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Children's health

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Original poster

3 year old car sick in Dad's car

27 replies

ShirlyValentine · 18/05/2018 21:13

Please can someone help me with this. I am separated from my DD's father. We live almost 4 hours away and he has her every other weekend from Friday to Sunday. We split the travel between us meeting half way. Whilst my daughter is fine in my car, she is always sick in her Dad's car, at least once, often twice. I have a small car (Toyota Yaris) which is almost 20 yrs old so not very powerful. Up until recently her Dad had a Ford Mondeo and has just bought a new car, I'm not sure what make (he only bought it last week and I didn't get chance to have a good look at it) but it is but it's big and looks quite new, and no doubt will have a powerful engine. Her Dad informed me she was sick twice today in the new car. I have tried to talk to him about this to see if there is anything that can be done, but he refuses to speak to me about it, saying that it's just one of those things and hung up on me. I hate the thought that she's ill every time she travels with her Dad. There is a court order in place so she has to visit him. I would be prepared to do all the travel myself but I'm out of work and can't afford the petrol money. Does anyone have any suggestions on now to prevent/reduce travel sickness in children? Thank you.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

TeaBelle · 18/05/2018 21:15

I swear by the travel bands that press onto your wrists. They really worked well for me as a child. Does she use a device in his car such as iPad or sit behind a big seat that makes looking out of Windows tricky?

Highhorse1981 · 18/05/2018 21:16

Offer to do the complete round journey but ask for contribution to petrol money

Phosphorus · 18/05/2018 21:17

Just buy some travel sickness medication.

Kwells are great.

Pancakeflipper · 18/05/2018 21:17

I also like the wrist bands. And a ginger biscuit.

I recall reading about some cars needing to be 'balanced' cos' if not it can cause travel sickness.

iloveredwine · 18/05/2018 21:19

maybe it's his driving! does he drive very fast?

Original poster

ShirlyValentine · 18/05/2018 21:55

Thank you all for your suggestions. Can you recommend a particular wristband for travel sickness? I will try a wristband and travel sickness pills and if they fail, will offer to do all or most of the driving and ask for a contribution for the petrol though I highly doubt he'll agree to this as wants to make life as difficult as possible for me. Yes, he does drive too fast and tailgates other drivers. I worry myself sick when my daughter travels with him but there is absolutely nothing I can do about it due to the court order in place. Thank you all again.

OP posts:

GerddwrEryri · 18/05/2018 21:58

I also used the travel bands growing up, the ones that press into your wrist. Don't know what make sorry but they all seem pretty much the same.

Something like this should work:

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B001CD6EMC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1526677090&sr=8-1&keywords=travel+sickness+bands+children&dpPl=1&dpID=41dNw%2Bg1v2L&ref=plSrch

Starlight2345 · 18/05/2018 22:02

I use travel bands for my Ds for school trips . They do help him. I think they are pretty much a like

FaithEverPresent · 18/05/2018 22:04

DD suffers a lot. We found the travel bands helped a bit, Kwells worked well. My BIL used to have a Mondeo and I was always nauseous if I travelled in his car when the air con was on. I was okay without it or with the window open.

iloveredwine · 18/05/2018 22:06

my daughter was sick in her dad's car it was they way he drove. she has never been sick in anyone else's car. he was very fast. I ended up getting her travel sickness pills and she had one an hour before she was put in the car.

BertieBotts · 18/05/2018 22:09

You can't stop him from driving her just because she gets travel sick! Unfortunately also it is up to him how he deals with it - no harm in offering things like travel sickness pills etc but really you've got to leave it up to him to decide what to do. It is not nice for her but it's also not that unusual in children, and it's not as though it's actually making her ill, just a physical reaction. Make sure you pack her enough spare clothes!

I used to get travel sickness and I did get it much worse with my dad - my mum reckons it's because he wouldn't stop until the last possible minute but he did also used to drive faster. Does he smoke in the car too? That always made it worse for me. You'd think they'd get fed up of small children puking all over their upholstery really, and change their behaviour!

Tell her to look straight forwards out of the front window, and not to read or use screens in the car. Sucking a mint also helps, but basically he needs to stop when she's starting to feel sick and take a break.

I think the bands work better for older children as I think they are a bit of a placebo, do seem to work though. The travel sickness pills work but I hated the taste of them and that seemed to make the whole thing worse.

BakedBeeeen · 18/05/2018 22:13

OP, I feel very sorry for your DD, I was very car sick for my entire childhood and it is awful. Ultimately she will dread going to visit him if this happens each time. I'm afraid it does sound like it's his driving, if he has a powerful car he might be accelerating quickly, which is probably making things worse. Things that would help: can he drive a different route that involves more motorway/dual carriageway and less "windy roads"? Sitting in the front of the car helps a lot. Driving in the night (in the dark) helps a lot. One things that helped the most was when my parents bought me a Walkman (it was the 80's!) and got me some story tapes to listen to. Listening to the tapes really took my mind off feeling sick, giving me something else to think about. So perhaps he can put some stories or even some music on that they can sing along to? Good luck!

BakedBeeeen · 18/05/2018 22:17

Agree with bertiebotts, Stopping for for a break as she is starting to feel sick is a very good idea. Pills and travel bands never used to work with me, just made me feel ill with dread before I even got in the car!!

BertieBotts · 18/05/2018 22:28

Front seat defo helps and window open. It's safe to put a car seat in the front if the seat is pushed as far back as it will go.

BertieBotts · 18/05/2018 22:28

Assuming the seat is forward facing, but I'm guessing at 3 she likely is.

Original poster

ShirlyValentine · 18/05/2018 22:38

Thank you for your additional suggestions. I'm thinking maybe she would be better in the front seat in which case her Dad would need to disable the air bags. I've read it is safer in the back, but if the front seat was pushed back as far as it can go, would this be ok?

OP posts:

NoMorePills · 18/05/2018 22:40

Those travel sickness pills can be horrible for children

Is she anxious? Could you talk it through with her?

Branleuse · 18/05/2018 22:41

is there a reason you can't give her a kwells before the journey?

Original poster

ShirlyValentine · 18/05/2018 22:41

I've just read that the middle rear seat is the safest as it's away from the sides of the car. I'm thinking that if her car seat was in the middle of the back seat, she would have a clearer view out of the front windscreen. Would this be a good idea? Thank you.

OP posts:

Bapple · 18/05/2018 22:42

DS1 (age 14) has suffered with travel sickness since a toddler. This is what we have learnt: the smell of a new car can cause nausea, a "spongy" suspension does not help (he was particularly bad in a Peugeot), he has always sat in front seat since age 4, take frequent breaks (it can takes us ages to get some places), no milk drinks before travelling, keep temperature inside car cool.

No travel pills or bands have worked for us ... on long haul flights we resorted to Phenergan.

Incidentally, we involved ds in the test drive of our latest car (as a passenger obviously!). It's a Toyota and his sickness has reduced significantly!

Branleuse · 18/05/2018 22:44

i get travel sick and so do 2 of my kids.
fine on short journeys but if ever we do a long journey we all have a travel sickness pill or an antihistamine (works just as well)
There is absolutely no need to suffer with motion sickness

Original poster

ShirlyValentine · 18/05/2018 22:47

Does Kwells need tablets need to be prescribed by a doctor or can I get it from a Pharmacist?

OP posts:

NeeChee · 18/05/2018 22:49

Sometimes it's not the speed of people's driving, but their driving style. I can't quite describe it but some people slow down and set off in a way that feels like when you go over one of those funny hills that make your stomach dip. That constantly makes me feel ill.

BertieBotts · 18/05/2018 23:36

Middle rear seat can work yes because nice clear view of the front, however from a travel sickness perspective you tend to feel better in the front.

With a forward facing seat airbag can be on but the seat must be pushed back as far as possible. If she's in a booster she must be told not to lean forwards e.g. to pick something up from the floor as children have died in this position after being struck by the airbag. Though the chances of this coinciding with a crash are remote. If she's in a rear facing seat the airbag has to be off.

You can just get the pills from a pharmacy over the counter. I used to have JoyRides. Bleurgh, I can still imagine the taste!

He can encourage her to look out the front by looking for letters or numbers on car numberplates or counting different coloured cars. Looking out of the sides will make it worse as does looking at anything inside the car.

Branleuse · 19/05/2018 08:29

you just get them from a pharmacy. They have a childrens chewable version

Piriton syrup also works as anti-sickness and is suitable for over 1s

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