Adding Drivers Ed to the Budget

[ceecee]

i don't see why teaching a child to drive should be left for a "professional." That seems kind of silly to me. Unfortunately we don't have a choice here.

From some of the drivers out there that I've seen, I can totally understand it!

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

From some of the drivers out there that I've seen, I can totally understand it!

Chances are that most of those drivers had some sort of course, I'd guess. I had to and that was 30 years ago.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

there isn't anything magical about the course. I've had 3 go through, and it is just the same stuff you'd teach your own. but with a hefty pricetag because they can.

 

[indimom]

Just had to comment that being parent taught is not all bad, especially if the parent takes their job seriously...
I was parent taught 20 years ago. Not because of cost as much as convenience, I went to a small, rural school 30 minutes from home and my parents had no way to get me to the summer driving course. That being said...the only requirement then, was I had to wait an extra 6 months to get my license. I took a driving test and written test at the license branch. I've never had any tickets or caused any accidents (been in one or two though).
I'm pretty confident I had more behind the wheel experience than most of my classmates who took the class and went out in groups of three for the driving portion... Dad even made me go out on a snowy back road and practice hitting the breaks and what to do when the car starts to skid. Kinda doubt they did that in class. My kids will take our school-provided class when they reach that age, but I already talk to them about safety, rules of the road, etc., and plan to add MY own teaching when the time comes...

 

[MrsPete]

i don't see why teaching a child to drive should be left for a "professional." That seems kind of silly to me. Unfortunately we don't have a choice here.

The professionals have cars that're specially modified with a brake on the passenger's side of the car. That, along with the idea that the new driver's first hours behind the wheel are spent in HIS CAR, NOT YOURS, is a pretty good reason in my mind.

We took our daughter out to a church parking lot a few times before she did her behind-the-wheel training, and she was HORRIBLE. By the time she'd done her 8 hours with the professional, she still needed intense supervision, but she had the basics down.

 

[Tinkmom]

i don't see why teaching a child to drive should be left for a "professional." That seems kind of silly to me. Unfortunately we don't have a choice here.

It isn't a professional teaching INSTEAD of a parent; it is an objective third-party professional teaching IN ADDITION TO many hours with a parent coach. Most teens are NOT particularly open to listening to their parents and often learning to drive SOLELY with a parent is going to be slower and more painful. Perhaps if you had a particularly compliant child and an extremely patient and knowledgeable parent it wouldn't be too much of a disadvantage, but I would very strongly suggest having a professional get things started on the right foot.

 

[2TxAgs]

Thanks for the feedback.

For clarity. I do live in TX, and the kids are not offered Drivers Ed thru school. You may use one of two methods with your kids - 32 hours of classroom and 14 hrs behind
the wheel at a driving school, or the same amount but parent taught. The parent taught option requires you to use one of 6 or 7 pre-approved programs, one of which is the aforementioned Drivers Ed in a Box. The 'in the Box' program includes CDs for the parents with specific lesson plans, as well as CDs and paperwork for the kids to view and test. I'm actually leaning toward using this particular one, but wondered what other choices people may have made.

I have no issues teaching the kids myself - have been commenting on driving techniques of others for years, and pointing out poor choices to my kids. I WANT them to learn in our cars since that's what they'll be driving when they get their permits.

TxAg

 

[Tinkmom]

Wow, remind me to stay out of Texas if parents routinely are the only ones who "teach" their kids to drive! This is such a life or death issue, and considering that many of my kids' classmates have parents who can't even show up for a couple of school events or teacher meetings I can imagine the quality of the driver's ed going on. (No insult to you, 2TxAgs)

In my state the vast majority of kids take drivers ed through their high school. Our insurance gives an added reduction in premiums if a child also takes a course that sounds similar to this "in a box" deal.

 

[MrsPete]

It isn't a professional teaching INSTEAD of a parent; it is an objective third-party professional teaching IN ADDITION TO many hours with a parent coach. Most teens are NOT particularly open to listening to their parents and often learning to drive SOLELY with a parent is going to be slower and more painful. Perhaps if you had a particularly compliant child and an extremely patient and knowledgeable parent it wouldn't be too much of a disadvantage, but I would very strongly suggest having a professional get things started on the right foot.

That is absolutely true. After she was comfortable with the basics, my daughter decided -- for a while -- that she knew it all, and she was rather snippy with me when I'd tell her things like "Put more distance between you and that car" or "Tap your brake now in preparation for that stop sign that's coming up." She didn't want to listen to me.

I had to prove to her that a snotty attitude = no driving practice. That mess stopped in a hurry because she LIVES to drive.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Lol, our kids have all been behind the wheel before driver's Ed. It has nothing to do with being compliant. You either listen and follow safe practices or you lose the privilege. Too funny. Mine take the class because the have to. We've taught them, though.

Starting with the ttactor, then the pick up in the field. They practice backwards and fowards, in the snow, etc. That is as soon as they show themselves to be mature enough to eArn the chance. By 16 they are better drivers than most adults , IMO.

 

[disfan07]

I just took drivers ed 5 years ago. I cant even imagine the parents being the ones who are solely responsible for this. I think that is absurd.

We had drivers ed class as part of our PE class. so one quarter of drivers ed, 1 quarter of health, and 2 quarters of PE.
where i lived it was required that you take the drivers ed class before you can even sign up for behind the wheel which meant you had to pass drivers ed with a C or better to qualify for behind the wheel.

My parents wouldnt have been able to teach me evrything b/c they drive differently than how we were taught to. One thing that stands out is teh hand positions on the wheel. What was taught 25-30 years ago is not what they are teaching now.

Yes, we did have to do exra hours with our parents but we also had to have drivers ed and behind teh wheel.

Personally i dont think it's a good idea for it to be only with the parents.

 

[StephMK]

In NE, there is no school driver's ed, you're on your own. The student can either do 50 hrs of driving w/an adult and you have a paper notarized to that effect, or you pay for a driver ed class. We opted for the class because while we plan to drive w/her 50 hrs anyway, we thought there were probably things we'd forget to teach. Plus things have changed.

It was 20 hrs of classroom teaching & 16 hrs of drive time then she is set to get her license & no further driving test needed. She had to pass a written test to get her learners and you have to have that at least 6 months before you can get your license (provisional), no more than 1 other person in the car under 18, unless a sibling. She's done & passed and actually said she learned more than she thought she would.

I don't like the system because I feel like some parents that can't or won't pay for the class, might not take the time to do the full 50 and I don't think have a notary is much of a deterrent to fudging the time.

 

[Planogirl]

I think that kids can be parent taught just as they can be homeschooled. I have been teaching DS and we just finished the classroom portion so that he could test for his learner's permit. He passed easily and now we're into behind the wheel instruction.

I am using the state curriculum. I have to document everything and follow their steps to a tee. I saw no sense in paying a lot of money when we can learn together.

I wanted to add that most of the kids around here do take private courses and you never saw such horrible driving. That didn't exactly inspire confidence in the courses.

 

[tink2dw]

We found as long as the car was in my and my Dh name on the title and registation. That Insurance was a lot cheaper for our teen.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I just took drivers ed 5 years ago. I cant even imagine the parents being the ones who are solely responsible for this. I think that is absurd.

We had drivers ed class as part of our PE class. so one quarter of drivers ed, 1 quarter of health, and 2 quarters of PE.
where i lived it was required that you take the drivers ed class before you can even sign up for behind the wheel which meant you had to pass drivers ed with a C or better to qualify for behind the wheel.

My parents wouldnt have been able to teach me evrything b/c they drive differently than how we were taught to. One thing that stands out is teh hand positions on the wheel. What was taught 25-30 years ago is not what they are teaching now.

Yes, we did have to do exra hours with our parents but we also had to have drivers ed and behind teh wheel.

Personally i dont think it's a good idea for it to be only with the parents.

lol, gee, I think it takes about 2 seconds to teach hand position. And, believe it or not, that informantion is out there for the gathering.

If a kid doesn't respecty a parent enough to follow the rules of the road, why would you put them behind the wheel of your car?

 

[Trish Bessette]

WOW my dd (16) just completed drivers ed last week and it cost $725.00!!!!! I'd kill to be able to have paid under $500!!

She is a sophmore in high school and if she waited to take it through high school it may be her senior year before she got in

 

[FredS]

Lol, our kids have all been behind the wheel before driver's Ed. It has nothing to do with being compliant. You either listen and follow safe practices or you lose the privilege. Too funny. Mine take the class because the have to. We've taught them, though.

Starting with the ttactor, then the pick up in the field. They practice backwards and fowards, in the snow, etc. That is as soon as they show themselves to be mature enough to eArn the chance. By 16 they are better drivers than most adults , IMO.

The vast majority of kids in the early to mid teen years are simply at a stage in their development where they are more open to learning from a respected adult OTHER THAN a parent. Just the natural course of things. Perhaps if your child is, as mentioned already, more compliant than most they might pay a bit more attention, but a trained professional is worth it.

My kids could run a tractor (go cart, golf car, boat) when they were 8 or 9. That sort of skill is not really what one is concerned about when teaching your child to drive on the roads today. Half the battle is defensive driving, and certainly not going backward and forward!

Paying the extra money to better prepare your child, when honestly their life is on the line, is the responsible thing to do, IMHO. If you try to justify it with "oh, some paid classes aren't good" -- come on, that seems to be a cop out. Find a good driver education program!

 

[Belle5]

Hmmm...well, I am teaching my fourth son to drive. DSs 23, 21 and 19 are terrific drivers and drive all over multiple highways daily. DS 23 has had one speeding ticket the other two have had none. I remember when I was teaching the oldest to drive he just was not a "natural-born driver". I ended up hiring Sears driving school to pick him up for one private lesson where they took him out for a couple of hours and worked with him on the areas where I felt he needed it. We never had another issue. I have considered the same lesson(s) for my fourth son as he is not as natural about driving as some are. My kids have driven 12-25 foot moving trucks back and forth to college without issue--backing up, etc. They're good on the road after being taught by me with Driver's Ed in a Box. Lots of videos and tests, etc. Obviously, if the parents don't have a child who is willing to learn from them or the parent is just too nervous to try it--then by all means they should use a professional service.

 

[disfan07]

lol, gee, I think it takes about 2 seconds to teach hand position. And, believe it or not, that informantion is out there for the gathering.

If a kid doesn't respecty a parent enough to follow the rules of the road, why would you put them behind the wheel of your car?

wow...you get an A in sarcasm don't you? You have fully perfected the snotty attitude.

It's not about respectign the parents. I respect my parents tremendously. Always have. But no way did I listen to them the way that I listened to a driving instructor. I was 15. I was supposed to be arguing my parents and disagreeing with what they said. It comes with the teenage territory and unfortunately those teenage years coinside with getting a license.


Almost every parent probably agrees that your teenager behaves differently with other people than they do with you right? Well, that extends to learning new things, including driving. Did my parents take me out on the road before i got my license? Yes, they had to, it's a requirement but there is no way I would have learned as much from them as I did from my Drieres ed teacher adn behind teh wheel teacher because they were NOT my parents. I listened to them better. I've had my license for 4 years and I still hate it adn argue with them when they are a backseat driver. My brother argues with them also about it and he's had his license for 7 years.

Also, as someone else pointed out before, it's one thing to do the classroom stuff but it's another to do the behind the wheel. The driving instructors have specially outfitted cars with brakes on the passengers side for a reason. It's not for decoration. I can't imagine teachign a teenager to drive without one fo those.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

The vast majority of kids in the early to mid teen years are simply at a stage in their development where they are more open to learning from a respected adult OTHER THAN a parent. Just the natural course of things. Perhaps if your child is, as mentioned already, more compliant than most they might pay a bit more attention, but a trained professional is worth it.

My kids could run a tractor (go cart, golf car, boat) when they were 8 or 9. That sort of skill is not really what one is concerned about when teaching your child to drive on the roads today. Half the battle is defensive driving, and certainly not going backward and forward!

Paying the extra money to better prepare your child, when honestly their life is on the line, is the responsible thing to do, IMHO. If you try to justify it with "oh, some paid classes aren't good" -- come on, that seems to be a cop out. Find a good driver education program!

Get over it. Driver's ed is required here. It is a waste of time and money. Don't be a goober.

You are right, they are on the tractor at about 10. You are a bit more lenient on that than I am. The pickup is for working the farm, and playing around. Thus, when they get tired of going forward, they run the course backwards. It is fun. You should try it some time. They are taught how to drive in the snow, and they have a great time learning how to do and undo donuts and swerves in the parking area. They are taught defensive driving when they are allowed out on the road at 15 1/2. It is illegal to have them out then.

As I said, your kids might not respect you enough to trust that you know more than they do. Mine do. Call it what you like.

BTW, where are you quoting your child development information from? Or is this just anectdotal?