Tips for Parents Teaching Children to Drive

Teaching your children to drive may make you feel all-manner of emotions: excitement, panic, pleasure, fear, pride, or even terror! But fear not, we at Day Tripper Driving Tuition love to provide support beyond that which takes place in-car during driving lessons.

Practicing privately, without the support of our driving instructors, can be extremely beneficial, but we always add a caveat to this... if it's done properly!

We have compiled a list of tips to help support private practice to complement regular driving lessons, ensuring the learner's progress positively and in no way hindering their development.

1. Know the legal requirements and responsibilities

   You must have held a full driving license for at least three years, at be at least 21 years old.

   The vehicle must be insured for you and your child, so always check with your insurance company first, as you may have to add your child to your policy. Should you get stopped by the police without insurance, both the accompanying driver and the learner will be prosecuted.

   'L' plates must be displayed on the front and the rear of the vehicle, in a visible location. They must adhere to the legal sizing requirements.

   As the accompanying driver, you must observe and assist the learner. This means no texting, or telephone calls! Should you be seen by the police doing so, you will be prosecuted for using a mobile phone.

2. Support the learner with knowledge

   It will be incredibly helpful to the learner if you can support their knowledge of the Highway Code, so it is recommended to brush up on your own knowledge prior to heading out on the road. Not only will this help the learner, it will help your own development!

   We also advise you to purchase other supporting publications for you and the learner, including Driving: The Essential Skills, Know Your Traffic Signs, and Learning to Drive.

3. Stay calm and supportive

   A calm and supportive environment within the car is vital for the learner. This will help both of you feel safe and relaxed. It will also lower the risk of any dangerous situations developing as the learner is much less likely to panic if they feel supported.

   When offering advice, talk calming and clearly. Give precise guidance and avoid 'babbling'. Keep your instructions concise and simple.

   An argumentative environment, where the learner is being 'told off' constantly, criticised, or even shouted at, is not a productive learning environment for anyone, and will probably be detrimental to their confidence and abilities.

   
   

4. Allow them the opportunity to think for themselves

   The learner will develop much quicker if the right level of support is provided, so be careful not to provide too much help when it is not required. For example, if the learner is always checking their mirrors at the appropriate times, do not tell them to check their mirrors! This may knock their confidence, and they may start questioning whether they are doing something wrong.

   If the learner becomes flustered, ensure regular breaks are taken. None of us drives at our best when we are stressed, so don't be afraid to 'call it a day' sometimes.

   If they are driving well, encourage them with praise and allow 'quiet time' in the car, so that they can continue to think for themselves, knowing that you're beside them to jump in if required.

   Further support is provided by allowing the learner to experience all road types and situations, including town driving, rural roads, and dual carriageways. As they develop their skills, try to challenge them more. You could even get them to follow road signs or the sat-nav to a random location!

5. Reinforce what is being worked on during driving lessons

   When practicing, have an objective in mind. Development may be slowed by driving for the sake of driving. Each time you go out, you should agree with the learner on what you're looking to improve. A good way of doing so is to ask the learner what their last lesson involved, and what went wrong.

   If possible, you could even travel to the place where the lesson and faults took place. Don't be afraid to drive the learner to the appropriate practice area as well; they don't have to do all the driving.

   You could even provide a demonstration of how to do something they need to improve, followed by giving the learner an opportunity to put your advice into practice.

6. Work within the learners' abilities

   Try not to push the learner driver beyond their abilities. I always tell my learners, "Walk before you try to run!". It is important they are given time to 'fine-tune' skills gradually, which will help their development and confidence.

   As an example, if the learner is still using their driving lessons to develop their low-speed control of the car when emerging from junctions, don't then direct them straight out onto the nearest multi-lane roundabout and down the local dual-carriageway! It will be stressful for all involved, and may even become dangerous.

7. Trust their driving instructor

   It's easy to teach your children 'shortcuts', or to tell them, "Don't worry about that, I did that on my test and I passed!". But this can be confusing and detrimental to the learner. They now have a battle occurring in their minds where two sets of guidance conflict.

   To prevent this, ask the learner what they have been told by their instructor and trust that.

   What you could do is pass on your bad habits to your children, and this will need to be remedied on driving lessons, which extends the time needed and, let's be honest, results in costing you more money!

   If you ever need advice or wish to confirm certain elements of driving youre trying to support your children in, feel free to get in touch - we are here to help you!

   
   
   
   

   Hopefully, you have found this guide helpful, and we wish you success in helping your loved ones become safe, confident drivers on the road.

   
   

   Adrian - Company Owner