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Car sick 3 year old.

70 replies

ShesTheAlbatross · 08/08/2025 10:06

DD2 (3.5) has started getting car sick. And I think she’s also feeling rough from even just short journeys because she’s started saying she doesn’t want to get in the car at all - this hasn’t come from me, we never talk about her getting sick in the car in front of her.
There doesn’t seem to be any travel sickness pills for her age. Joy-rides seem to have been discontinued, and kwells kids are 4+, and I spoke to the pharmacist who said there’s nothing. We’ve gor a drs appointment in a few weeks but we’ve got to do a long journey tomorrow, is there anything that will help? She’s very small, so sickness bands are too loose on her.

Will piriton help at all - it’s a 1st generation antihistamine which is what anti sickness tablets are, but obviously it’s not a specific one that is actually used for sickness. Has anyone used it successfully for car sickness?

DH is going to sit in the back with her with some Tupperware and tea towels to try and limit the mess. But ideally I’d like to stop it happening at all! She’s already forward facing.

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caffelattetogo · 08/08/2025 10:11

Poor thing. Does eating salty crisps help? That and I spy gets us through many trips.

Unwellandupset · 08/08/2025 10:15

Put her in her car seat in the front passenger seat. I have previously also used piriton and was once prescribed a sedative as we were moving house and had a long drive. As soon as she turned four we’ve been using joy-rides for long drives, but for everyday (as she would feel queasy even on short drives) her car seat is in the front passenger seat and we’ve had no incidents and she’s now 7!

ShesTheAlbatross · 08/08/2025 10:16

caffelattetogo · 08/08/2025 10:11

Poor thing. Does eating salty crisps help? That and I spy gets us through many trips.

I’ll give it a try. So far I’ve avoided her eating in the car in case it made it worse but that’s not worked! For longer journeys we generally aim for a plain-ish breakfast like toast an hour or so before we leave. But we can get some plain snacks to try.

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ShesTheAlbatross · 08/08/2025 10:19

Unwellandupset · 08/08/2025 10:15

Put her in her car seat in the front passenger seat. I have previously also used piriton and was once prescribed a sedative as we were moving house and had a long drive. As soon as she turned four we’ve been using joy-rides for long drives, but for everyday (as she would feel queasy even on short drives) her car seat is in the front passenger seat and we’ve had no incidents and she’s now 7!

We’ve considered it. But she’s not great at getting it into a sick bowl/bag, and if she’s in the front seat, the driver obviously can’t be managing that while driving. I also worry about safety given her age/size.

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SainteCroissante · 08/08/2025 10:23

My 4 year old is also prone to car sickness - what helps most for us is traveling forward -facing (which you're already doing) - rolling down the window next to him for fresh air and to make sure he does look forward/outside... And ginger bears/gummies - can get them at Holland&Barrett, Lakeland, etc, also, travelling on a light but not entirely empty stomach. And making sure we have seat covers/wipes/change of clothes in case something does happen... And sometimes lukewarm peppermint tea during breaks to settle stomachs!

P.S. I wouldn't use Piriton if you can avoid it, as it tends to make kids drowsy... Though I can totally understand you're looking for anything.

Re: anti-sickness bands - there's not that much scientific evidence supporting them, but even if it's just psychological it might help - in the end it's just an elastic with a plastic bit that puts pressure on the inside of your wrist, you could adjust any band to fit her smaller wrists with a couple of stitches, or what about a kid-specific one she might like, like a Frozen/superhero-themed one, that you tell her to squeeze from time to time to give her a massage.

There's also anti-sickness goggles, some people swear by them though again actual evidence is limited. Cheap to get on Amazon, maybe worth a shot.
Good luck!

Bitzee · 08/08/2025 10:26

If you car is big enough put the carseat in the middle. Failing that the front with the seat upright, as far back as it can go and check your manual as to whether or not the airbag needs to go off (always with a RF seat but can vary with FF). Keep their window open even if it’s just a crack. I found sucking really helps and bought xylitol lollipops that are a flat shape so not a choking risk like the chupa chups ones plus also sugar free and they made a big difference. Also always have a sick bag within grabbing distance. And always have anti bac wipes, baby wipes, bin bags and a change of clothes. Got better around age 5 though and now it’s only the windy mountain roads on the way to skiing that are a big problem.

Aspidistree · 08/08/2025 10:30

It's a bit left field but the biggest difference for us was not giving milk before car journeys. Including no cereal. It might just have been co-incidence but we switched out breakfast for toast and baby pear juice (I think pears are meant to be digestible) before car journeys and DD was never sick again.

My top tip is damp muslins for clean up. They hold onto the, err, residue much better than wet wipes.

Plump82 · 08/08/2025 10:32

I'm 43 and still get awful travel sick - cars, trains and planes.
What I find helps is eating an hour or so before I'm due to travel. Nothing heavy but just enough that I don't have an empty stomach. Try and not distract her so she's looking about. I really have to concentrate on just looking straight ahead. I can't look out windows, down at my phone, in my bag etc. Also have something sweet on hand. I sip a sugary drink - appreciate that might not be appropriate for your daughter but sugar definitely helps me feel less nauseous and lastly plenty fresh air. Not pleasant for everyone in the car but either Aircon on or windows open.

Dontletthebedbugsbite2 · 08/08/2025 10:47

I worked in an after school care where some of the kids were travel sick on trips etc & what always, always worked was sitting them on top of a plastic bag. I dont know why, whether its just a subconscious thing of knowing they had a bag beside them but it always worked. Worth a try!

ShesTheAlbatross · 08/08/2025 10:49

Dontletthebedbugsbite2 · 08/08/2025 10:47

I worked in an after school care where some of the kids were travel sick on trips etc & what always, always worked was sitting them on top of a plastic bag. I dont know why, whether its just a subconscious thing of knowing they had a bag beside them but it always worked. Worth a try!

It’s weird because a friend of mine swears blind that having them sit on some cardboard helps. I’m slightly unconvinced about that though.

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Dontletthebedbugsbite2 · 08/08/2025 10:53

I cant explain it, I don't think there can be a scientific reason for it but it worked. These were primary age kids though so slightly older (although some were 4) my own DD feels travel sick in the car if she has to concentrate on anything. She cant look at her phone/a book but isnt ever actually sick. She listens to audio books which seems to help her- might be an idea to get a set of headphones for your DD too. The more they focus on it the worse they seem to feel which is understandable!

ShesTheAlbatross · 08/08/2025 10:55

Plump82 · 08/08/2025 10:32

I'm 43 and still get awful travel sick - cars, trains and planes.
What I find helps is eating an hour or so before I'm due to travel. Nothing heavy but just enough that I don't have an empty stomach. Try and not distract her so she's looking about. I really have to concentrate on just looking straight ahead. I can't look out windows, down at my phone, in my bag etc. Also have something sweet on hand. I sip a sugary drink - appreciate that might not be appropriate for your daughter but sugar definitely helps me feel less nauseous and lastly plenty fresh air. Not pleasant for everyone in the car but either Aircon on or windows open.

Thanks - generally she doesn’t have sugary drinks but it’s definitely not a hill I’m going to die on if it stops her vomiting!

@Bitzee@Aspidistreethanks - I’m putting together a little box today of helpful things. Tupperware, muslins, plain snacks, something to suck, bin bags, clothes etc.

Luckily for me, DH doesn’t drive due to a medical condition, so I don’t really have to be the one sitting in the back dealing with it all!

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ShesTheAlbatross · 08/08/2025 10:57

Dontletthebedbugsbite2 · 08/08/2025 10:53

I cant explain it, I don't think there can be a scientific reason for it but it worked. These were primary age kids though so slightly older (although some were 4) my own DD feels travel sick in the car if she has to concentrate on anything. She cant look at her phone/a book but isnt ever actually sick. She listens to audio books which seems to help her- might be an idea to get a set of headphones for your DD too. The more they focus on it the worse they seem to feel which is understandable!

Yeah I think her age doesn’t help. My eldest (who doesn’t get car sick) will sit staring out the window listening to an audio book for 4 hours without saying a word. I’m not sure how much my youngest would be distracted by that. But definitely worth a try if I can get headphones to fit her tiny head.

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Soggydog · 08/08/2025 11:03

We were told by a gp friend who looked up the drugs in kwells kids in her drugs book that we could give it from 2 years old. The issue is I can't remember the amount but your gp should be able to tell you. Medication is actually weight based on an average child of that age so hopefully they will help. We were also prescribed medication by the gp for one of our kids but it tasted really bad and made them very drowsy so they refused to take it.

Aspidistree · 08/08/2025 11:10

ShesTheAlbatross · 08/08/2025 10:49

It’s weird because a friend of mine swears blind that having them sit on some cardboard helps. I’m slightly unconvinced about that though.

I was told sitting them on a newspaper. Similar idea. I think the placebo effect can be quite strong and I'm all for it - clinically significant success rate and zero side effects, what's not to like? As long as they are still safely strapped in. Similarly I remember reading about people swearing that rubbing Vick's into the feet could help. I suspect that had got confused with an old wives' tale for treating colds, and even for colds I find it a stretch as anything more than a placebo. However I do believe in placebo and mad as it sounds I could imagine it working if she likes the smell.

Having to do all the driving is not the easy job at all! Hope you find a solution or that she outgrows it soon.

Greentambourine · 08/08/2025 11:17

As a travel sickness sufferer myself, I would add that you should avoid anything that smells in the car. Do not wear perfume/aftershave or go to a garden centre and put plants in the car near the child.

Toddlerteaplease · 08/08/2025 11:24

Could you move her car seat to the middle of the back seat. That might help, so she’s looking straight ahead rather than sideways.

BertieBotts · 08/08/2025 11:25

Argh sympathies. I got terribly travel sick as a child, I used to utterly dread car journeys and the taste of Joy Rides still gives me a horrible shuddering sensation - I can't eat any synthetic raspberry flavour thanks to them!

In the front is usually the best despite difficulty for clean up, because the sensation in the back when the car turns at all is amplified. If you want to do this, for safety - push the seat as far back as it goes and disable the airbag. Or failing that, the middle in the back is often good, so she has a clear view through to the horizon. If nobody is sitting in the front seat, you could also put her on the rear passenger side and remove the front seat headrest.

Encourage her to look straight ahead and not look at things inside the car. Games like I-spy (colours if she doesn't know letter sounds yet) or looking for letters on car numberplates help with this. I also used to find that singing helped me? I don't know why this is, maybe it was calming.

Keep the temperature inside the car very cool - slightly uncomfortably cool (everyone else will probably need a jumper). Fiddle around with air con/fan vents to the back if she's in the back, to make sure they are reaching her.

Try blocking the view from the side windows, if she's in the back to one side. It helps avoid that "things rushing past" thing.

Avoid dairy or other fatty foods before travelling. All the morning sickness cures - take ginger biscuits and salt and vinegar crisps as car snacks, plain crackers like tuc or water biscuits, or maybe some cooled peppermint tea (add sugar to taste) to sip on. Cold water as well - freeze a bottle so it slowly defrosts and stays cool. You'll need a cloth to wrap it in for the consendation. I would say mints, but she's a bit young to suck on a hard sweet esp while strapped into a car seat. Maybe tictacs? Since they would more likely be accidentally swallowed than block the airway. Or some of those dissolving breath strip things, if they aren't too strong for her. Peppermint essential oil to smell might also help, but mostly I'd try to avoid strong smells inside the car - if you have air fresheners, remove them. If the seats smell of dog or smoke or anything like that, try and clean the car before you go (but not with strongly perfumed upholstery shampoo).

Stick to straight roads, motorways as much as possible. Avoid winding country/mountain roads, even if it means a longer route. The driver should also avoid lots of rapid changes in acceleration - drive in a very smooth, eco friendly style, and if you have an automatic that you can set to different modes, choose eco and especially not sport!

Take breaks where you can - it can help her stomach to settle a bit before going on. This is just a bit trial and error, especially with her age you might find there's a point that with too many breaks she gets even more upset about getting back in the car. If you can get to know the early signs before she spews (I used to get hiccups, burping is also a red flag, DS3 gets very quiet and pale) and take a break ASAP you might avoid some of the sickness. Obviously don't stop on the hard shoulder - but keep an eye on when services are coming up or come off the motorway into a town or side road. If in doubt, stop, don't push through. Sometimes you have to plan a LOT longer for the journey - e.g. if it's 4 hours of driving time, plan 8-10 hours for the travel in total.

The travel bands come in different sizes, you can get them for younger children. Amazon ones from the weird nonsense brands tend to be tiny although sometimes you get mixed sizes though, which doesn't help.

See if you can get some carpet/upholstery cleaner spray for pet messes - it's more likely to remove the smell of vomit.

If she's in a 5 point harness seat, there is an old wives' tale about sitting on a piece of newspaper - this might be worth a try for the placebo effect. I would not do it if she's in a high back booster though since it would make it more slippy between her clothing and the seat cover, which could be a risk in an accident.

Long term consider getting her eyes tested - travel sickness can be related to shortsightedness, apparently. I started wearing glasses when I was 12 but I probably needed them earlier. Glasses didn't help my travel sickness unfortunately, it's just more of a related thing.

adviceneeded1990 · 08/08/2025 11:30

ShesTheAlbatross · 08/08/2025 10:49

It’s weird because a friend of mine swears blind that having them sit on some cardboard helps. I’m slightly unconvinced about that though.

My best friend was chronically travel sick as a kid and her parents used to sit us all on newspaper in the back seat. It worked where no medication ever did!

ShesTheAlbatross · 08/08/2025 11:33

@BertieBottsthanks, that’s really helpful. So does looking out of the side windows not really help then? Our car is small so she can’t go in the middle at the back. The back windows are also just those little latch ones, rather than ones that wind all the way down. Maybe the front seat is the way to go..

I might try newspaper under her bum, for clean up purposes if nothing else! She’s in a 5 point harness.

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ThatIsEnoughForOneDay · 08/08/2025 16:54

One of my children had terrible travel sickness from being a baby. I didn’t realise that’s what it was for a while as obviously babies can be quite sicky with all the milk they have. When we realised, our doctor advised trying antihistamine and putting her in the front of the car looking forwards and those things definitely helped a lot, as did getting her to look out of the window at different things rather than focusing on one spot once she could understand to do that.

We tried to travel at nap times, not on a full stomach, made lots of stops on long journeys and did lots of singing to try to distract when she was awake.

Once she could take travel sickness pills, she felt fine on journeys. She’s a teen now and still takes a pill before any journey that’s longer than 30 minutes.

Plump82 · 08/08/2025 17:25

ShesTheAlbatross · 08/08/2025 11:33

@BertieBottsthanks, that’s really helpful. So does looking out of the side windows not really help then? Our car is small so she can’t go in the middle at the back. The back windows are also just those little latch ones, rather than ones that wind all the way down. Maybe the front seat is the way to go..

I might try newspaper under her bum, for clean up purposes if nothing else! She’s in a 5 point harness.

Looking out side windows is probably one of the worst triggers for me. I can't sit on a window seat on a plane for this reason as well.

birdling · 08/08/2025 18:30

We had success with Piriton on a similar aged child, for several years. It used to make him a bit sleepy and he would nap for quite a while.
Obviously, it might just have been luck 😁.

ShesTheAlbatross · 08/08/2025 18:53

birdling · 08/08/2025 18:30

We had success with Piriton on a similar aged child, for several years. It used to make him a bit sleepy and he would nap for quite a while.
Obviously, it might just have been luck 😁.

I’m hoping piriton works - the wrist bands I ordered just arrived and they’re too big for her 😒

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TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne · 08/08/2025 18:55

I'd give Children's Kwells to a 3 year old child without hesitation.

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