@christina564 There are also those motion sickness glasses you can try, OP! I think they come in toddler sizes now.
Anyone turn FF earlier than they hoped due to motion sickness?
- Thread starter pulickalbrothers
- Start date
@pulickalbrothers So I am all for rear facing until completely maxed out. There's very good science that their neck bones aren't fused to withstand the snap forward in a FF seat until much later than people think.
But!
There's also heaps of evidence that most people have their car seat installed wrong, their kid strapped in wrong, or both. So even if RF, If it's done poorly then FF but done correctly could be safer.
And!
I think car sickness is one very valid reason for turning sooner.
So turn him, and then be meticulous about
But!
There's also heaps of evidence that most people have their car seat installed wrong, their kid strapped in wrong, or both. So even if RF, If it's done poorly then FF but done correctly could be safer.
And!
I think car sickness is one very valid reason for turning sooner.
So turn him, and then be meticulous about
- the seat being installed properly and checked OFTEN for debris, wear, sizing/fit.
- the straps done up on your son correctly, perfectly snug, no twists, clean and no 3rd party padding.
- drive defensively (obvs)
nonaeroterraqueous
New member
@pulickalbrothers Not us, but close friends did for their oldest around 18 months with the blessing of their pediatrician. She got so violently carsick so fast that she’d projectile vomit on 5-minute drives to the grocery store — her mom was a SAHM and was basically trapped in the house unless she was willing to uninstall the car seat, take it apart, run it through the wash, and shampoo and dry the car interior. It’s a risk/benefit analysis but there definitely are benefits to forward-facing for carsick kids. I would ask your pediatrician.
@pulickalbrothers Yes. Long story short, we switched at 2.5 so that she would stop puking on herself on the way to daycare. I thought of it in terms of, “I know it’s bad for her to puke everyday, whereas it’s unlikely for us to get in an accident, whereas we may or may not ever get into an accident.” The benefits to forward facing outweighed the risk for us.
paulmartinnnnnnn
New member
gizmorazaar
New member
@pulickalbrothers Yes, we did. However this was back in the ancient times when it was considered safe to turn them at 12 months. Longer was already being recommended and I was aware of that, but we weighed the pros and cons and turned him. That worked.
He’s still alive. But then again so am I, and I was raised free from both car seats and seat belts. It doesn’t mean I raised my kids that way.
Knowing what I know now, would I make the same decision? Idk, maybe. His was a lot worse than twice a month, and at a much younger age.
Story time: the safest place for a car seat is undeniably the center of the back seat. We had a member of a parenting group rant against irresponsible parents who willingly jeopardized their kids lives by putting the carseat next to a door. Someone else pointed out that multiple kids can’t all be in the middle. Crazy lady doubled down and called them irresponsible for having more kids than they can keep safe. Sometimes we have to make practical tradeoffs while still doing the best we can for our own circumstances.
He’s still alive. But then again so am I, and I was raised free from both car seats and seat belts. It doesn’t mean I raised my kids that way.
Knowing what I know now, would I make the same decision? Idk, maybe. His was a lot worse than twice a month, and at a much younger age.
Story time: the safest place for a car seat is undeniably the center of the back seat. We had a member of a parenting group rant against irresponsible parents who willingly jeopardized their kids lives by putting the carseat next to a door. Someone else pointed out that multiple kids can’t all be in the middle. Crazy lady doubled down and called them irresponsible for having more kids than they can keep safe. Sometimes we have to make practical tradeoffs while still doing the best we can for our own circumstances.
man_in_pain
New member
@gizmorazaar Safest place for a carseat is where you get the best installation. Many cars middle is the worst install.
slaveofchrist
New member
@gizmorazaar Counter point - Safest place for a car seat is probably on an airplane or a train. Why was crazy lady willing to risk her kids by putting them in the car!? /s
@pulickalbrothers What is FF?
@sharbysyd I thought it was formula feeding lol wondered if formula was said to be better for nausea. Oops!
krafty4ever
New member
@pulickalbrothers Thanks for the edit. I was like "what does Final Fantasy have to do with any of this ?" 
iahawkette
New member
@pulickalbrothers https://carseatblog.com/45823/rear-facing-is-no-longer-5x-safer-really/
So, I realize this is a blog, but he links all his sources and he's concise and to the point- RF and FF both do an excellent job of preventing injuries and there are simply not enough injuries occurring in carseats to prove a statistical difference in RF vs FF.
Anecdotally, my FIL is a paramedic and he said that proper Installation is more important than whether it's RF or FF. We thought we had ours installed very securely, but he checked it out and reinforced it and that sucker won't budge a single centimeter.
So, I realize this is a blog, but he links all his sources and he's concise and to the point- RF and FF both do an excellent job of preventing injuries and there are simply not enough injuries occurring in carseats to prove a statistical difference in RF vs FF.
Anecdotally, my FIL is a paramedic and he said that proper Installation is more important than whether it's RF or FF. We thought we had ours installed very securely, but he checked it out and reinforced it and that sucker won't budge a single centimeter.
@pulickalbrothers My daughter gets travel sick on long journeys (she is rear facing) and I’ve managed to control it by removing the mirror I had up so that I could see her and removing the head rest of the seat so that she has a clear view out of the rear windscreen - basically encouraging her to look around and not stare at one spot. Also keeping the window open for some fresh air.
She has never been sick on local rides though, so I don’t think her travel sickness is that bad.
She has never been sick on local rides though, so I don’t think her travel sickness is that bad.
@pulickalbrothers We found our son’s motion sickness improved markedly when we got dark blinds for the back side windows so he could only look out of the back. My husband, who also gets it (all his faulty genes you see, they call me ol’ Iron Guts! 
) said that it is always worse for him to look sideways instead of straight back or straight forward. My son is the same, it seems.
Not sure if that’s universal or just our family, but it’s worth a go, because the window blinds aren’t expensive.
Fwiw, we didn’t consider going forward facing for it; he wasn’t even 18 months when the problem first reared its head, so until we hit on the blinds thing, one of us would sit in the back with, I kid you not, a lidded soup container (https://amzn.eu/d/3HfgmTP). Has a handle for the adult to hold, easily fits a kid’s stomach’s worth of sick, and you can put a lid on to keep it from going everywhere.
) said that it is always worse for him to look sideways instead of straight back or straight forward. My son is the same, it seems. Not sure if that’s universal or just our family, but it’s worth a go, because the window blinds aren’t expensive.
Fwiw, we didn’t consider going forward facing for it; he wasn’t even 18 months when the problem first reared its head, so until we hit on the blinds thing, one of us would sit in the back with, I kid you not, a lidded soup container (https://amzn.eu/d/3HfgmTP). Has a handle for the adult to hold, easily fits a kid’s stomach’s worth of sick, and you can put a lid on to keep it from going everywhere.
@pulickalbrothers I switched my oldest to FF earlier than I'd like to admit due to car sickness. But thank goodness because every single car ride went from WAILING and gagging to happy babbling. I also go into a car accident with him FF and he was fine.
@pulickalbrothers My brother & sister in law did for my niece, with the blessing of their ped I think around 18m. Certainly not ideal but they couldn’t even drive 10 minutes to the local park without her vomiting! As soon as she was FF she was perfectly fine in the car
propitiated
New member
@pulickalbrothers We did around 2.5. He's way happier in his car seat, gets in without a fuss, and doesn't get carsick on short trip's anymore. It has not fixed carsickness completely though and if we're ever going to be on a windy country road for a while or a long drive, we give him children's chewable dramamine and I it helps a ton.
commissionerfd1
New member
@pulickalbrothers You've only had 2 puke incidents in the past few months?! Lucky you, haha.
My 2.5 year old throws up every single time we get in the car (this started sometime around 1 year for him as well).
I'm not comfortable switching him to forward facing until he maxes out the height/weight on his seat, but this is a reflection of my personal risk tolerance.
My 2.5 year old throws up every single time we get in the car (this started sometime around 1 year for him as well).
I'm not comfortable switching him to forward facing until he maxes out the height/weight on his seat, but this is a reflection of my personal risk tolerance.