Having a kid who gets car sick is like having the world’s most disgusting, most adorable volcano in your car with you. Our kids can be like ticking little time bombs of vomit, and while it’s not their fault, it’s no less awful for our upholstery.

What can you even DO about car sickness in kids, though? It turns out the science behind it is pretty simple.

What Causes Car Sickness?

To understand how to keep your kid from getting car sick, you need to understand how the heck this even happens. Car sickness and seasickness are both the same things: motion sickness is caused by your brain and nervous system not quite syncing up.

When you travel in a vehicle, your body stays still, and that’s super weird for your brain, eyes, and inner ears, which can clearly detect motion. The result is a sense of dizziness and vertigo that triggers sudden nausea.

 

 

How to Prevent Car Sickness In Kids

Preventing car sickness in kids is actually super simple —  you just have to trick their brains into remembering that they’re moving.

Most of the time the problem is caused by kids who are either too small to see out of car windows or are fixated on something inside the vehicle, like a tablet or a toy.

Just by getting your child to look out the window, you could actually prevent car sickness from even happening. But what if your tiny humans are too tiny to see out of the windows?

The next best thing to do is to avoid giving them anything that will focus their vision on a spot inside the vehicle. If your kid is prone to getting car sick, avoid books and screens while they ride. If they can’t look out the window from where they’re sitting, try to distract them with songs or conversation.

(Don’t worry, nobody’s judging you for singing the Wheels on the Bus at the intersection.)

Bland foods and ginger candies can also help to keep nausea-prone tummies from giving it all up on your leather interiors. Give your kids foods like saltine crackers and bread before a trip, and avoid things like dairy, greasy foods, or things that are heavily spiced.

 

 

 

Plan Ahead

 

 

Even if you do all of these things, I have some bad news: your kid might still throw up in the back seat.

And that’s okay — puke happens, life happens, and you can deal. Just come prepared.

Keep an emergency bag in your vehicle filled with some puke-ready supplies:

• A change of clothes (for both of you)
• Non-toxic cleaning supplies (because of fumes)
• Baking soda for your interiors (vacuum it up when you get home)
• Plastic bags
• Crackers and water

Do your kids get car sick? What have you tried that has worked for your family?