If you are a parent of a teenager, then you know the struggle of teaching him or her how to drive. Even though you might think they are too young, this won’t stop them. They want to drive and be grown up. This can be a little frustrating and you may need a little guidance. Therefore, we want to help you with some teen driving safety tips. Let’s dive into it!
1. Stick To The Rules
This one is the first, and it is one of the most important teen safety driving tips for parents. As we all know, we often let our teenagers learn from our driving style when, in fact, we make mistakes all the time. As older drivers, we tend to make mistakes and ignore some rules and our teenagers pick that up from us. Therefore, keep in mind to always follow the rules while driving with your teenager in the car.
2. Start Small
This means you should not let your teenager drive on the street right away. Let them drive in your driveway first. A big empty parking lot would be a good choice as well. Any place where they would be safe from the other drivers and where they would not be a threat for others will work just fine. Granted, of course, you can be there legally. It would be a shame for you and your teen to get arrested for trespassing.
3. Don’t Allow Them to Drive Alone
In their first hours at the wheel, your teenager should not drive alone. Even after they pass the driving exam. At first, it will help them to have some support when they drive. They may get scared, or run into a problem they don’t know how to solve. This doesn’t mean you should never let them out on the street alone, it just means you should be there for them in the first days.
4. Let Them Drive as Often as They Want
As new drivers and teenagers, they will want to drive all the time. That will make them feel cool and more grown-up. So, don’t take that away from them. Let them drive as much as they want. That will show your faith in them and it will also be good practice for your teenagers. It will also help to ease any doubts you have in their abilities.
5. Introduce Them to the Car First
Before even starting the engine, teach them all they need to know about the car. Show them lights, wipers and indicators, teach them how to adjust the seat and mirrors, including checking the tires and water and filling fuel. It would be a good idea to make sure they know how to change a tire too so they don’t call you in the middle of the night when they get a flat.
6. Test Their Level of Responsibility
Before letting them drive, or even starting to teach them, check how responsible they are. Let them know that they need to show their maturity in order to be able to drive. This will give them a more serious note about driving, and they will not look at it as something cool all the other kids are doing. Give them a small task to do, for example: feeding the dog for a week, making their bed on time, raking the leaves, etc. These are all some simple tasks, but serious enough for them to show how responsible they are.
7. On the Road
You followed all the tips above and you are finally out on the road. What do you do now? Let us first tell you what not to do. Don’t scream at your teenager! It is always hard giving your car to the total beginner. Letting someone with so little knowledge drive your car is really hard, we understand that. But, screaming at your kid and yelling while teaching them is just going to make things worse.
What you need to do is point to every mistake in the most polite way and instruct your kid how to fix those mistakes in the future. While pointing to the mistakes, it’s really important to let them know that they are normal. You can do that by telling them that you used to make the same mistakes as a beginner. That will show your faith in them and give them more motivation to do it right the next time.
8. Plan Ahead
Decide where you are going to drive before getting out there. Let your teen know about it so that they can make their own plan in their head. Use the same route for some time, until they feel completely comfortable driving there. After they get used to that route, mix it a little bit with some changes (small ones). After some time, let your teenagers decide on which way they want to go.
9. The Road is not Just About You
Make sure your teenager understands that the road is full of people who are making mistakes. Even when you are following all the rules, there is a possibility that someone will cause a problem. So, prepare your teenagers for the wild road life.
10. Give Them Time
Don’t expect your kid to be an expert after just a few lessons. Give them time. Not everyone is born to be the best driver, some of us need time to pick it all up. They need you to help them with this new exciting experience just as much as they did when they were trying to take their first steps. Be there for them!
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