For some teens, driver’s ed is all about spending summer in the classroom and completing boring assignments about traffic signs. As a parent, you have to turn your teen’s driver education over to a certified instructor, however, this doesn’t mean you can’t prepare them beforehand.
You might not realize it, but your input and advice will go a long way in helping prepare your teen for driving before they even step into the classroom. If your teen has their driving permit, here are a few things you can do to help prepare them for a successful driver’s education experience.
Start Early Driving Lessons
As soon as your teen has their permit, start taking them out for regular lessons. Young drivers are generally nervous anyway, but this anxiety can be increased when the first time they get behind the wheel of a car with someone they don’t know.
Having some time driving with you gives your teen a chance to build confidence but also to understand where their weaknesses lie. They can begin to address these weaknesses before getting into the classroom, which will make a big difference in their driver’s ed experience.
Know The Driver’s Ed Route
While you don’t want your teenagers to think they know everything about driving, you do want them to feel a sense of confidence so they aren’t questioning each and every little move. Try to find out where the driver’s ed program will take the students to practice.
You can start to incorporate this route into the regular routine. Don’t make this the only route you drive on though, or your teenagers will never have exposure to other elements and paths.
Resist Creating a Stressful Environment
When you first start driving with your teen, it can be stressful – for both of you. Remember they have no idea what they’re doing. They will definitely make mistakes. Start small with the driving lessons. Start in a parking lot so you can give them a few pointers, and any mistakes they make won’t be fatal or damage the car.
After a few lessons in the parking lot, choose simple routes around the neighborhood to give them a chance on the road. A driver’s ed car will have an extra brake on the passenger’s side so the teacher can stop the car in case of danger.
In your own car, you won’t have this advantage, but remember yelling at your teen when they do something wrong will only stress them out. Find a way to instruct them firmly without distracting or confusing them, and they’ll soon feel at ease behind the wheel.
Reviewing The Textbook
Many teenagers are excited for the actual driving part of driver’s ed, but they want nothing to do with the classroom setting. Try to make these lessons sound more practical for your young drivers. For example, once you have the textbook at home, go through and find lessons of particular interest to your teen.
While you might not be able to make them feel excited for every classroom lecture, you can help to prepare them for material they will cover further down the road. This will be especially helpful for learning the rules and laws of the road.
As a parent, preparing for driver’s ed classes begins at home with you. You’ll help your teen out tremendously by prepping them for what is ahead instead of sending them into a driving class cold.
By giving them a few driving lessons, giving them general advice and pointers, and helping them understand the rules, you are giving them a better chance of succeeding in the process of obtaining their license.
Your teen will feel more comfortable behind the wheel if they’ve had a little driving experience before taking classes, and then their driver’s ed experience will just serve as further practice. The information for this article was provided by the driver’s ed experts at the Valley Driving School that provides driving instruction and motorcycle lessons in Langley, British Columbia.
