[NeedNewWheels]

My dad is teaching my little sister to drive and it got me wondering how I would teach my kid to drive if I had one. Personally I can't imagine being in the car with somebody driving for the first time ever. I have a lot of respect for driving instructors now!

[sharky]

My doctor still won't prescribe Valium just because I am trying to teach a teen to drive. He laughs and says it wouldn't be a bad idea though! I am finding out that I do not have nearly enough patience to teach someone to drive!

[philio]

Lol, very funny. I have taught a few teenagers to drive and I have no problem with it. I find if you can locate an old car and an empty parking lot, everything is fine. As long as the kid is driving a car you would not care was wrecked it's all good.

[sharky]

The sad part is that I was only half kidding! You make a good point. Part of the stress is the possibility of crashing and the other part is what crashing would do to the car!

[Wini]

I think it is a great idea to be in an old car and start out in an empty parking lot - like a high school lot on the weekend (or in summer) or something like that. Takes a lot of the stress off, or so I'm told.

[chillen]

I think the respect comes once you reach a certain age. I know I have! I was at the DMV the other week and I could see the fear in the few teens eyes that were there and you could tell by the blank look in their eyes it was their first time. Scared out of their little minds!!

[philio]

I guess that it is really important that you keep a straight face. You have to act like everything is cool when you teach a youngster to drive. If they know you are scared to then your both doomed.

[NeedNewWheels]

Originally Posted by philio

I guess that it is really important that you keep a straight face. You have to act like everything is cool when you teach a youngster to drive. If they know you are scared to then your both doomed.

I think this is spot on. You don't want to give the impression that you're very scared. There is a reason to be concerned and serious but causing too much tension can probably do more harm than good.

[chillen]

I am still unsure how I will handle the test myself when my time comes to teach someone. Years ago after I had been driving for a few years I was trying to teach a friend how to drive a manual, that was a totally pain to deal with and she was my age!