When does driver education start?

WHEN DOES DRIVER EDUCATION START ?

This is a question parents ask themselves ones their children reach their teens. Before the teen years , parents give this scarcely a thought , it seems too far into the future or too scary to contemplate. And yet, without knowing (and through little effort on your part) you have been teaching your children how to behave in traffic the whole time. Your children’s little eyes and little ears have eagerly absorbed every action you have taken and every word you have spoken and they are forming a picture of the world on the road. All children are eager to learn and are natural sponges for information.

You started when you buckled your new bundle of joy in the car seat on the way home from the hospital. The gentle acceleration and careful stops are felt as a safe environment by this brand new adult in-the-making. And you don’t do the mad dash across any busy street with your toddler  in your arms – you use the crosswalk or traffic lights.

With no effort you are teaching risk-management, road safety and lawful behavior. When you demonstrate how to make way for on coming pedestrians on the sidewalk with your child, you not only are a caring person, but condition the child to be so while driving later on as well. Your child will not know anything else but to be courteous .

Car rides are openings for lots of conversations. You have a powerful opportunity to teach your child your philosophy of life, how to respect all on the road, to treat others as one wants to be treat themselves, that mistakes can be made, to watch out to stay safe but to not retaliate. Your child learns empathy and will have a more mature attitude, not only when driving but all around in their life.

Good driver education will build on what the child has learned so far. Driving skills alone do not make a good driver. What you as a parent have been teaching and modeling for your child will set the standard for the rest of the child’s life.