Teaching Your Teenager to Drive

According to statistics, teaching a teenager to drive is one of the 20 most stressful things you’ll ever do! For this reason it’s important to have a plan and to stay focussed so you don’t end up pulling your hair out and they don’t get upset.

Start off simple

Unless your teenager has a natural aptitude for driving you should give the first few lessons in an empty car park or around a quiet rural area. Practice pulling off, stopping and steering as these are the essential skills they’ll need on the road.

Drive somewhere familiar

When they do get out onto the public roads, let them drive somewhere familiar for a few lessons so that they know what to expect and what kinds of hazards are coming up. Once they get a bit more confidence then you can plan lessons further from home.

Explain why they are doing what they are doing

It is important to explain the rules of the road as your teenager is driving rather than simply telling them to do this and that. This is so that they continue to drive sensibly even after passing their test.

Correct their mistakes with questions

Rather than just telling them what they’re doing wrong you can ask questions about their actions instead. So for example, rather than telling them that they’re speeding, ask them what they think the speed limit is for the road so they’re forced to think about what they’re doing.

Encourage rather than criticise

Encouragement goes a lot further than criticism with teenagers so it is much more productive to praise the things they do well than to pick at what they’re doing wrong. Point out obvious mistakes but don’t let every other comment be a criticism…and try not to loose your patience either!