One of the toughest times for any parent is when it’s time to teach a teen drive. Every parent can benefit from some driving tips.
Whether you need to learn what not to say, how to stay safe, and how to show some trust in your teen driver, you can certainly benefit from tips that are meant to make this experience a calm, educational, and bonding one.
Start With a Tour of the Vehicle
Not all vehicles have the controls in the same place. Even if your teen driver has taken a Driver’s Education Course, the vehicle you’ll teach them in may have items in a different location. Start by going over many of the parts of the car and the controls so that your teen knows how to adjust things to where they want them for the drive.
Plan Your Route Ahead of Time
Plan out the course you’re going to take and make sure you use progressively harder roads to drive on as your teen begins to gain more experience and confidence. Whether that means you drive on busy highways, down tight neighborhood streets, or in full parking lots, you need to be present when they are faced with these locations and experiences. Make a plan to incorporate these things to help your teen.
Be Cognizant of the Directions You Give
One of the biggest driving tips you can get is to say things properly. Remember, the word “right” means correct but it also refers to a direction. When you want to say that your teen has done something correctly, use that word instead of one that may be confusing. Also,give instructions ahead of time with guidance built into these instructions.
Use Questions to Guide Corrections
Instead of being forceful with statements that tell your teenager they are doing something wrong, ask a question that will make them think about what’s going on. For example saying,“what is the speed limit on this road?” is much better than “slow down or you’re going to get a speeding ticket” and it will come across much better. The more you make the driving decisions those of your teen driver, the more they will learn.
Avoid the Wrong Conversations
Do you think that when you’re teaching your teenager to drive is the best time to talk about poor grades, a breakup with a significant other, or anything negative? The answer is “no” and this may be a hard one but one of the best driving tips you can have is to keep the conversation light, positive, and easy so that your teenager feels comfortable and relaxed behind the wheel.
Expect Times When Bad Things Will Happen
Are you a perfect driver? Likely, even if you’ve never had an accident or ticket, you can think of some close-call situations that were your fault. This is going to happen when you’re teaching your teen to drive. You have to expect this and be ready for your teen to turn on the wipers when they shouldn’t, to hit a curb, or to be in the wrong gear. Encourage them to try again, mistakes are part of learning.
Focus on Specific Skills
If you’re truly giving your teen driving lessons, one of the best tips you can use is to identify and share the skills you will work on. Plan your route to work on these skills and let your teen know these are the skills you will focus on during the lesson. This will help them understand what you’re looking for and bring their focus to the drive.
If Possible, Have More than One Teacher
Not all families have both parents living together at home or living at all. If you have the opportunity for both parents to teach your teen to drive, take advantage of this situation. There’s a better than good chance you and your spouse do not drive the same and your teenager can learn something from both of you.
Start Slow and Build Skills
The worst thingyou could do is stick your child in rush hour traffic on a snowy winter day as their first driving experience. Take this driving tip to heart and let them start slow and build their skills. Start in an empty parking lot and work your way to the neighborhood streets and then to the highway. Before you know it, your teenager will be a great driver and will be proud to take you to where you need to go.
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