Teens count down the time to events differently than parents and other adults do. For instance, DD already knows it's 179 school days left until summer break. I know that it's only 10 days until OSU football season starts and 120 days until Christmas. But the biggest countdown for both kids? Counting down the days until they turn 15-1/2 next summer and can get their temporary driving permits.
Let me remind you of something....I'm a single mom. With twins. Who will both be wanting to drive. At the same time. In the same vehicle. I have said it before and I'll say it again ---- there ain't enough Valium in the world..... haha! I'm sure we'll make it through fine, but I'm not waiting until next summer to start planning. Here are some things I'm doing now to ensure a good experience with driver's education for both the twins and myself:
1. Start setting a good example now. I'm more conscious of speeding up to get through yellow lights, rolling stops and things like that. I can't teach my kids that a stop sign means STOP if I'm not coming to a full and complete stop.
2. I've started to ask the kids to give me directions on how to get to places around town, what the speed limit is when we're driving, etc. Personally, I know how to get where I'm going, but don't ask me for detailed turn-by-turn directions on the spur of the moment. I want my kids to be aware of street names and to get used to watching for traffic signs now. I'm also going to introduce map-reading with our next out-of-town trip. DD especially hates maps, so it's important that she especially get used to them. Both kids think that they'll just get GPS units and not have to deal with maps, and maybe they eventually will, but as we've all heard, GPS units aren't 100% perfect, and the twins need to be familiar with maps.
3. I've started talking with them about their contributions to the increased costs that will come when they start driving, namely insurance and gas money. Depending on the economy, I have the generalities of 2 plans fairly well settled, one depending on if they are able to get a part-time job and the other if they are not, in which case their costs will be tied to their grade point average. I've also stressed the fact that insurance costs are, in part, based on their GPA, so that is another reason to do well in school.
4. We have one vehicle. I had briefly toyed with the idea of getting a small, cheap clunker to have as a spare car, especially since DD is quite petite and the van is quite large in comparison! However, with the transmission replacement last month, a second vehicle is out of the question for a few years. Both kids have talked about saving for their own vehicles, and they are aware that I will not sign for a car loan for them, so both are looking into jobs and saving their allowances. We've also discussed the idea that they can buy a car together, pooling their resources, and that they would want to civilly and politely discuss that possibility and set ground rules beforehand. Finally, they know that they will not be driving to school every day once they do get their licenses. We've had a set rule growing up as to who gets to be first or do a specific thing on what day (who's day is it?), and I've told them we will revert to that rule with driving, whether it's getting their hours in with their temps or driving to school and other places after being licensed.
5. I will be getting them the Ohio driver's booklet in the next few months so they can start to read it now. I'm sure I'll be getting a lesson or two on road rules over the next few months too!
6. Lastly I'm stressing responsibility and trust. They have heard many times already and will continue to hear, if I can't trust them now in the small things, I'm not going to trust them driving when there are lives at stake. If they can't listen to me now, how can I trust that they will listen to my driving instruction? They will definitely be tired of hearing it, and I'm trying to vary how I get the message across, but this is obviously the most important part of preparing any teenager to drive, so they will be hearing it. A lot.
These are just a few things that I can do now to prepare the twins for this upcoming exciting time. Anything I've forgotten?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment