A Crash Course on Teaching Your Child How to Drive

Learning how to drive is one of the greatest rites of passage for a teenager. Any day after they turn 15, your teenage kid might want to take driving lessons. Although you could enroll them in a driving school, why not bond with your child and impart the lessons you learned from the driver’s seat?

Your child has probably already learned a few things from you over the years, so why not give them tips on where the best car service centers are or how to merge into traffic?

But before you park your kid behind the wheel, you might want to sit down and take a few notes on how to give your kids driving lessons. Without a decent driving instructor, your child could end up in an accident. At best, that’s taking care of a few dents or repairing your windshield. At worst, that’s a trip to the hospital. So take a few minutes to prepare your study plan for your driving lessons.

Preparing for the Lessons

You need to make sure that all the important paperwork that a novice driver might need is in order before you formally begin your driving lessons. Getting your child a learner’s permit is the most vital part. Without one of those, you and your child could both run into legal problems. You may only receive a fine or similar minor consequence, but your kid might not be so lucky. Authorities might force your child to wait for a longer period before they’re able to get a driver’s license.

Although you’ll be supervising their lessons, you never know when accidents strike. Just to be on the safe side, make sure your insurance policy covers giving your kids driving lessons. Confirm with your insurance provider if this isn’t the case.

Finally, review traffic laws so you can relay them to your child. There may be new traffic laws in effect since you got your own license and your child will need all information on traffic laws.

If you’ve prepared all these things, you can begin your driving lessons. Here are a few pointers for when you’re in the passenger seat.

Hitting the Road

When you’re in a moving vehicle with your child behind the wheel, you need to remember to pace them to minimize risks to yourselves and other people. Start your lessons slowly by going to an unoccupied parking lot and teaching your kid about starting and turning the vehicle. Schedule your lessons during the morning and on days when the weather is going to be fair.

Since your child has only a little experience, you’re going to have to be on your guard the whole time. Your kid won’t have the alertness and level of perception that you’ve developed as a driver. You’ll have to be on the lookout for both of you.

Work on your teaching method. Think of the best way to convey your instructions without being overbearing. Encourage your kid to take initiative and answer all of their questions as clearly and concisely as you can.

It might be scary to let your child drive. You should trust in their skills and be confident in your ability to teach them. Just make sure to support that trust and confidence with a lot of hours learning how to drive in an empty lot.