JJ5

Everyone is telling you to ride in the front seat, and it does work.

But be very aware that the safety regulations for cars/vans etc. all have height restrictrictions. So if she is sitting up front, know what her height will mean if the air bag deploys. I'm very short and am on the borderline of running the risk of being hurt very badly by an air bag myself, so I know.

This is a curse one of my boys and nephews have. It has to do a lot with eye/inner ear movements so it is always better to look forward. I would try the ginger pills before going to the Bonine etc. myself.

KathyK

Dramamine does come in a chewable tablet, with dosage recommendations starting at age 2.

girlonthego

My daughter also gets car sick, but not all the time. If we leave early in the morning for a long drive, she needs to eat something substantial or she vomits whatever is in her stomach. Also, winding roads are not always tolerated well. She does best in the front seat.(We limit this but she is just about tall enough now 5ft 1in. )It is so hard to figure out was causes it because she can read and watch tv. She has no trouble on short trips either. It is usually the empty stomach with long drives. In Chinatown in SF, the chinese tour guide recommend ginger candy for her stomach. We bought some, but have not tried it yet. I think some are just prone to this.

kansasmom

You all have been great! I loved your story, LoveItaly. Someone asked about the roads in Kansas. It is usually NOT here where she gets ill -- it is usually in Colorado or New Mexico, but it can happen anywhere to her. We don't let her ride in the front seat, although I know many of you have said this will really help. This is because of the air bag in the front passenger seat. She's only eight and doesn't meet the height recommendations. (I barely do.)

Scarlett

Maybe one of the seasick bracelets would be less hard on her than Drammamine or one of those drugs.
My husband took my son fishing once in NJ. Because our son gets carsick, we figured he would be seasick. So he took Drammamine. He slept going to the boat, on the boat and coming home LOL

Is this why dogs ride with their heads out of the window?

LoveItaly

Oh Scarlett, if one that is prone to car sickness hangs there head out of the window...will that do the trick?

Hi CaliNurse, thank you for your sympathy! I haven't been carsick for a long time but let me say this. I haven't sat in the back seat of a car for ages...except once in awhile when I am in the car with my daughter & SIL.

My SIL is a very good smooth driver (unlike my dear father who speeded up around every mountain curve as his father did). I sure agree with kswl comments, a smooth driver does make a difference

Now CaliNurse, going to Stinson Beach, forget about it!! And going to Cobb Mt., no thank you! I have gone to both places many times...but prefer not to think about those drives, LOL.
In my family I am known as the "flatlander"..and they are correct.

PamSF

rb~waiting for the righteous indignation about this not really being a travel related thread. I'm so glad to see I'm not alone!!

JJ5

Nothing is more travel related.

LoveItaly, you should have seen me going to Jerome in AZ. I was SICK- Yuk!

This is just no fun. First try the sea bands and the ginger pills. Then move to the Bonine- sized for weight. It's better than Dramamine and doesn't make you as doped/sleepy.

I studied this in Cognitive Psych. and was a subject once. Yuk too!

Its cause is obscure but definitely has to do with the corelation between eye movement and inner ear fiber movement. In some people when these don't jibe, you get - well you KNOW what you get.

Don't look out the sides. The reason why drivers seldom get it is that their eyes follow a different pattern when you are steering and are initiating acceleration. And do I know how that feels each time the car "jerks".

My nephew got so bad that even on flatland his mom had to stop at least once on the way to my house. I feel for your daughter.

FainaAgain

Stinson beach? Somebody mentioned the road to Stinson beach? I can tell you: it's short! you try HWY 1 to Fort Ross, that's the killer!

SharonG

I suffer from motion sickness and have since I was a child. If you don't want to put her in the front seat, maybe the middle of the back seat so she can look straight ahead? My parents used to think it was "all in my head" (well it is actually) until the day I threw up all over them and the car and we all had to stop and get new outfits!

FainaAgain

Don't let her read, play Gameboy, etc... - anything which requires to look down close. Play a game counting something outside, like approaching red cars only.

TobieT

My son outgrew it finally when he was about 12 but I still can't sit in the back seat, so I can sympathize.

By eight, I too am surprised you haven't used some over the counter remedy. The kid's chewable dramamine (Gravol in Canada) is very low dose and they often need only a half a tablet to control nausea....
but it needs to be administered half an hour or so BEFORE travel.

Light eating several times a day is better than the "good breakfast". Toast and a banana would be better. Believe me, blueberry pancakes are not a good idea!!

NO reading and NO sitting in the front. With airbags, it is simply not safe.

We tried all of the other options from the time our son was a wee little guy, but in the end Gravol has been a life saver and in low doses, does not leave either of us groggy. Let's face it, it's far better than the alternative!

FainaAgain

I've remembered something else, I was told (seriously!!) singing helps. Tried as a child and an adult - didn't work for me, but never hurts to try.

Dreamer2

From personal experience, I can vouch for most of the above suggestions:

No reading, game boy, etc.
Front seat, if possible
Light meals
Open the window a crack
Ginger Snap cookies

I find the the worst case scenario curvy mountain roads, when nothing will help but to get out of the car for a moment.

It's also worse on sunny days, when the light flashes through trees into the car. Try buying attachable window shades.

And both my daughter and I are much better travelers in high seats in vans, rather than low seats in cars. What do you drive now? Consider a split seat SUV or minivan for your next car. Maybe rent one for your next trip and see if it helps you as much as it did us. I know it sounds extreme, but it has made an incredible difference for us.

Good Luck!