For many parents, the responsibility of teaching their teen to drive is something that they both look forward to and fear. While it’s exciting that your teen is getting more freedom and you won’t be the only one driving them around all day, it can also be scary to think of your teen being behind the wheel of a car, especially when you know how dangerous they can be and how many car accidents involve teen drivers. 

Luckily, with the right driver’s education, you can prepare your teen to be safe while on the road. So to help you in doing this, here are three ways you can prepare yourself to effectively teach your teen how to drive. 

Plan Out Your Short Lessons

Although you might feel that driving is something that just comes second nature to you now, try to think back to how you felt when you were first learning to drive. Not only did you likely not know what you were doing, but learning all these new things in a short time period also potentially made the whole ordeal pretty overwhelming.

To help ensure that your teen doesn’t feel like this, Wayne Parker, a contributor to Very Well Family, recommends that you try to keep your lessons short, at least at the beginning. By limiting your instruction and your teen’s driving practice to about 15 or 20 minute intervals at first, you’ll help them master one skill at a time and slowly build up their knowledge and confidence behind the wheel. 

Maintain Control Of Your Emotions

Depending on your relationship with your teen, driving instruction could range from being enjoyable to being very frustrating. Keep in mind, however, that your emotions as the instructor and passenger have a big impact on how well your teen learns and performs behind the wheel.

Because of this, Lisa L. Lewis, a contributor to the Washington Post, recommends that you practice keeping your emotions under control while instructing your teen in how to drive. Additionally, if you notice that your teen’s emotions are getting out of their control, it might be wise to end your lesson early and come back when everyone’s in a better mood. 

Be Ready To Spend A Lot Of Time Driving With Your Teen

Teaching a teen how to drive usually takes a lot more time than most parents anticipate. According to Jane Parent, a contributor to YourTeenMag.com, many states require teens to have at least 50 hours of supervised driving time before they can get their driver’s license. While this is the legal minimum, the more time you spend with your child in the car, the better driver they will become. 

So while you might have thought that you could just spend a few hours one weekend going over things together, you should be ready for a much bigger and longer time commitment than that. 

If you have a teen who’s about ready to start learning to drive, consider using the tips mentioned above to get yourself ready to start teaching this skill.