One of the hardest chapters in parenthood is that year when your teen is old enough to drive. There are various laws all over the world, but in the United States, a child can get their driver’s license at age 16 if they complete a driver’s education course and have a specific number of hours driving.
This is where parents get involved. Your teen must drive the recommended hours of driving behind the wheel as you sit in the passenger seat so that they’re equipped to take on the role of being a new driver in the world.
Many parents get overwhelmed, anxious and whatnot about the fact that their teen is about to be a driver but you don’t have to. Today we’re sharing some tips for parents teaching their kids to drive. These tips will help make the process calmer and perhaps a little fun so that you and your teen can bond during the driving lessons.
Respond Calmly
Listen, your teen is probably already nervous behind the wheel while you’re there in the passenger seat so be sure to respond calmly whenever they ask a question, od something wrong or whatnot. Keeping your cool in the passenger seat will ensure everything goes smoothly while you try to teach your kid to drive.
This is the time to breathe before speaking and respond appropriately to your teen when they ask a question or do something incorrectly. This driving session is about learning and patience, remembering that will go a long way in the success of teaching your teen to drive.
Plan the Route
Before leaving the house make sure to plan the route that you’re going to go on with your teen. It’s imperative that you and your teen discuss the various routes around town that you’ll be driving. Your teen may know a trouble spot in your community that they want to practice, and you may have some ideas too.
Now is the time to discuss the various options for practice drive routes so that you both can enjoy this time together and you can work on some of the harder driving skills.
Be Clear With Instructions
Teaching your kid to drive is stressful and overwhelming. Be sure to say what you mean and mean what you say. What we mean is to be clear with instructions. If you mean “use the brake” then say that, don’t say slow down.
Being literal and clear with your concise instructions will help your teen listen immediately rather than try to comprehend what you mean by ‘slow down’ or other words that don’t really tell the teen what to do in the moment.
Lead by Example
Lastly, you must be more aware of how you’re driving. Right now your teen is paying close attention to how you’re driving. This is one of the ways your teen learns some good, and bad, driving habits. That’s why we cannot stress this fact enough; you must lead by example at all times.
Take time to come to a complete stop. Be sure to yield and do anything else that may have slacked off from doing as you grew to be an adult driver. This is the time to help your teen learn the best driving habits possible.
There you have it, all of our tips to parents teaching their kids to drive. These tips will help you enjoy a little bit of this new chapter. Having a teen driver may sound stressful and may feel overwhelming but you both will get there soon enough, just follow our tips and soon you’ll feel more confident sending your teen out on the road to drive on their own when they get their driver’s license.
