Alan & Brenda Leonard

2/19/03 20:28:

> Here is the short question: Any
> advice on helping a 10yo kid with motion sickness tendencies better endure a
> 4 hour car ride?

My son sometimes gets car sick, and the longer trips are definitely more
painful. Sometimes plain (no butter, no salt) popcorn helps if he can munch
it. Reading usually makes it worse, as does anything close (gameboy, etc.).
Looking out the front window helps Tim the most, so we often put him in the
middle. An option, if you have the space to do it. Sleeping is the best
bet -- he never gets carsick asleep! We tried the gum (is that
homeopathic?) that most kids seem to love, but it made Tim throw up. Maybe
something in it didn't work for him, I don't know.

As far as the elevators go, I'd figure so what. I don't care for elevators,
either, but I didn't ride in them hardly at all until I was grown up. They
certainly weren't necessary in my life until I worked in big office
buildings. I fail to see how pushing her about them now will make her
happier later. Probably more like pushing now will make her hate them more
later.

Oh, and experience as a psychiatric nurse is fine, but it doesn't make one
the psychiatrist any more than working as a surgical nurse makes one the
surgeon. Yes, your Mom may have picked up some stuff working with psych
patients, but that doesn't make her the expert on it. And I can't imagine
taking a child to a psychiatrist because she doesn't like elevators! She
can just take the stairs and call it exercise.

brenda