5 Best Motion Sickness Remedies for Kids

Below are 20 plus tips, tricks, and facts on car and motion sickness. When and how it occurs in children and most importantly tips to help ease it. These are my top 5 motion sickness remedies for kids.

• We’ve probably all felt some sort of motion sickness or nausea before and you know it a very uncomfortable situation that can even leading to getting sick. When you see your child suffering with motion sickness and becoming car sick it can break your heart. It often comes on quickly and you have to be prepared if this situation occurs and usually you are on the go. Here are my top 5 motion sickness remedies for kids.
• When my youngest was about to turn 2 years old she started getting sick on car rides that lasted longer than thirty minutes. It was awful to see her so upset and have to clean her clothes and car seat while we were driving around town. Luckily after her motion sickness started we were scheduled to see her pediatrician and were able to get some super helpful tips and tricks on how to treat and manage her motion sickness. It’s a messy situation that comes on quick and I learned how to be prepared to keep her comfortable and my car clean. Plus she can enjoy more car trips to exciting places now 🙂

What is motion sickness?

• What is Motion sickness? According to Healthline, ” Motion sickness is a sensation of wooziness. It usually occurs when you’re traveling by car, boat, plane, or train. Your body’s sensory organs send mixed messages to your brain, causing dizziness, lightheadedness, or nausea. Some people learn early in their lives that they’re prone to the condition.”
• Motion sickness usually shows in children when they are toddlers and hopefully symptoms subside once they are teens.
• Symptoms include, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness, headache, general feeling of not feeling well, and sweating.

Why does motion sickness happen?

• Science says motion is sensed by the brain through different pathways of the nervous system which includes the inner ear, eyes, and skin. For example if you start walking your brain can coordinated with other parts of body and sense the motion. When your brain receives conflicting messages from the nervous system (like the inner ears ,eyes, skin pressure receptors) this is when motion sickness can occur.
• Like my younger we believe the motion sickness started when she was still rear facing in her car seat. She was struggling to see a constant view of the road. Also since she was rear facing she wasn’t getting a direct cold air flow on her skin.
• I thought I was helping her by doing certain things before we left but realized I was just making her motion sickness worse. I am so glad I did some research and reached out to other Moms and got real life motion sickness remedies for kids on how to help her while in the car, on a boat, or riding planes.

5 Best motion sickness remedies for kids

• Tip 1: Leave the house with a full tummy
  • Feed them at least 30 minutes before they are in a motion situation! This is so contradictory to what I thought. I always thought an empty stomach meant less reason to get sick. But this is the opposite, even if you don’t get motion sickness having an empty hungry stomach can still make you feel awful.
  • Stick to easy on the tummy bland foods. Skip the greasy foods.
  • Keep small bland snacks in the car for longer trips, like crackers or bananas.
• Tip 2: Seat position is important
  • If you are traveling by car make sure your child’s seat in the car has a clear straight view out of a window. We moved my small child from rear facing to forward facing in her car seat (she was at the appropriate age to do so) and put her in the middle seat so she could see straight out the front window. If you are on a boat the highest level is best and to look out at the distance. On a plane ensure you have a window seat.
  • If possible also select a seat that has good cold air flow. Pumping cold direct air in the car will help with sweating and nausea. Again we chose the middle back seat for our child since it also has multiple air fans that can directly reach her if she starts to feel bad. She is also able to look straight out the front window when we are driving.
• Tip 3: Limit or eliminate screen time and books
  • I know its easy to give a child a tablet on long car rides to pass the time but it may trigger the motion sickness. When the brain is looking down at the screen or reading a book it’s not able to connect with the body that it is moving and may cause motion sickness. I will say we tested out out pull down movie screen (from the car ceiling) and the looking up to watch a movie has not caused an issue with our child. So try a couple of things to see what works and doesn’t work with your child.
• Tip 3: Look into natural remedies
  • A Sea-Band Anti-Nausea Acupressure Wristband is an option for kids to wear while in motion. The band puts acupressure on the wrist (don’t worry its a soft fabric bracelet with a plastic knob that puts “pressure ” on a acupressure point, and is painless). I personally used the adult version on my first cruise and thought it helped tremendously.
  • Ginger is also meant to be a natural remedy to help with upset stomaches. Like ginger ale they also make candies, lollipops and chewable with ginger. Here are some kid friendly Ginger People chewables you could easily stash in your purse or car for whenever someone starts to not feel well.
• Tip 4: If needed give kids anti nausea medication
  • If the above tips don’t work and your child still needs relief there are medications you can give your child. Dramamine for Kids for motion sickness relief is an over the counter chewable you give at least 30 minutes before traveling. It can be given for kids ages 2-12. For younger ones who hate to take medicine I’ve learned you can grind it up and put in chocolate milk, yogurt, smoothies. (Please check with your child’s doctor before giving).
  • Our Pediatrician also offered a prescribed medication but luckily the Dramamine worked well for us. But know you can talk to your child’s doctor and they may have other options that will work for your child.
• Tip 5: ALWAYS be prepared
  • Lastly, hopefully you have tried all the above tips and were able to manage and help your child overcome their motion sickness but if not here are some tips on how to prepared for the worst outcome.
    • Keep a “sick bag” near you or your older child. Include burp clothes, paper towels, and baby wipes incase you are mid drive and your child gets sick.
    • Always keep a change of clothes in the car.
    • Keep a vomit bag or sealable tupperware container in the car. Anything your child can use to get sick in and then be able to seal up right away until you are able to dispose of it. Here is a reusable bucket you can keep handy in the car.
    • Here is a snapshot of what I keep in a baggie in my car at all times.

The Last Thing You Need to Know about kids with motion sickness

• According to our child’s doctor motion sickness often comes on around age 2 and kids may or may not grow out of it as a teen. For some reason if one of the parents is prone to motion sickness a child maybe be too.
• Having a child who gets car sick is never fun. It’s so hard to see them uncomfortable and in pain. Hopefully these easy and simple remedies for motion sickness will help ease those upset tummies. Being prepared and thinking ahead before you hit the road or board the plane is half the battle. If you are prepared then your child should have minimal symptoms (and less clean up, yay!)
• I’d love you hear if you have a child who experiences car sickness and have other motion sickness remedies. Share your wealth of knowledge with other parents hopefully we can all help each other out. Leave a comment below with your tips and tricks. I hope this was post with motion sickness remedies for kids was helpful to you and your little ones. Good luck parents!
  • If you enjoyed these helpful parenthood hacks check out my 30 simple Parenthood hacks and tips you can try today