We were four hours into our drive to Pigeon Forge when we heard the phrase from the back of the car that no parent in the front seat ever wants to hear. “I think Owen is going to puke”.
To be fair, I would rather hear that phrase than the sound of the throw up coming out. So huge kudos to my nephew, Felix, for saving me from that mess.
I had fifteen seconds to grab the garbage bag I had been using for road trip snacks, take off my seatbelt and lean into the back seat to make sure Owen was ready to puke into the bag instead of all over himself and the car.
Thankfully, I can share that I used those fifteen seconds wisely. Owen ended up getting sick, but it all stayed entirely in the grocery bag. A true road trip miracle.
We didn’t have to change Owen’s clothes, clean out his seat in the car and smell that terrible throw up smell for the rest of the drive (because we all know it doesn’t leave right away.) But we very easily could’ve been in that mess.
I’m not one to tempt fate, so I was more prepared for the ride home. And am now sharing my tips so that you can be prepared, should you end up with a carsick kid on a future road trip.
First, we gave Owen kids dramamine thirty minutes before we hit the road. Total gamechanger for our ride back to North Carolina!
Not into medications? You can always try something like these motion sickness patches or nausea relief bracelets. But fair warning that I haven’t tried either of these products, so I can’t guarantee they work like the kids dramamine.
Second, make sure you have extra bags on hand for potential throw up situations. Plastic grocery bags, garbage bags or these amazing sickness bags will work.
If you are anything like our family, then you stop at a gas station on every drive for some road trip snacks. My husband is the key driver of this fun tradition, and even wrote about it in his latest post. I like to keep extra bags from these stops and put them in all the car door compartments so they are easy to grab.
Third, I now keep paper towels and cleaning wipes in the center console of the car. After this last puke situation I’ve decided that it is always better to be prepared. I would rather have the cleaning items ready to go should there be another surprise sickness event, than not.
Fourth, I had a talk with Owen about speaking up. Yes, Felix saved the day this time, but Owen is seven and old enough to communicate when he’s starting to feel sick. He now knows that telling us early when he’s not feeling well is much better than waiting until he can’t hold it in anymore.
Finally, we try our best to make extra rest area stops. Although we can’t stop the roads from winding in the mountains, we can get Owen some much needed fresh air as much as possible during the drive.
Yes, it might take us a little longer to get to our destination. But we feel it’s worth it so that everyone finds the road trip more enjoyable. Especially Owen!
Do you have any other tips to help when carsickness gets your family down? Share in the comments!
