Teaching your teenager to drive can be a stressful experience for all involved. While there are plenty of driving schools that will take on the task, giving your teen a head start and a vehicle to practice with means that by the time they get their license, they will be much more experienced and therefore safer drivers. Here are some tips for teaching your teenager to drive:
- Keep the tone light. As much as possible, try to keep the tone light. Even in an empty parking lot, learning to drive a vehicle can be scary. Be as encouraging as possible.
- Correct mistakes and praise good actions. Positive reinforcement is going to be very important to a new driver. They need to know what they are doing well, as well as what they are doing wrong. You can ignore the occasional mistake, but if they are routinely doing something wrong, don’t be afraid to correct it.
- Take them out on the road. Don’t just drive around abandoned back streets and empty parking lots. They need to know what it is like to be out on the road with other drivers. Once they are comfortable maneuvering the car and staying in their lane, find an area with light traffic and let them take a drive.
- Practice what to do when they lose control of the vehicle. Now is the perfect time to teach your teen exactly what to do when they lose control of their vehicle. You can simulate a spinout by doing a donut in an empty parking lot, but if you do not have snow or ice to practice on, too, simply have them practice not slamming on their brakes and guiding the vehicle into the slide.
If your teenager is beginning to spend time behind the wheel, safety is your biggest concern. Along with teaching them the safe rules of the road, here is a Safety Pledge that you can print and have them sign to promise to adhere to the laws of the road.
Sorry! The Author has not filled his profile.
