A mathematician from the U.K. has created a scientific equation that he claims can actually predict when a tot is going to have a tantrum on a flight. Dr. Tom Crawford, a professor at Oxford University, devised the formula, which focuses on the four main meltdown triggers for tots on planes - sleepiness, boredom, hunger, and noise. He says if all four of those are addressed, the time until a tantrum happens on a flight can be delayed by quite a bit.
- For the formula, Crawford scores each of the four triggers from zero to 10, with zero showing the issue is being ignored and 10 signifying that the issue is being managed successfully.
- He says if all four of the crying catalysts get a 10, the parent can actually delay a tantrum by 129 minutes.
- Research related to the formula reveals that kids are most likely to have a tantrum 27 minutes and 48 seconds into the flight and each one lasts an average of 15 minutes and six seconds.
According to the math whiz, to score a 10 and effectively deal with the four tantrum triggers, parents need to “ensure children are taking a nap for 37 minutes to conquer sleepiness and will need to prevent boredom by either drawing, watching movies or giving their child a tablet or phone, which is reported to entertain them for 31 minutes.” But that’s not all. They’ll also need to devote 19 minutes for snacks to prevent hunger and to deal with noise, moms and dads will need to preoccupy kiddos with music or reading for 14 minutes.