Teaching your teenager to drive - anyone done it?

[LaineyW]

My DD is nearly 17, has applied for her provisional licence and now wants to have some driving lessons with us (me and her dad) before starting proper ones. It's largely to safe money on formal lessons but also to build up her confidence before she has to do it with a complete stranger I think...

Has anyone else given their DD or DS their first few driving lessons? Any tips?!

[themoon66]

DD is learning with instructor as our insurance was mad price.

I have let her drive my car on the airfield though.

Ring your insurance company and check first... you may find, like I did, that it's actually cheaper to just pay the instructor.

[sockadoodledo]

Had them sit in the car before first lesson, learnt pedals and found bite point couple of times. They were insured with us but first lesson was their first proper drive.

Instructors have had scared 17 year olds who stall 20 times in first lesson a million times. Where as I was clinging onto the door, stamping on invisible break and thinking 'wtf are you doing to my lovely car' as they ground the gears with a crunch And that was after the first few times they'd driven.

Let them start off with good habits, the test has changed between my 20 year old whos passed and my 17 year old whos learning, so we are hopelessly out of date. I think parents practising is a good thing as they can go over what they learnt in lessons and build confidence, but I'd def kick things off with lessons.

god, essay. sorry!

[LaineyW]

Thanks for the replies - we're going to book some lessons with a nice calm instructor in our village who seems to have taught practically everyone we know!

Wish me luck for tomorrow though...we're heading for a nearby airfield to find the bite point.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

Good luck for tomorrow. It doesn't do them any harm to get past that initial "Aaaaargh! It moved!" thing; but I would echo what has been said about using professional instructors.

Much has changed just since I passed my car test over a decade ago; DH passed in 1976, so he wasn't not much use advising our DSs, and indeed led them (inadvertantly) into bad habits.

[smileydee]

I think it would be fine for her to get practice in your car AFTER she's had 5 lessons, otherwise you're all going to get stressed out ( I think my father was homicidal after his first attempt to teach me!), and she'll pick up on your bad habits.

[LaineyW]

Morning all, well we went to the nearest disused airfield (she's still only 16 so we can't go on the roads anyway just yet).

She did really well though, was much calmer than I thought she'd be, only stalled it three or four times and we both thoroughly enjoyed the hour or so we were out there.

Didn't get past first gear though (quite deliberately) and I think she was thankful of that. I remember my first few driving lessons when I just couldn't maintain the bite point when with my instructor, and my boyfriend took me to the Humber Bridge car park and just made me drive around in circles and backwards in first or reverse as slowly as humanly possible until I really felt in control of the car, rather than it being in control of me... did wonders for my confidence and that's what I wanted DD to feel, that she was in control.

I agree that proper lessons are a must though and will be booking those to start asap after her 17th birthday.

She's got the bit between her teeth now though and wants to go out "two or three times a week" until her birthday...