As we close to the furthest limit of the school occasions, guardians the nation over are saying exactly the same thing: “In the event that I had a similar idea each time I heard ‘Would we say we are there yet?’
If I had a pound for it, I’d be rich.”
Having three young children, I know very well the feeling of fear when, 30 minutes into a five-hour drive, the interrogation begins.
In our family, it starts quite modestly. “Mommy, are we there yet?” Fits in the rear seats.
But that approach is quickly replaced by aggressive cross-examination, separating what I said earlier about how much time is left on the trip and what I’m saying is how much time is left.
At the end of the trip, I promised myself that I would never take them anywhere again.
In any case, for what reason does the excursion appear to be so lengthy for kids?
One reason is that our experience of time changes as we age, often resulting in the feeling that time passes faster as we age.
This is reflected in the inclination that “consistently Christmas comes quicker”.
It is believed that time passes faster as we get older because, with increasing age, any period of time becomes a smaller proportion of our current life.
For example, at age seven, one year is 14.30 percent of your entire life. At age 70, that’s just 1.43 percent of your life.
Thus, a five-hour car ride may seem longer to a five-year-old than to a 50-year-old, simply because it is a larger proportion of a five-year-old’s life.
But there’s more than that.As we age, we likewise foster a more noteworthy comprehension of distance and topography.
This knowledge provides us with signs and signals that we use to understand how far we have come and how far we still have to go.
For example, on a trip from Manchester to Devon, I know I’m halfway there when we clear Birmingham, and this knowledge helps me structure time. I also have access to satellite navigation, which tells me the time of arrival and warns me of impending delays.
The absence of this knowledge among children means that they are more reliant on asking adults how much time they have left to judge the progress of the journey.
Out of control.
As we close to the furthest limit of the school occasions, guardians the nation over are saying exactly the same thing: “In the event that I had a similar idea each time I heard ‘Would we say we are there yet?’
It is the adults who choose which service station to stop at and which route to take. You can also contribute to children’s drag trips.
This is because temporal uncertainty, or the feeling of not knowing when something will happen, can slow down the passage of time. As grown-ups, large numbers of us have huge involvement in this.
Think of the last time a train inexplicably stopped right outside the station, or the “waiting” sign glowed endlessly in baggage claim after a flight.
I bet none of these delays happened quickly, and an update from a train driver or airport staff at those times would have been very welcome. It is the lack of knowledge, the lack of control, which makes these events continue.
When there is uncertainty about time, tracking becomes a priority. Humans have limited cognitive ability and cannot pay attention to everything all the time. Therefore, we prefer to act according to our circumstances.
When time becomes uncertain, we pay more attention to it than usual, and this results in the feeling that time passes too slowly.
The weather is often uncertain for children, so with nothing to distract them, they will determine the progress of any journey.
A sawn pot never boils
After all, car time can be slow for kids simply because they have nothing to do but stare out the window.
It’s a boredom test for the kids, while their parents up front are probably just taking the opportunity to sit back and think.
Children’s desire for stimulation and entertainment means that boredom often passes quickly and that boredom also slows down the passage of time.
Like time uncertainty, our level of boredom affects our experience of time by changing the amount of our attention.
When we’re bored, our constant vigilance makes time feel like it’s dragging. In contrast, when we are happily engaged, we pay little attention to time because our attention span takes precedence over other things. As a result, time flies when we joke around.
your next trip
So what should parents do?
Those of you who have not yet embarked on the great journey are rushing to supply
