Key Tips On Teaching Your Children To Drive Safely
It has come to the that day: Your teen is almost his/her legal driving age. You are feeling mixed emotions--frightened, proud, or excited--or all those feelings at the same time! The best way to ease your mind is putting your greatest effort in helping your child prepare for the road.
Key Tips On Teaching Your Children To Drive Safely
Parents seek to help their child build their ability in driving by gradually increasing the level of difficulty in their lessons, establish coherent boundaries and privileges for the event they acquire the license they yearn for. Read further to know they key tips on teaching your child/children to drive safely.
1. Secure your teen’s learner’s permit
Before beginning your lesson, your child must first have his/her learner’s permit. Most states demand certain requirements to acquire a learner’s permit: the student driver must have accomplished a certain amount of hours from an accredited driving school with a written driver’s education.
In some states, a student driver’s permit also authorizes the learner to practice during determined times of the day. Also, the driving practice must be done with the presence of a licensed driver.
2. Breathe and be calm
It is normal for fathers to feel anxious on teaching their teen to drive safely. In the event that you feel tense and irritated all through the process, your child will sense that. Your anxieties will not reflect well on their driving practice. You must do your best to collect yourself, be calm and kind, especially when you are an anxious driver.
● Be cautious of your words and body language. If you can sense yourself tensing or clenching your fists, take a deep breath and relax your shoulders and fist.
● Your child already has a learner’s permit. Thus, they already know a little bit regarding the safety and mechanics of driving. Just help them practice.
3. Narrate your lesson
During your lesson, narrate to your child what they are doing and why. Ask them, “why are you slowing down or stopping?”, “are you accelerating?”, “do you think it’s right to proceed at this intersection?”
Asking your teen what they are doing also helps them recall the mechanics of driving. Also, their experiences during the lesson will be applied once they actually drive on the main road.
4. Make the first lesson short
Learning how to drive can be stressful, and a longer version of the session will drain both of you. Instead, limit your time at twenty to thirty minutes. Tomorrow, or later in the week, your child can practice with you again.
5. Practice in the vehicle
Whether your child is learning how to drive a manual or automatic vehicle, it is essential that they get used to driving one specific vehicle. This way, they will not be taken aback on the day of the driving test.
6. Develop further trickier, challenging lessons
Developing the level of your lessons will help build your child’s skills and confidence in driving. This way, they will become prepared once they drive on the open road. Also, knowing that they have overcome challenging lessons builds their confidence that they can be safe when driving on their own.
● Try practicing for an hour if you are both disposed. But, take a break when one or both of you needs it.
● Practice K turns
● Do drills on perpendicular parking
● Introduce or teach your child to parallel parking
7. Provide constructive criticism
Always keep in mind that your kid is not yet the perfect driver, and that is why you are teaching them. It is okay to correct them during the lesson, but make sure to provide constructive and useful comments.
● No discouraging comments: Do not discourage them, or tell them they are doing it wrong. Instead, ask them “how can you make this right?” “do you think what you are doing is legal?”
● Tell them they are doing a great job: If you think they are doing great in their lessons, then tell them. It helps build their confidence, and it assures them they can drive safely once they are on the open road.
8. Compliment good performance
Parents will find it easy to know when to provide corrections, however you will begin to embrace good performance for granted and fail to reinforce it. Remember these actions that are worthy of compliments or praise:
● Correcting their mistakes without your prompt or instruction
● Going the right of way
● Taking light conditions or the weather into consideration
9. Introduce them to extreme conditions or situations
When your child or teen begins to feel safe and confident to drive in different conditions, take them out driving in the snow, rain, and the dark.
● Skidding is caused by rain, snow, and ice: Make sure that your child will learn how to manipulate the wheel in a skid, even if it sounds counterintuitive.
● Teach them to turn on their headlights: In some situations where the rain is drastic enough to use windshield wipers, drivers are required to turn their headlights on.
10. Discuss driving rules before your child acquires their license
Safety concerns are essential matters, but as your child prepares to take the driving test, it is equally important to set family rules and boundaries. This method will surely help your teen to stay safe once they drive out on the open road.
If the driving test goes well, there will be another licensed driver in your family. Therefore, it is crucial to establish how and what areas your child can be independent. Likewise, let them know which areas you will continue to provide guidance. How will you both share the car? Will you buy him/her a new vehicle? Does he/she have a curfew when taking the car out? These are new issues you will need to deal with, and a lawyer can help you in that regard. If you need to hire a legal professional to tell you more about the intricacies of traffic laws, click here.
Ashley Thompson
Ashley Thompson is a promising young law writer. She hopes to apply her years of study into helping explain legal issues to the public. Ashley loves cooking and often cooks for her family during weekends.