Here’s one solution to the problem of entertaining children on long car journeys (T-minus 10: Statistician writes formula to predict kids’ backseat tantrums, 22 August): have a tin for snacks near the front passenger seat. The tin must have a reasonably sized squarish lid. The non-driving adult should sing Mule Train and hit their head loudly with the lid on every mention of the song’s title. (See Bob Blackman on YouTube for a demonstration.) It always worked for us, but the scheme has a flaw. If you have to do it repeatedly, it can result in a headache that is probably worse than the one caused by bored kids.
John Lancaster
Peterborough
• We generally found we could avoid tantrums by playing a game called On the Move. There are cards for objects one might see while driving, but the manufacturer’s suggestion that the kids compete is bound to lead to fights. The children had to compete against us adults by winning all the cards before we got them home (almost two hours). This even led to suggestions of further driving to spot that elusive dog. We only had two tantrums, one when we wouldn’t accept that a horse must surely be a cow and the other when they simply got too damn good at it and we introduced a dragon and a snake.
Margaret Squires
St Andrews, Fife
• The best way to deal with long car journeys to holiday places is to give the kids a busy day, then load them into the car in the evening and drive through the night. They sleep. Tiring for the parents, but a peaceful journey. The next day, mum and dad take turns to catch up. It works.
Sally Juniper
Woodbridge, Suffolk
• On our annual journey to Cornwall, Thomas the Tank Engine stories read by Johnny Morris, with a couple of food stops, seemed to inhibit our two boys’ boredom. Then, after a supermarket shop, we couldn’t hear them because they were submerged under two weeks’ worth of groceries.
Geoff Bunce
Harpenden, Hertfordshire
• Forty years ago, with four small children, we journeyed from Norfolk to York, or down through France, and had pain-free outings. Pub cricket, number plate bingo, singing Green Grow the Rushes, Charles Trenet songs, alphabet lotto and, best of all, cassettes issued by Marmite of some terrifying plays. Even now I can get misty-eyed about these adventures.
Janet Mansfield
Aspatria, Cumbria
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