<p>first attempt with oldest child 8 yrs ago- he convinced me he was fully ready (after drivers ed, and driving with his dad) to drive on a main street…we’re driving; he didn’t have a good sense of the size of the car, and he sloowllly sideswipes a parked car! A big SUV that sustained no damage, but my car did. This incident gave me a slight case of PTSD! Took several years before I felt comfortable driving with him; my H took next two kids out. Took that S 4 attempts before he passed his driving test. Daughters much better. Now though, S is a great driver and drives all over the country. He just miscalculated his ability as a teen. </p>
<p>My advice: go slowly, don’t listen if they have inflated sense of ability, and hire a professional if they are not ready, or you don’t feel comfortable, to supplement driver’s ed. To me, this whole driving thing was one of the hardest parts of parenting - there is truly little control. Emphasize of course NEVER drinking and driving, or texting, encourage practice, and good sense, and hope for the best.</p>
<p>When I think of the stupid things I did as a teenager learning to drive…</p>
<p>My own experience learning to drive was a disaster. I grew up in a small town in the midwest where frankly most kids were unofficially driving on country roads at age 12-14. The driver’s ed instructors expected students to have driving experience before they were in driver’s ed. My parents refused to take me out before and I had never even started up a car when I started behind the wheel. I ended up failing it and re-taking. Oh, yeah and the driver’s ed teacher screamed at me. After driver’s ed (round one), my dad took me out a few times and also yelled. I ended up in tears. Finally my wonderful older brother took me out, was patient and I learned to drive. To this day, I really don’t like to drive. I wonder why?</p>
<p>Honestly, the best thing my parents did for me was to start me
Out just driving a side street that had both turns and hills. My mom drove it once or twice with me observing and then allowed me to get a feel for the pedals and steering. After that it was only a week or so until I was on the busiest and most dangerous highway in the area. Experience is key. Have your kid drive every time you are taking them anywhere.</p>
<p>^^^ Reminds me of how my husband learned to drive. About age 4 his dad put him between his legs on the tractor and taught him to steer the tractor. Within a few weeks he was standing on the tractor pedal alone, steering the tractor with a hay rack behind down the rows in the field while his dad and brothers baled hay behind. He says he was so small that he had to stand on the gas pedal to keep it down and to stop the tractor he had to jump on the brake. When he was about 8 his dad had him driving the farm truck across fields and back roads to his uncles farms. When he was sixteen his dad sent him into town alone to get his driver’s license. All three of his brothers tell the same story and my MIL swears she never knew anything about it.</p>