My child was only about three or so when I heard her say three dreaded words while we drove to the city: “I feel sick.” My toddler’s next statement made the blood in my veins run cold. “I think I need to throw up.”

It turns out that my daughter gets carsick. She’s not alone in having this condition, either; a little over one-third the population suffers from motion sickness.

Carsickness happens when the eyes and ears disagree on what’s going on. The eyes send one signal to the brain (the car isn’t moving), the ears send another (the car is moving), and the brain puts these two conflicting messages together to decide someone’s hallucinating. It decides that hallucination comes from being poisoned, and it takes action.

The result? Throwing up. After all, the best way to get rid of poison is to get it out of the body.

What can you do to help your child deal with carsickness? You can:

• Avoid letting your child read, watch movies or play video games while in the car
• Encourage your child to focus on a far-off point outside the car
• Play car travel games that help the child look out the window at other objects
• Open the window a bit for some fresh air
• Give the child crackers to eat – an empty stomach isn’t helpful
• Avoid strong-smelling foods, greasy foods or hard-to-digest foods

Pay attention to how you drive, too. Stick to straighter roads and careful, smooth driving that doesn’t make the car rock or sway. Frequent stops are also critical to reduce the chance your child starts to feel queasy. Break the trip down and stop as often as you can, even if it’s just for a few minutes to toss a ball or walk around.  Securely fastening your child in their seat may also be useful, a lap belt cinch for booster seats can help with this.