DVD player & car sickness - 2 kids - HELP!

[Torontogal]

Hi all,
We just got a new Toyota Sienna with a DVD player in it. We figured we will be making the Toronto - Florida drive several times over the next several years since we are now DVC members. My question is - do you tend to get car sickness from watching a DVD in van? My 5 yr. old sometimes get nausea but I was wondering if a DVD could contribute to this? We have never used the DVD player yet but wondering if it could make the kids feel sick. There heads would be up since the DVD is up high.
Also, are there any amazing strategies you suggest to avoid car sickness besides GRAVOL? I heard someone telling me about a belt or special strap?
Thanks so much!

 

[DisFan2]

I was wondering about this too. We just bought a Polaroid player from Costco ($169 on sale, last week). While neither my DS (8), nor DD (2) seem prone to car sickness, as a kid, I used to get terribly ill. I found this on the 'net this a.m.

Tips for kids who get carsick
On a family road trip, these are the most dreaded words: "Mom and Dad, I feel sick."
Motion sickness occurs when the eyes, focused inside the car, don't see movement, but the inner ear, which controls balance, senses motion. The conflicting messages can literally make you sick. A child sitting low in the back seat of a car, unable to see outside, can be especially vulnerable.
# If possible, have a child sit in an approved booster seat by a window, says pediatrician Dr. Camille Crawford.
# If a child begins to feel sick, have her focus on a distant object outside the car.
# Snacks such as crackers can help settle a queasy stomach, Crawford says. Fresh air also helps, and it's important to make frequent stops.
# For a child older than 2, Crawford says, she might recommend the over-the-counter medication Dramamine.
"Under age 2, you really can't do much of anything," she says.
-- Gannett News Service

What used to help me, besides the Gravol (which, BTW, didn't really cure the sickness, it just made me dry heave - oh man, good times ) was sitting in the front seat - I guess what helped was being able to see outside (i.e. by seeing the movement outside I avoided sending my brain the conflicting messages). However, this was back in the days before airbags when it was probably only marginally unsafe for kids in the front. Oh the things our parents did which would likely get us thrown in jail if we did them now!

I'll be following this thread with interest!

 

[Torontogal]

Ha! Thanks for your reply - that really helped!
We already bought the booster seat and will try the tips. I usually use Gravol but I am thinking of getting Draminine instead. Wonder what is better. I know Gravol tends to make them sleepy - does Draminine too?
Also, I laughed at the part about what our parents did for us could get us thrown in jail. Remember riding your bike and not worrying about helmets?
Thanks again!

 

[tink&cinderella]

I have a 6 year old who tends to get car sick and we travelled from Toronto to Florida via van this April. She did get nauseaus on the way down - but I figured out why that was.

1) I had only given her one gravol when she should have had 2 given her age..

2) We left at 3:00 A.M. and she had not eaten anything - just from bed to van with gravol.

She was sick as we got close to Niagara Falls - we gave her lots of crackers and water and of course more Gravol. She was fine - even on the cruise she did not need the Gravol and no gravol on the way back

We had a TV/DVD player on all the way down and back - except when she was sick as it was in the middle of the night - so I don't think for my kids anyway that it had anything to do with the motion sickness.

Tink&Cinderella

 

[cottontail]

Hi: My children and I could never read in the car while it was moving, I don't know if this helps. Why don't you try a small drive and use the dvd player and see what happens. All of us except hubby take gravol on long trips.

By the way how do you like the sienna van, that one or the honda odyssey will be our next choice I think.

Deb.

 

[disney funseeker]

The Sienna now comes with DVD players? My sister has a Sienna but they use a portable DVD player.
My girls thought it was such a treat riding in her van and watching a movie until one dd starting feeling nauseaus. It might make a diffence if the DVD is in a fixed position and not on a shaky, bouncy lap though.

Try "Sea-Bands". They go on the wrists and use a pressure point to alleviate motion sickness.

 

[CharlesTD]

I know some people who's children can't watch the DVD player as watching that and having the passing trees cars etc in the perifferal vision makes them very sick. You will never know until you try it good luck and hopefully you don't have any issues just be weary it can happen. It is like reading in the car if that tends to bother them then the DVD will likeley also bother them.

 

[Torontogal]

I love the Sienna and really recommend it. It is rated very high for all kinds of items.
We bought the metallic blue one.
Honda is great too but was more $$ than the Sienna.
I was wondering about those wrist bands - I wonder if they work?

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

Because of my job, I've done a lot of research in passenger safety and that Sienna is VERY safe. If I ever had kids and needed a van, that would be my only choice.

But as far as the dvd player and car sickness...DON'T DO IT! I recently took a road trip with my 12yo niece and her best friend. They were watching the DVD player when all of the sudden she puked her guts up...fast. She forgot to tell my sister that she gets car sickness.

I also am prone to motion sickness, but only in the car and I canNOT read or watch TV in a moving car. At all.