The Art of Driving A Carsick Toddler – plus our favourite remedies!

We first realized CZ’s general queasiness in the car when we made our first flight back to the States. Let’s just say that taxi drivers in big cities do not have a reputation for prioritizing a smooth ride while driving a carsick toddler. No sooner than we jerked to a stop at the SYD departures curb, did CZ end the life of our Chicco carseat. Wanting to catch our flight, we lacked time to save it from such a putrid disaster. Luckily, the carseat did such a great job containing the mess, we did not incur any cab cleaning fees. Instead we extracted a reeking and confused baby, depositing the carseat by the trashcans.

Despite this, we decided it would be a good idea to a road trip around Tassie for Christmas that year. Six months later, we traversed the winding roads of the Big Island, with at least 3 spare outfits per day. Oh, and our most recent family adventure was 10 days in a camper van. No, we are not gluttons for punishment, and no, those ginger lollipops don’t really help, at least not for our child.

With all of this experience under my belt, I feel qualified to share a few musings on the art of driving a carsick toddler. Remember though, we live car-free; so perhaps, I am merely a hobbyist in this art form.

Carsickness Triggers

Triggers are the most important thing to study when it comes to a carsick toddler. For some, the sudden starting and stopping brings bile to their throat, others might turn green on mountain roads, and for others, incessant city roundabouts slosh the stomach.  For CZ they all come into play, our worst offenders: roundabouts and boredom. When she starts fussing, she escalates from whining to vomiting before we can pull over. Thus, we have experimented with several tactics to delay (and occasionally avoid) the inevitable.

Driving a Carsick Toddler – Remedies

Songs – Books can exacerbate nausea, but so can boredom. Keep the wee one distracted an extensive song repertoire when the beautiful rolling hills make their tummies turn. The trick to this one is to anticipate an approaching trigger, and begin their favourite songs before it hits.

Sit them high enough to see out the window – This was a recommendation provided by a colleague at work, and after our camper van trip, we can vouch for it’s effectiveness. With the large window that she could see through most of, CZ did much better than in the smaller cars we previously rented.

Note the tic-tacs

Snacks – While the natural anti-nausea remedies did nothing more than create strawberry scented vomit, we find that a steady stream of snacks helps keep the nausea at bay. We narrowed down our shopping list, and it includes easy-to-digest, low-sugar arrowroot biscuits and rice crackers. On some ocassions we have found luck with mint Tic Tacs, but other times not so much. They are harder on the stomach without chewing.

Frequent stops – This is a new favorite we picked up embarrassingly late in the game. It added unusual sights to our New Zealand trip, and kept us all a bit fresher. The key to leveraging this trick is to schedule a loose itinerary. We scrapped a few stops from our initial plans, but we also picked up a lot surprisingly scenic views from our roadside respites.

An emergency roadside stop with beautiful views and a fun playground!

Open the window – Cool air on your face is unquestionably the best natural remedy. We find that opening a front and rear window facilitates the best breeze, and it also prevents that thwooping sound created by cracking one car window.

Drive during sleeps – This is unquestionably our most successful tactic, and served as the basis for our New Zealand itinerary. CZ’s hour long afternoon nap and evening sleep are the best times to drive. If we started the drive about 30 minutes before nap time she became drowsy before nauseous and we could cover more ground.

Be Prepared

As all of us who suffered through childhood carsickness know – sometimes there is no stopping it! For these situations, we always travel with:

• 2 full outfit changes
• plastic bags – helpful for both catching vomit and storing soiled clothes
• lots of wipes

The art of driving a carsick toddler is the balance between preparation and letting go. You must acquiesce to your toddler’s tummy, while still reaching your destination at a reasonable time. It is a beautiful dance when it comes together, and I am proud to say we made it 10 days in a camper van with only 3 incidents. If you have any tips share them in the comments, and be sure to pin this article for future reference. Your upholstery depends on it.