The trials and tribulations of getting your children safely into the car before making a journey has been documented with research from a major car manufacturer suggesting we spend four days a year caught up in the ordeal.

SEAT’s survey of more than 2,000 mums and dads has found that close to one third of parents have been made late for work at least once a week as they are getting their kids into the car. With the process taking on average 10 minutes, including getting the shoes and coat on and then strapping the youngsters into the child seat, the entire regime adds up to a total of 96 hours a year - or four days.

We’d all love to speed that process up, and though more than a quarter of us admit to bribing their kids with sweets and favourite music it is still a routine which takes on average 20, though one in 14 families say that it could be 40 minutes.

Toddlers aged between two and three are the worst offenders according to the report from SEAT UK with Head of Product Rob Fryer saying: “It won’t be a surprise to parents of young children that getting into the car and setting off on a journey, however long or short, is such a challenge.

“Whether it’s last-minute toilet trips or deciding which of their toys they’d like to take in the car with them, children can make the job of leaving the house seem daunting.”

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