My brother got carsickness a lot. I remember my Dad driving through the mountains on the way to the beach at a dreadfully slow speed as not make the inevitable happen. The inevitable would be having my brother loose his lunch in the car. Or out the window. We would have miles of cars lined up behind us, not being able to pass because it was a tiny mountain road.
There was also the time we were going to the city to see a play and my brother was in the front seat with his head out the window. We stupidly had the back window down too when the poor kid blew. That time it was more the laws of physics, or speed?, that sent the mess right back into the back window and all over my oldest brother. He used my blanket to clean it up. It was all pretty traumatizing and we still talk about it when we get together. I feel for the people who sat near the family who smelled like barf. That couldn't have been a good experience for anyone in the theatre that night.
My kids do pretty good in the car especially considering how much time we spend in it. But it has been brought to our attention that our littlest child must also have her uncles constitution when it comes to long car rides. Unfortunately, we live in the mountains and going anywhere results in a long car ride. It's 25 miles into Little Town and 80 miles into Big Town. That's just one way. Granted, the windiest part of that ride is the first 5 miles from, or last 5 miles to, our house.
This being said, I have come up with a survival kit for dealing with a carsick child.
First of all: Slow down. That's probably the
most important thing. When we are running late and in a hurry to get somewhere on time, that is when we speed up and I usually spend my time cleaning up barf in the parking lot, instead of being even remotely on time, or going in at all.
What to keep in a Carsick Survival Kit :
1.
A few changes of clothes (This is for the child, but while you're at it, you might want a change for you too!)
2.
Towels ~ Really you can never have enough and the first clean up is best done with a towel. I prefer the bath size.
3.
Extra wipes ~ LOTS of extra wipes. They're just nice to have around whether you need them or not.
4.
Clorox wipes ~ This is, after all throw up. We don't want someone getting into it.
5.
Febreze ~ This is by far the best thing to keep in your car if you will be going a long way. Like to California. The smell of barf that has dripped under the seat car seat can kill a person.
6.
Saltines or pretzels or what ever you prefer to help heal an upset stomach. I was once given a Hershey's bar and a coke while I was feeling ill in a car and it did the trick. For me, that combo will save me. This is funny because I hate Hershey's and really, I would never give my kids a coke.
7.
Water Bottle ~ not just to wash out a mouth with, but doing that much scrubbing will get you dehydrated. Plus, you may wish to get the towel wet to scrub.
8.
Toothbrush and toothpaste ~ Seriously, you know YOU would want to brush after that!
9.
Trash bags ~ You're gonna need to put all those nasty towels in something. Ok, really I would say just toss the towels, but the child's clothes might be something you want to keep.
10.
A bucket, preferably with a lid ~ I like the reusable popcorn buckets you can get at disney theme parks because they have a lid that stays on and they are cute. We've used ours as car throw up buckets for years!
While I'm at it, I also keep extra diapers, and changes for the other kids. Cause really, if you aren't prepared for all, then surly, that one will need something.
And on a side note. Why has no one invented a vinyl car seat? You would not believe how often I have to take that thing apart and wash it. If I could just hose the whole thing of, it would be just lovely!
