I'm not sure of the law but if 7 year olds are allowed to ride in the front seat that might help.

FWIW, I just about lived on dramamine as a baby/child. As for the shade, I think not being able to see would be worse than if he can. Staring at the horizon is one thing they tell you to do when you're seasick, too.

I'm not sure the stick on window shade would help. If you block his view, his eyes won't register the movement his body is feeling. You describe he's having issues both on your winding road, but also in stop and go traffic and that feels like two different types motion sensitivity to me. Is he high enough in his booster he can see out clearly? Window down a bit for fresh air or your cars ventilation system pointed at his face? Is it your car specifically where he has a problem, or any make/model car.

Most things for motion sickness will have a side effect of some drowsiness and wouldn't be appropriate for frequent use, although his pediatrician might prescribe something for a long - not daily or weekly - trip. I will occasionally feel seasick on the ocean, and ginger snap cookies, ginger candy, ginger ale will help.

Has his pediatrician been made aware of his susceptibility to motion sickness?

Washington: The driver of a vehicle transporting a child who is under thirteen years old shall transport the child in the back seat positions in the vehicle where it is practical to do so.

As written by the Washington State Legislature, you can seat children over 8 years old secured in a properly adjusted safety belt in the front seat if there is no other practical place for them to sit.

Check out the product called SeaBands. They are acupressure wrist bands that are suppose to help prevent motion sickness. They look terry cloth sweat bands tennis players used to wear. They sell them at pharmacies and grocery stores for maybe $10? I wear them and believe they help prevent motion sickness, even if it's a placebo effect I don't care because I'm not sick!

Thanks, everyone. I don't have access to his physician and communication with the parent who does is fruitless. I would never medicate him, but was looking for any tips/tricks to lessen the severity for him. Poor little guy :-(

I'm surprised about the peripheral vision/blind answers (I don't have any hint of motion sickness, so don't really understand how it works. I just know if he's looking down that it's worse, so I was thinking that might be from perceiving motion out the corner of his eyes and if I blocked that it would help. I guess not. I do remember hearing to have him look straight ahead, so we do that (the horizon trick). We do open windows when we can. I sometimes pull off and park somewhere safe so he can get his bearings and maybe walk around a bit, but sometimes that's impossible.

He's got a pretty beefy booster seat, so can see out fine; I'm not sure if other types of cars are worse or better. Mine is sporty, but not too low and I try to go slow and take the curves less sharply than I do when I am alone.

He likes ginger candy, so I'll give him some of that to use and I'll look for the wrist band. I remember now hearing of those but wasn't sure if they contained meds that I wouldn't want to give to him. Placebo is fine!

Make sure if buying the wrist band it's the size fitted for children, they come in both child and adult sizes. It needs to be snug for the little pressure 'marble' to fit against the inside of his wrist. I kept the adult size for guests on the boat with mixed results, but never say never. Good luck in any case. Poor little guy, I feel badly he's having a problem, hopefully one will outgrow.

Thanks, I'll go look tomorrow. Poor guy is right and g'ma feels so bad when he says he feels sick and it's because "It's how you're driving G'ma." :-(

Dd has had some motion sickness, mostly on planes. Dramamine works for her, but I wouldn't want to give it on a regular basis.

I also had motion sickness as a kid and occasionally feel a bit queazy as an adult. Eating crackers or pretzels helps me, especially if I start nibbling before I start to feel sick. Maybe try handing him a few of those at the beginning of the car ride?

Being hot makes me feel much much worse. Cool fresh air helps a lot for me. I always wear a tank top as my bottom layer on planes so I can strip down if I need to to cool off. If he has a jacket on, I'd suggest taking it off before you start driving. And I'd suggest tilting your vents so he gets plenty of fresh air in his seat.

Looking out the front window of the car should help. If you can, you might position his booster in the middle of the back seat so he has a clear line of vision out the front window.

Peppermint also helps me, even just the smell actually helps.

Reading or watching a video screen definitely makes it worse. So if you need entertainment for him, you might consider a book on tape/cd or kids' music.

Mine is sporty, but not too low and I try to go slow and take the curves less sharply than I do when I am alone.

I was just about to post the same thing, riding the brake.

Still, there are two different driving patterns that cause this for him.

And that is not as at odds as you might think.

Being on a cruise ship there are 2 such distinct movements.

Pitch which is a drastic, rough, up down up down motion much like riding the brake.

And then there is side to side motion. Listing.

Some people are only bothered by one of these, some people are bothered by both. But usually, if bothered by both, they will feel/react worse to one.

And some people react to both.

In my experience, the pitch is much harder to tolerate and resist. It is jolting, almost violent. There is such drastic movement between the UP and the DOWN... no chance to catch your breath, so to speak.

Tricks such as looking out at the horizon or straight ahead or getting air really don't work with pitch.

Oddly enough, as a kid I was very prone to car sickness...and would come close to being sick.

Not so on a cruise ship... I have never puked.... but have felt horrible, just the same. It is not just a matter of nausea and/or dizziness... it makes you very cloudy of mind..brain confusion. Also, too many tasks or things put in front of you are impossible.

The pitch will get you, every time while awake and mobile.... the roll of the list will get you, every time, while lying down or sleeping.

You may actually find yourself falling out of bed. Not from the force of the list/roll. But from the effects on your brain.

This can follow you once you disembark.

Everything appears to be moving and you feel as if you are rocking.

So, lying down would be a worse remedy if the car sickness is caused by winding roads... causing severe dizziness. For that, I think it is best to sit up, cling to a partially open window and looking above/away from the winding.

With the braking pitch stop start thing, lying down would help. It lessens the perception of violent forward up and down jerking.

eta: stop and go traffic does not need to be at a high speed to cause this.

Some drivers just ride the break...if you watch them, you will see they keep both feet on a pedal. One on the gas and one on the break.

This is wrong. No, seriously. Remember drivers ed? Only one foot is used for both pedals. Makes for smooth transitioning, seamless. But still provides time to react to an unforeseen incident/hazard.

I once relied on cabs to get me to my night shift waitress job. The cab company was smallish, not too many drivers. I needed only twice to get the brake riding driver before I refused to use him.

I caught him riding the brake as I was feeling violently jerked. He refused to believe that he rode the brake... even as I pointed out his 2 feet on the pedals.

So what I'm getting at, is that some drivers are not even aware that they are doing this.

Maybe applies to you? Just a thought.

When I was a kid I was prone to nausea in the car, though I didn't get sick. It may have been caused by two things: that I hadn't practiced enough so was nervous on the 30 minute drive to my piano lesson, or that my mom braked with her left foot.

My younger son would sometimes get sick, so we always had a plastics bowl (an old Tupperware salad keeper) and a beach towel in the car. Sometimes it was just a comfort to have it.

Can you play a sing-along CD or audiobook to distract?

Turning my head to look out the window makes me feel car sick, so I look straight ahead. I feel for you and your grandson.

My dd used to get car sick so I learned to drive for her comfort. And it helped a great deal. On almost all trips after I changed my game, she was fine.. What amylou said. Take corners very slowly. Those curves are awful for the carsick prone. If anyone behind you honks, poo on them. Watch those starts and stops and all jerky movements. No brake slams or other not smooth actions. Tell that cutie pie that you are learning to drive better for him. Amylou has the plan.

Talk to his doctor about Zofran for children. I have occasional problems with nausea due to some of the drugs I have to take. My doctors have me keep Zofran with me. There is a version that you put under the tongue and it works quickly.

Oh, thanks everyone. Very helpful. I don't want to appear defensive about my driving, but it really is the road. I have an 8 speed automatic transmission which I use to try to seamlessly slow down instead of using the brakes. Really! I was driving my road tonight trying to imagine how to describe it. About 2 miles long, steep hill, with the kind of curves that have no straight away in between...so curve to the left, then curve to the right...the whole way. No shoulder, no way to "cheat" the curves by hugging the center line, nowhere to pull off and let the impatient people piling up behind me go around and it's so curvy, it's impossible for anyone to pass. I go as slow as possible with as few jerky moves as possible.

On the freeway in heavy stop and go traffic, it's harder to not brake and accelerate because there is just no way to avoid it. But I do it as smoothly as possible. It's worse sometimes because of the heat and fumes - there is no way to get going fast enough for fresh air, but I give him the air conditioning when needed. It just breaks my heart - he's such a little trouper. He's only puked 2 times and once was because he'd eaten some dried apple on and empty stomach, so we won't do that again. He loves crackers and pretzels, so I'll try that, along with the ginger. He only recently began liking carbonated things, so I think the ginger ale would be a hit.

Thanks again!

Seagrams and Canada Dry are both offering the little 8 oz cans ginger ale recently if the full sized soda is too much for him. They are just about perfect for a 7 year old, or a 57 year old who never wants a full can of pop ;0)

I know I'm late to the party, but having experienced what you're describing with my niece and nephew, this tidbit about your driving habits got me thinking:

I have an 8 speed automatic transmission which I use to try to seamlessly slow down instead of using the brakes.

Are you manually downshifting? If so, it sounds like he's acutely aware of abrupt changes in momentum. Such hyper-sensitivity would also explain his symptoms in stop and go traffic.

I'm sorry,I have to say this. Ginger ale was a very very bad idea to give to me in my carsick days. The carbonation and sugar seemed to only add momentum to the hurling. And it hurt coming back up. That I remember vividly. I have read that an empty stomach exacerbates motion sickness,so maybe the crackers before the car ride would help. I've always been too chicken to try it.

I was always car sick as a child and thought I had outgrown it as an adult, can even read in the car, but one time I had to ride in the backseat and I was instantly car sick again. Even in the front seat a hilly, windy road makes me sick unless we can drive it at 5 miles per hour.

Oh, so much suffering to get from one place to another! Sorry you all have experience with this, it's just not anything I am familiar with. Guess the ginger ale will be trial and error :-( but maybe just ginger candy and cool water will do.

Sammy, I get what you are saying about downshifting, but the car is going to downshift on its own, or I'm going to do it or have to brake to slow it. I wrote that there are 8 gears because I can slow the car pretty seamlessly going through that many gears. Each one does not provide much compression, so it is almost imperceptible, if I have the time/space to use them all. Easy on my road because I can keep it in the bottom 2 or 3 gears so it doesn't shift at all, since I know the road like the back of my hand. It keeps my foot off the brake doing it that way - much smoother. I use cruise control as much as possible, too, for keeping the car at a steady speed so I don't have to fine tune the speed myself.

Unfortunately, I don't have any say over doctor's visits - what gets checked and when; I'd be all over this, if I did. One of the downsides of being the grandparent - many things you have no control over and just have to help those little sweethearts however you can.

My DIL gives our 3 & 7 yr old GDs a lollipop to suck on when they fly. Seems to help.

I am going to try to top all of you! Unless I am the driver, and in a car i am ALWAYS the driver, I am always motion sick. Planes, trains, and automobiles, boats, merry-go-rounds, and once on a bicycle built for two on the Toronto Islands. It takes less than 10 minutes for this plague to assault me. My son and his 10 yo son are the same way.

Non drowsy Dramamine helps tremendously for longer trips, but it is not practical to be doped for trips to and from school or the store every day. We have tried everything you guys have suggested - bands, lollipops, blinders, shades. No luck. My son was throwing up in his rear-facing car seat when he was six months old, and his son did the same. Our doctors have prescribed various things, and we have tried everything, including hypnotism. No luck. None of my other kids or grandkids has this problem.

I am the most gentle driver on the planet, and we three get sick on planes at night with the shades down. For us it is not visual.

Don't blame your driving, Oly. For some of us it's a plague that we have to learn to deal with. Try all the tricks. I hope something works, but don't blame yourself.

My daughter is the same way as you are, sheesh. I was always car sick as a little kid, but unless I try to read a map in the car, I'm OK. My daughter has been car sick forever....she will not go into a car unless she's driving, she won't even relinquish the steering wheel for a short while, she'll get sick. Fortunately, neither of her kids seem to have inherited the problem.

Well, if no one said this, make sure the kiddo is well hydrated before you go. Ice water in a snippy cup always seems to help. Nausea is worse when thirsty/dehydrated.

Oly, what a loving grandmother you are! He's lucky to have a driver who wants to help make the ride more comfortable! I was lucky that way too. I can't speak for everyone but often the fear of getting sick is as bad as the nausea, which leads people to think its all in my head but I assure you it's not.

My daughter is sometimes motion sensitive, and was especially around elementary school age. These worked for her and are musts for myself if I can't be the driver. Most are the same you've seen.

Remove any jackets and heavy clothing on top - just a short sleeve shirt.

Use the sea bands.

Have crackers available. Saltines and pretzels may be too dry; graham crackers or even peanut butter crackers have always helped me. Teddy Grahams or ritz bits will be more of a treat and not mess up your car as much.

Cold Sprite or ginger ale may help - this is a little gross but burping sometimes relieves the nausea.

Allow him to open the window and/or have control of vents to get air. Keep the temperature cooler rather than warm.

Looking down to read or play a game is bad. We had a video player in the car - looking up at that was less likely to cause problems for her. Usually I tried to keep her from watching it at all if she was feeling bad. Believe it or not sometimes the music on the radio makes a difference - just like when you have a headache or are sick at home.

Best of luck!

I was awfully sick in cars, buses, etc until I was approximately 12 or something. Ships, of course. Then outgrew it, to big extent.

no pills then known-many years ago..what helped me was looking right in front of me..and-don't laugh-singing:) My older brother often became embarrassed, for me singing out loud in the bus lol. I also sang all sorts of "yard songs"..lot's of murder and repentance themes..:) But much better than to puke right? My Mom always told me "Sing!" I don't know why it helped but it did. Of course was embarrassed to sing when became older and on my own, so several unpleasant episodes..

Never look down or up..try to avoid looking at dots etc..I remember our taxis had this dotted ceiling..one glance and I was throwing up. Was probably the only child to refuse to take taxis..cried that I want to go on public transportation even if it took 3 times longer.

I did outgrew it as I've said

but many years after-lets say I know now I had a big predisposition to have it.

My DD-inherited it from me. Awful when she was small. Every slightly longer bus trip, she'd get sick. Longer car trip-she'd get sick. I tried to make her sing like I did..well helped to some extent. But we went to a doctor took these Dramamine pills, at some point. Also, to some extent helpful. Still had to stop the car get her out for 10 or so min, walking in the air

She also became better approximately the same age I did.

DS-didn't inherit it. Can read in the car, write in the car..nothing bothers him.

He's my copy while DD isn't..but this thing of mine somehow landed on her.

Don't blame yourself. Nothing to do with your driving. You can be a great driver and the kid feels bad still. It's just how some of us are wired. Try to find ways to deal with it..it becomes better, eventually. Other posters have said it already; I echo them. Many good suggestions in the thread.

I hope he overgrows it soon.

Ah..chewing helps. Chewing gums. probably similar mechanism as with singing..can't quite explain it

I second the sea bands as something to try, they work for me and could definitely be placebo effect but I don't care.

not travelling on an empty stomach is key, I didn't realize this until recently but being hungry greatly exacerbates my motion sickness.

I always used to keep the window cracked open and stick my nose out, I think sometimes having your head tilted up can help a little bit.

Thanks again, everyone, for more great ideas. He loves to chew gum, so that's a great thing to try. I might even be able to find some ginger gum. What started me looking for a solution right now is that he sometimes has to ride with his classmates in their parent's car when his little school takes field trips. Sometimes they are to places an hour or two away and there could be 3 or 4 other kids in the car, plus he's with an adult he might not know well. I really want to help him have some control over how he feels and deals with this because those parents and cars full of kids might not be as understanding as G'ma or his parents. I always try to drive so he can be with me if he gets sick, but sometimes I just can't (and his parents won't), so I worry about him being even more traumatized by being sick with someone he doesn't know well. They are all good people, but you just don't know how someone will react to a kid puking in their fancy SUV! And they aren't going to pull off the freeway to give him a break when they've got other kids to shuttle home.

I'll try some of these ideas and race around the curves on my road to test them out, lol. Just kidding!

Oly, it is a problem, but the boy himself will learn to handle it. My son, and his son, have puked in many other parent's cars over the years. Your gson knows when it's coming, so prepare him with bags in his pocket or backpack. At first the other kids will say kid things and lots of "Eewww!"s but soon everyone will understand and know what to expect. It won't be a problem that can't be coped with, and will even be good for some laughs eventually. Really.

not travelling on an empty stomach is key, I didn't realize this until recently but being hungry greatly exacerbates my motion sickness.

Ugh! I'm the exact opposite. If I have a flight more than three hours long I have to fast for at least 24 hours beforehand. I do find that ginger root capsules taken on a dry, empty stomach help more than ginger ale or motion sickness pills. Alas, the bands do nothing for me.

And yeah, I still get sick in cars, but only if I'm not driving.

One more -peppermint chewing gum works well! I just heard of this recently and have tested it with great results. The minter the better.

Oly,I really hope you find a solution. It is traumatizing to be unable to control the puking when other people are around. I never threw up in a car that was not driven by my father,but my siblings picked on me ruthlessly and even my dad would say "could you not do that? It's gross." I remember when we went to an imax show when it first came out,and they warned people that they might get motion sick. My sister was teasing me about how I was gonna throw up and finally I told her to leave me alone. My father,who felt no need to intervene in the teasing,responded to me telling her to leave me alone by informing me that when I get sick,it ruins things for everyone,not just me. I didn't get motion sick at imax,btw. But I couldnt enjoy it. Every family trip after that I was racked with both motion sickness and guilt for ruining it for everyone else. I did hear my mother ream him for that comment later on which was satisfying ,but like every thing else anyone tries to tell him,it fell on deaf ears. I remember him telling her "well,it does!" I was 5.

Sounds like he was the one who was 5. Some people have great difficulty stretching to accept something they don't experience. Too bad! It ruins things for everyone else! You expect children to not understand, but an adult...so sorry you got that from your father.

I also am very sorry

I'll tell you something..a bit TMI. I have celiac. But back then nobody knew that much about it. I was a textbook for it since I was born; but since they didn't know they never looked for it; they said "it's probably nerves". I was in daycare/pre-school, from ages 2 to 6, right? Really long hours, to let parents work. So we were fed there, obviously. 4 times a day. The pre-school was considered one of the best in the city (I'm of a low opinion of it, for many many reasons, but hey, maybe others were worse), the food, consequently, was also considered the best. Yet I threw up after almost every meal. And since nobody knew there was a scientific, physiological explanation for it..well they were disgusted a lot. Well they had to clean it and all. And the food was good; so it seemed probably I'm doing it out of spite? Was ungrateful? In short they weren't happy about it. Understandable. I never complained; each morning would go back there hoping for a better day. Things indeed became better when I was around six (it's called a latent celiac period or something..corresponds with this latent age, pre-puberty, for reasons I don't quite know). But before that...I think I got it worse from grown ups than from the kids. Luckily I was considered a very good kid..I was also like ten times smarter than I'm now..it's been intellectual decline for me ever since lol. So I guess it balanced it out for them, the adults in that pre-school of mine. They tolerated me. Better than they tolerated kids that were less compliant for example..these poor kids-I think it was a hellish experience for them, this exemplary pre-school.

(I must say teachers themselves were strict but handled it better. The teachers' assistants..yeah, they probably felt their salary didn't warrant all this ordeal. They took it out on kids, big time. Not everyone, but some were pretty..unkind. To put it mildly)

But my parents, they were always there for me. Worried about me, not angry. Really, I don't know what I'd do if they would reprimand me for that and act all annoyed. It must be very hard. Someone needs to hold your back, right, who else then? If not your parents?

But I think in this country and age, people are generally more sensitive to kids as individuals..especially if it's not something that they need to do on a daily basis..a kid feels sick in somebody's car-well I think it's not that rare, at all. I think the vast majority of people would be very understanding about it. They won't make a big deal. They'll tell their kids not to make a big deal. And I think they will stop to let a kid get some air, or whatever's needed. It doesn't have to become traumatic. And it most probably won't.

He and you-you'll figure out the ways to cope. Whether it's looking the certain way(and avoiding moving one's head a lot), singing(can be fun by the way! I always loved when my kids sang together in the car), chewing gum, being prepared with Dramamine, maybe all of that. It will get better.

And others will understand. Maybe they were/are the same in that regard too. It's not something rare. It also, as unpleasant as it is, doesn't require some very specific knowledge. Simple understanding and accommodating goes a long way..most people possess it.

I've always had to deal with motion sickness. Cars, planes, boats . . . Not because I want to top Sheesh, but because it's true and people never believe it, I tell the following story when I'm in the position of having to make people understand the extent of this burden: I was in the Bahamas once, in my twenties. We went out on a boat that dropped us off to snorkel among the beautiful fish. The water was a little choppy, but I stayed above deck and kept the wind in my face and my eyes on the horizon (tricks I had learned). I felt a little off by the time we got the the snorkel spot, but it wasn't too bad. So I'm in the water, paddling around, looking down through my goggles, and wham!, It hit me! The motion of my own body floating on the water had done me in. I got sick right there among the beautiful fish. The best part about getting sick, though, is that you're immediately improved about 200%.

As as an adult I've had some luck with Bonine. I've also learned to practice deep breathing on descent in airplanes. But for a kiddo? I knew never to read in the car -- not even for a moment. I would imagine that would translate to no "screens" in the car. And I'm really dating myself, but I stretched out and laid down in the car and slept. A lot. I still sleep my way through air flights. It's important that he be able to see out, that he not be too hot or cramped, that he has either fresh air or A/C that can blow on him. That no one is smoking (told you I was old). And to this day I have never drunk coffee. I attribute it to the pre-dawn Great Santini car trips of my youth when I was already nauseated and mom and dad would crack open that big silver thermos full of coffee, the car filling with steam and the scent absolutely pushing me over the edge.

And I always drive. Everywhere. Even with DH

i feel for the little guy. I really do.

aprilneverends reminded me of the preschool I was sent to. It sounds about the same. They would paddle the kids that cried, to give them something to cry about. I know my generation of parents started the helicopter hovering parent syndrome. But I think we also paved the way for kinder, gentler parenting.

After reading more stories, I want to emphasize not making people feel guilty about this. Believe me, we do. I don't mean you, Oly, because I know you don't. Motion sickness is as real as any other illness, and we don't (usually) blame people for getting other illnesses.

In a way, though, suggesting ways to avoid getting sick always seemed to me as a kid to be suggesting it was my fault. My parents were very supportive (poor Amylou!), never blamed me for throwing up, but I knew how gross it was, and how hard to clean it up, and I always felt guilty and dreaded getting in the car.

But the constant reminders to chew my gum, look straight ahead, don't sing, etc., made me feel guilty, like a pariah. I was a kid before we had plastic grocery bags, so the paper bags I used stunk and got soggy, which meant pulling over to dispose of it ASAP. By the time I realized it was happening to my son, plastic bags were available and came to the rescue! He had so much more control over things. He always had his bags with him. He'd spend some time getting sick, a minute or two being sick, then, like jakabedy said, feel 200% better for having been sick. Doubling the bags and closing them himself takes care of it. His son has been doing the same thing for several years now - he's almost ten.

So arm him with plastic bags and freshening wipes, offer the suggestions once, and let him take care of things himself as well as he can. He'll thank you for leaving him alone about it. He will be able to handle things in whatever vehicle he's in with plastic bags and wipes with little fanfare.

Wow, some of these stories break my heart - I'm so sorry you all have had to live through this. And I know he'll live through this (and so will I). The good news is that he's very, very well liked by all the other kids, both the girls and boys, so I don't think the kids will be too much of a problem. I just know how difficult and stressful it can be to be stuck in a 3 hour traffic jam (ever been in rush hour in Seattle? ugh) with a car full of tired kids who aren't your own, then have to deal with a sick one. Some of the parents would be great and some I'm not as sure of. I usually ask one of my favorites to request that he go in their car, but there are no guarantees.

It's been most helpful to find out what many of you have learned that works (or doesn't) for you. I was telling him about the wrist band the other day and he was very interested and wanted to know how it all worked. I tried to give a cursory explanation of acupressure to him (which is how I surmise they might work) but then he wanted to know more...so I told him I'd just get him one to try. I suspect he might be lactose sensitive, too, as sometimes driving after a meal that includes milk makes it worse - so I've switched to lactose free milk and that seems to have helped, too. I'll get gum and candy for him to try along with the wrist band.

Thank you!