sea sickness on ferry

[shouldactmyage]

what does anyone give to prevent sea sickness on ferry (to 7 & 5yr old). never given them anything in tablet form - what do proper travellers do? we are ferry virgins...

I was just wondering about this myself. Both dcs are generally fab travellers - never car sick - but they were both very sick on the ferry home last year. In fact, DH and I were almost ill as well. We are off again in a few weeks and my youngest (5) is starting to worry about being sick again on the boat. I would be interested to hear what people recommend if the sea looks choppy!

As both of my DDs have been known to treat all forms of travel as a vomitathon we swear by Joyrides. Never had any problems with them. We also take nappy sacks as sick bags, wet wipes and fabreze. Oh yes, they get it bad!

Signs to watch for - child going quiet, head-rolling, puffing or panting, gulping and last but not least - 'mummy, I feel sick'.

In additinon to the Joyrides we do the following: take lots of breaks when travelling, make sure DCs get out of the car. Dont have lots of sweets in the car. Dont let DCs read. Our DS isnt allowed to read when sat next to one of the DDs as even that can set them off!

I hope you have a lovely time.

Thanks Suzie, I will definitely stock up on Joyrides!

LetLoveRule IMO the Joyrides do no harm so we give them before the journey starts and dont wait for any symptoms to start. This then made the children confident which did help. In no way do I believe that travel sickness is all psychosomatic but I think that a positive attitude will help a bit.

Something else to look at are the travel sickness wrist bands (I think Boots do them). Some people swear by these for mild travel sickness. A combination of these and Joyrides for your DCs should give them the reassurance they need that this time will be different.

If you are on a cross channel ferry in calm weather, you barely notice the movement of the ship.

My younger kids get car sick, and they had no problems on the ferry.

Adding on to this thread, do you know if 1 year olds get sea sick - one of our 1 year olds gets cars sick within 5 minutes in a car. And we've got an 18 hour ferry journey to look forward to! Any suggestions?

Travel sickness meds. Ask your pharmacist for the most appropriate one.

We have never had a car-sick child once they have meds.

Where is your 18-hour voyage?

Joyrides are not for under 3s without doctors' advice. I have a recollection that there was a brand which was safe for 2 year olds.

Does Phenergan's still exist? I think that was possible for smaller children. At least it was when DD1 - the most stricken - was very young. As MmeRed says, check with the pharmacist.

I'm afraid that DD1 has been ill after meds a few times. Mind, she was a bad case!

We take a belt, braces and spare set of trousers (and t-shirt) approach.

Mine generally don't get sick on the big ferries; it's the little ones (e.g. Dublin Swift, or the "Vomit Comet" to the Isle of Wight) that normally get them. I don't bother with pills, just keep sick bags to hand and let them sleep as much as possible.