Teen Talk Topics - One Powerful Tip to Help Your Teen Driver Safely

10/20/2020 - Practice What You Preach

Teens learning to drive need good role models.

Anyone else have a teen learning to drive??

It is one of THE most nerve-wracking things!

Perhaps your child is taking or has taken driver’s ed courses sponsored by their high school. Or perhaps they’re learning through an outside driving school. OR, perhaps, if you’re like me, you’re going old-school and teaching your child yourself.

Whatever route you’ve chosen to take to educate your child on the important responsibility and privilege that being able to drive is, and how to carry out that privilege in a safe and responsible manner, we’re ALL still having to sit as passengers with our children behind the wheel...and wrestle with the fact that at some point, they’ll be behind the wheel all by themselves...or worse yet, WITH THEIR FRIENDS!

And there are so many jokes about what the experience is like trying to teach your kids to drive. We all laugh at them, reminiscing about our own learning experiences when we were kids. It becomes part of a shared culture as parents and guardians.

But it’s a sobering thought when you consider the fact that motor vehicle accidents are STILL the leading cause of teen deaths. Then we start back up with the nerves and anxiety, wondering how we can ensure our own child doesn’t ever become part of that statistic, either by being the one causing the accident or the victim in one.

But in all of that lecturing, training and drilling, a lot of times we forget the one simple thing that makes more of a difference than we realize → practice what we preach.

We’re concerned that they’ll be listening to loud music, bumping their favorite jams that slap, dancing while they’re driving, singing along, speeding cause they’re caught up in the moment or just because “it’s fun”...and then somehow get into a car crash...maybe they’re not paying attention ‘cause they’re having so much fun and run a traffic light or fail to avoid someone else’s recklessness, etc.

We’re concerned that they’ll get so comfortable driving that they’ll drive with their hands at an improper position all the time or, worse yet, without hands at all...and then get into a car crash because something happened and they couldn’t get control of the car in a timely fashion.

We’re concerned that they’ll be so caught up in conversations with their friends that they’ll get distracted, make improper judgments or lose focus of the road...and then get into a car crash.

We’re concerned about all the errors in judgment and decision-making that could possibly occur and try SO HARD to make sure we cover it all and drill it into them as we’re teaching them to drive, hoping it sticks, hoping they heed our advice, hoping they never experience the trauma of a car accident, no matter how minor.

Practice what you preach!

But in all of that lecturing, training and drilling, a lot of times we forget the one simple thing that makes more of a difference than we realize → practice what we preach.

You’re the kind of driver your kid will most likely be, so consider being the kind of driver you WANT them to be

We’re the model our kids are patterning themselves after whether we know it or not, want to believe it or not, try to tell them otherwise or not. The old saying, “Do as I say, not as I do” is erroneous...as we know ourselves! They’re watching us, picking stuff up from us, learning what to do and what not do from what they see US doing and not doing! So, in spite of what you’re verbally teaching your kids...what are your actions teaching them?

Are your actions telling them it’s OK to play loud music in the car and dance to it while you’re driving? Are your actions telling them it’s OK to drive with no hands, one hand, or your hands at the bottom of the steering wheel? Are your actions telling them it’s OK to speed when you’re in a rush or running late? Are your actions telling them it’s OK to make bad decisions or judgments and then blame the other driver(s)?

We like to say, “Well I’m an experienced driver. I’ve been driving for >insert # of years< years. I know what I’m doing!” Do you really though? ‘Cause accidents happen to experienced and inexperienced alike. But even if that were the case...our children are newbies, still learning, and, guess what, still watching. Wrong is wrong, even if you tell me it’s right...so that logic doesn’t work.

And trust, my finger is pointing squarely at MYSELF! I personally came face to face with it recently with my teen, so I know-I've been there. There are a lot of tips out there about how to teach your kids to drive, but one powerful yet often overlooked tip we all need to keep in mind is: Be a good example. You’re the kind of driver your kid will most likely be, so consider being the kind of driver you WANT them to be...at least while they’re watching ;-).

Do you agree or disagree with this idea? What other tips do you have to help parents/guardians teach their teens to drive appropriately and safely?

Share your thoughts in the comments below! Let's start a discourse!

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Hi! I'm Christina and I'm an online math tutor with 20+ years experience mentoring, teaching and tutoring young people. My goal is to empower students all over the world to succeed by helping them overcome their struggles and anxiety in one of their toughest academic areas, math! If you are interested in 1-1 assistance for yourself or your child, or just want to pick my brain about your child(ren)'s math education, feel free to contact me: www.cmamathtutoring.com/contact-me.