Children and Travel

Beat Travel Sickness

Most children eventually grow out of travel sickness. In the meantime:

• Sit small children on a booster seat so that they can see out of the window;
• Tell them to look straight ahead, not to the side or inside the car;
  
• Keep the car cool and open the windows if you can;
• If they feel queasy tell them to breathe in through their nose and out through their mouth, steadily and gently;
• Take a break every 1 to 2 hours to give everyone some fresh air and a run around;
• Avoid heavy meals before travelling. Keep snacks light - grapes, raisins, apple slices, plain biscuits. Give plain water to drink - it won't get sticky if they spill it.

Travel Sickness Remedies

Try remedies such as:

• Ginger - chew crystallised ginger, take sips of ginger ale or nibble a ginger biscuit;
• From the chemist: Sea-bands worn on the wrist (£7.49), Joy Rides for children over 3 years (£2.19 for 12) or Stugeron for the over 5s (£2.45 for 15).

Beat Boredom

Older children won't sleep in the car so you have to entertain them if you're going to stop bickering in the back.

When you're bored of I-Spy try:

• Audio-tapes of really good books: Harry Potter tapes are pricey but a good investment. Jacqueline Wilson's books are another favourite;
• Give older children a map and ask them to work out the route;
• Count caravans! Each person guesses how many caravans you'll see on the journey, the one that's closest is the winner!
• Keep a 'bag of surprises' containing cheap toys, pens, paper, peppermints or other boiled sweets. Produce a new item when kids start getting tetchy;
• Have a bag of £1 worth of 10p coins for each child and tell them it's their pocket money for the holiday. Every time they say the dreaded phrase 'are we nearly there yet' take one of their 10p pieces out and put it in your own purse. They'll soon stop!

Submitted by Jane Sullivan