Taking Driver's Training Out Of The Hands Of Strangers, Part Two

You raised your children up to this point -- now they are teenagers and ready to start driver's training. Thoughts of the dangers out there are enough to give most parents nightmares. How can you be sure that your teen is actually prepared to get out on the highway? Take an active role in teaching them how to drive!

A traditional approach misses too many things

There is nothing wrong with starting out with a traditional approach to driving lessons. Get your teen enrolled with a local driving school with a good reputation. Let the school help your teen learn the initial basics of driving; what is needed to pass the permit exam. Give them the opportunity to try out their new skills in a car that doesn't belong to you. Then, take over once more.

Those classes that are offered for teenagers eager to drive are sketchy at best. Six hours behind the wheel doesn't make a teen ready to take on the responsibilities of a potentially deadly machine. This is where you, the parent, step in and supplement the basics with the needed skills for a lifetime of safe driving.

How do you remember what to teach?

By the time your teen hits driving age it can be a very long way from when you initially learned your driving skills. Remembering those life-altering lessons now may be harder than you think. Rather than spending your time in the car with your teen gripping the handle, white knuckled, invest in a good home-based driver's training program.

A well-designed program will provide you with multiple learning platforms so that you can accommodate any style of learning. If your teen is a visual learner, he or she will be able to connect to the videos and graphics included for use on the computer.

Is your teen book-dependent? The workbooks will help them focus their knowledge. And if your teen prefers the hands-on approach of a kinesthetic learner, the time in the car with you, perfecting those new skills, will help build confidence and awareness.

The best thing about such programs is that you can follow a step-by-step approach that ensures you cover every important aspect of driving. Your teen will have at least theoretical knowledge of how to deal with different driving situations, what to do when the unexpected crops up, and hopefully, when they are out of their element, they will know to pull over and give you a call if needed. There is no way to calculate the value of such a program to both you and your teen.

Bonding, not bickering is your goal

No one looks forward to the day when their teen is finally ready to start driving and the bickering begins. The rosy picture painted in our minds is one of an eager teen, learning from the parent, a font of driving wisdom. But when parents aren't sure what the best way to instruct teens is, how can they provide a safe, supportive environment in the car?

Driving should be a positive, bonding experience. If it isn't, not only will it quickly become something that creates stress, it may even put your teen off driving completely for years. The roads become more dangerous every year.

Cell phones, texting, GPS, higher speed limits, and road rage are all things none of us had to deal with when we were learning to drive. Our children must be well-prepared when they head out on the open highway. Home-based driver's training is the perfect supplemental approach to educate teen drivers.