Parent’s Survival Guide: What It’s Like Sitting Shotgun with a Teen Learner

Your teenager has nothing like taking the steering wheel for the first time - and realizing that you no longer have full control over a moving vehicle. The passenger learns to sit on the seat, while your teenager learns to drive, it is a ritual for the route for many parents, white knuckles, nervous laughter and with moments of pride that snaps on you.

If you are going to ride a shotgun with the teenager, what to expect here - and how to make it alive with your friends (and your relationship).

1. It’s going to be weird (to begin with) The first lesson in an empty parking may look simple, but the stress can feel so high. Your teen is nervous. You are nervous and suddenly, even turning the steering wheel looks like a motor operation.

What helps: Start little. Find cool, wide roads or parking spaces in the school on weekends. Encourage deep breath - yours and his.

1. Rolls converted You’ve always been under road control. Now your teenager is running - and you guide, right and try to shout.

Pro Tip: Talk peacefully and clearly. “Break! Break! Break!” Use sentences like “slowly slowly when ready”!

1. Your reactions mean something - many Teens raise the stress immediately. Door handling, gasping, gasping or gripping will make them feel more and more.

Try it: Maintain a cool tone, even if you feel worried. Save breakdown after driving after the parking lots. And remember that they see your reactions more like a street.

1. Error will happen- this is normal Expect it, cushion, stop suddenly and missed turns. Mistakes are not failure - they are the way your teenager learns.

How to handle it: Use each mistake as a teaching moment. Ask what they saw, how will they cope with it next time. Focus on learning, not missing.

1. Know when to go back You are not a certified instructor, and that’s fine. Sometimes it is better to let professionals take some skills - such as parallel parking or highway merging.

Balance it: Use your time to deliver in the real world school, work or weekend trip. Leave technical lessons for professionals.

1. It’s not just about rules Teenage hours are also lessons in life: trust, responsibility, decision -making and remain calm under pressure.

Celebrate a small victory: to complete a steady orbit change, remember to examine blind spots or handle traffic is worth a high five.

1. You can learn anything Driving with your teenager can remind you of your own habits - good and bad. Whether it is a rolling stop or forgetting the flashlight, your own driving play can be faster as a trainer.