Is it really a good idea to teach your child to drive?

As a parent, you may wonder if you should be involved in teaching your child how to drive, or if you should leave it all up to a qualified and registered driving instructor. A good approach to take is one that combines the best of both worlds. You can certainly be a part of your child’s learning experience, but you also should not ignore the positive impact and extra knowledge that a driving teacher can impart upon your student driver. Thankfully I do not have to worry about this for a good few years to come, but it is still something I want to be prepared for.

Keep reading to learn more about teaching your child how to become a safe and confident driver.

The Benefits of Teaching Your Child to Drive

There are several benefits that you can derive from teaching your child how to drive. First of all, you can make the practice targeted to your son or daughter. A driving instructor may not be able to do the same, especially since you really know your child better than anyone else.

Your child will also likely feel a lot more comfortable with you as opposed to a stranger, and you can share all of the important lessons that you have learned from being a driver through the years. This will result in your child being even more prepared for additional practice with an instructor.

Teaching Tips for Parents

When teaching your kids how to drive, you should keep a few things in mind. For example, you should have your teen start off practicing on easy roads before progressing to harder roads. This means your child would start driving down quiet rural roads with minimal traffic first. Have them practice in sunny and rainy conditions to get a chance to experience the road in different weather. Then move onto roads with higher amounts of traffic, and then freeways that require the highest driving speeds.

Also, you should teach your kids the safety rules of the road, including the fact that they need to remain focused at all times. Teach them to avoid looking down at their mobile phones while they drive, and how to stay in their lane and respect other drivers on the road.

Encourage Your Child to Practice the Theory Test

In addition to heading out and practicing driving on the road for the practical test, your child should also study the rules of the road before getting behind the wheel. After all, in order to get their licence, student drivers need to pass a driving theory test.

Gather more information that will help your child fully prepare for every type of driving test that they will need to take prior to getting their licence. In this way, they can pass with ease and confidence the first time around.

As you can see, there are advantages to being a part of teaching your child how to drive. You can show them how to drive properly, but you can also help them prepare to pass every driving test. In the end, your child will be a safe and confident driver who knows how to navigate every road condition.

Driving image by ShutterStock.