Are we there yet: How to stop your child’s backseat tantrum

Food, entertainment and siblings – these are the factors that have been found to influence the time a child takes to throw a tantrum in the back of a car during a long journey.

 

According to Dr. James Hind, a statistician from Nottingham Trent University, T = 70 + 0.5E + 15F -10S is the formula for predicting backseat breakdowns, where T = time, E = entertainment, F = food, and S = siblings.

 

His research, based on responses from 2,000 parents, found that the average child takes 70 minutes to throw a tantrum. Providing entertainment and food delays the tantrum, but having siblings in the car increases the chances of backseat breakdowns.

 

The research also found that the average child will ask “are we nearly there?” 32 minutes into a car journey and four times during the road trip. Boredom is the primary cause of tantrums – cited by 68% of parents – followed by long duration of the ride (62%) and hungry kids (57%).

 

So the next time your family goes on a road trip, you can try mitigating the chances of breakdowns with food and entertainment – or maybe just skip having kids altogether.

 

Find out more here.