if it is on bumpy roads. Even on very short journeys travel sickness is something that can happen. We have had it on journeys that have been straight and less than 15 minutes.
Stop The Car
If your child tells you that they are feeling unwell stop the car. Of course, this does depend on where you are. Of course. only stop the car where it is safe to do so. This is something which we have done a number of times. Sometimes it does prevent your child been sick. Other times it just means that they are not sick in the car. This is a huge bonus it does mean that you are not going to have to clean up sick in the car. If there is one thing which I hate doing this, is it. Do not leave as soon as the child feels like they are not going to be sick because it may not have fully passed. It does mean that they could be unwell sadly. This is something to be aware of.
Eat Small and Sip Water
Make sure that they do not eat too much as this can make them sick. Eat small if they need to eat before you travel. We to make sure that we do not eat in the car too much. We also try to make sure that Jess doesn't drink too much when she is in the car. We tried to make her sip water instead of gulping it. I am unsure if this is something that works or if it is just something that we think does. But it has got to the stage where we will try anything to avoid travel sickness.
Have you got a little one who struggles with travel sickness? If so, how do you deal with it?
