Still hates the car...

[PippaG]

My DS has always hated the car, but he's nearly one and I was hoping he would have grown out of it by now, but no if we go further than about 20mins away he starts up. He will full on scream his head off, it is so horrible, but as soon as we get to our destination he's perfectly happy, even when he's still in his car seat so I don't think anything can be hurting him.

I've tried giving him toys and food but neither really work. Has anyone got any tips? I absolutely dread taking him out in the car.

[2boybubs]

Is he actually crying or just screaming? He might just want your attention and is not really that upset, it can be hard to tell. DS2 did this, Wiggles music worked a bit but wasn't a complete solution. He would scream and scream and I would be pulling over several times just trying to get to the grocery store. It took me awhile to realise that there were no tears, and when I pulled him out of the seat he was completely over it and happy. I finally figured out he thought we were arriving/stopping as a response to his screaming, since he was too little to understand time and distance and just wanted to be there NOW. So what I ended up doing was telling him he was such a good boy when he was calm in the car, then stopping before he started crying at a nearby park or somewhere for a short break. If he did start crying and I couldn't stop I would get to our destination and I wouldn't take him out of the car until he calmed down. Which sometimes took awhile, me trying to calm him down in his car seat with toys and books but he eventually learned that being calm and quiet got him out of the car, not screaming at mummy.

This probably wouldn't work if he is truly upset and crying, if that's the case then I've just posted a lot of rubbish:rolleyes:

Is he still rearward facing? When ds2 turned around it helped a LOT so if nothing else works at least you have that to look forward to.

Hope that helps!

[waterlily]

Does it help if someone sits in the back with DS? Maybe I'd someone is in the back to reasure him he will be a bit better?
I know it's something you don't want to do forever but maybe to get him used to it?

[PippaG]

It's more screaming than crying and he is fine when out of the car, so I'll try calming him down whilst still in the car, good tip thanks.

He is forward facing but it really hasn't made any difference at all unfortunately. He's also just the same if someone is in the back with him. Maybe he's just frustrated at being strapped in?

[Hollywood]

My DS absolutely hated the car for the first 12 months of his life too, it was awful! I think somewhere between 10 and 14 months he finally calmed down and started to enjoy it more, but he took ages to be happy on long trips (like 12 - 18 months).

Now at 3 he loves going for drives, and will happily sit in the car all the way to my dad's farm which is 100km away (takes me about an hour and 20 mins).