By Nicole Feliciano

A long car ride can be difficult for everyone. Hours spent on the road with little to keep your kids entertained, constant distractions from the backseat, and frequent stops can get any vacation off to a rocky start. This is especially true if your child gets carsick. In order to help, Nicole Feliciano of Momtrends found some great tips for moms traveling by car with kids.

Skip the barf bag. I've got great tips for kids who hurl in the car. The July issue of ShopSmart says:

• DON’T let carsickness-prone kids read, color, play handheld games, or watch videos. Have them listen to music or audiobooks and play games such as I Spy that involve looking out the window.
• DO plan frequent stops for fresh air. Wear the kids out at a park or fast-food play area. Sleeping children don’t get carsick.
• DON’T give susceptible kids an untried over-the-counter antihistamine. Try a test dose at home. These drugs make most people drowsy, but some kids have the opposite reaction. And you don’t want to be stuck in a moving vehicle with a hyper child.
• DO be prepared with a waterproof bag and a cleanup kit. Include a change of clothes, paper towels, an enzyme-based pet-spot remover (good for cleaning and deodorizing after human accidents too), and a towel.

Next I visited an online forum to get some additional road tunes for the car. Here's what my pals came up with:

Snack Time BareNaked Ladies "hilarious"
In My Hometown by Tom Chapin "Simplicity in melody here...never cheats the rich instrumentation or complex"
Not for Kids Only by Jerry Garcia & David Grisam "ironic approach make twelve traditional cuts extraordinary"
Songs for the Young at Heart by Taj Mahal "a spirited collection of blues and world tunes"

What else will you need in the car. For wee ones I think a Protect-A-Bub UPF+50 Car Seat Sunshade works much better than those silly shades that suction to the window of your car.

Finally I called on a pal from my writing gig at Babble.com. Kate Bayless is a wealth of information and she didn't let me down:

"We frequently make the 6-hour trip up the coast to see my extended family in Northern California...with a 2-year old and a 6-month old, our trips have become quite different (think Thomas the Train marathons and Old McDonald choruses). I've had some luck relying on FindLocalParks.com for locating local grassy areas to run around and Yelp.com for finding kid-friendly restaurants and other activities (zoo, hikes, etc.) to help break up the drive. And never underestimate the power of being silly. With an hour left to go in the 6-hour car ride and everyone a bit antsy, my husband and I can do some wicked renditions of Disney movies, nursery rhyme songs and character voices that keep the whole car entertained. Momentary stares from neighboring cars are not nearly as bad as 60-minutes of toddler whining."

I'd love to see this in person some time Kate. Are Dory and Nemo in your repertoire?

 

Nicole Feliciano is a freelance writer and mother of two girls based in Brooklyn, New York. Admittedly style-obsessed, she spent seven years in women’s fashion with Polo Ralph Lauren before taking on the world of parenting. Now she uses her keen eye to spot trends for hip families and shares her picks on her Momtrends blog as well as national print and online publications. For more, you can find Momtrends here.

 

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