Why do kids seem to be driving later than they used to "back in the day"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I already point our driving tips, traffic sign meanings, rules of the road, etc., while driving with my 11 yo. I've started asking her to help me navigate. My mom did the same with me. It will be her choice when you wants to get her license, but I think it's important for her to know how to drive as a teenager, including learning how to drive a manual car. It's a life skill, and even if she lives in a city with public transportation for the rest of her life, I want her to be capable. I don't want her to ever feel entirely reliant on Lyft/Uber, peer drivers, or other parents.

Lol this sounds like it was written in 1993. Nobody "navigates anymore" - everyone under 50 uses Waze. Manual transmission already does not exist on almost any good performance cars anymore (where manual is most likely to be an option) and major brands have already stated their intention to drop manual transmissions from most cars (even in Europe!). Only 2% of cars have manual transmission and even that is shrinking. 5 years from now it will all be self-driving electric cars. I agree, knowing how to drive a car is a good skill to have, but "navigating" and "stick shift" have already not been things for a decade

I am not the poster with the 11 year old but I started having my kids sit up front at 11 and I understood what she meant by navigate. Even with WAZE it is helpful to have a person in the passenger seat look around for you. So if WAZE or another navigation system says move to the right on a highway and exit, I have look to my right to verify it is clear but also have my kids do it. When the navigation system says turn right at a certain block I make my kids look for the street signs, etc. They also can visually look at a map to figure out where to go. Or if I am dropping them off at a friend's house I tell my kids to figure out how to get there and give me directions. And if you have ever been to Europe and rented a car it is really helpful to drive a manual. We did in Greece three years ago because it was the only option to drive a stick shift from the rental place we used.

My 13 year old son has a friend from the midwest who moved here. He was telling us his neighbors complained to his parents because the 13 year old was used to backing up the car in the driveway or they let him pull up into the driveway in the midwest starting at age 12 when he reached 5'4" but his neighbors here complained and now he is over 5'7".

[Anonymous]

I think all of you who aren't doing the (yes, hard) work of making sure your teen gets their driver's license are really bad parents. Really bad.

[Anonymous]

We pushed the drivers license process with our kid because the timing was convenient now. It was a good time to slog virtually through the 30 hours of classroom drivers ed last summer. DC got their learners permit at the end of last summer, and then had to wait 9 months anyway to get the drivers license. We did the 60 hours of practice driving and the 6 hours of behind the wheel through the fall, winter, and spring. By the time school was out, it was time to take the driving test, which is frankly easier at the moment due to Covid. DC passed, and while they don’t necessarily feel the urge to jump into the car and drive everywhere right now - which is a good thing - they are thrilled to have their license and, in the process, an official ID that has already come in very handy. We are glad that we powered through the process and that it is done, license in hand.

[Anonymous]

Who pray tell us going to teach your adult child to drive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think all of you who aren't doing the (yes, hard) work of making sure your teen gets their driver's license are really bad parents. Really bad.

I could not roll my eyes more at this. Ridiculous. Have you time warped from 1983 or something? Honestly, sometimes I don't know how people like you function in 2021.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who pray tell us going to teach your adult child to drive?

A driving instructor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who pray tell us going to teach your adult child to drive?

A driving instructor.

or a boyfriend or girlfriend, or just a friend.

I taught my college roommate how to drive stick shift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think all of you who aren't doing the (yes, hard) work of making sure your teen gets their driver's license are really bad parents. Really bad.

LOL. Having a driver’s license is not a requirement, drama queen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who pray tell us going to teach your adult child to drive?

A driving instructor.

Yeah nothing better than being 30 and sitting next to a 57 year old driving instructor and his sack of broken dreams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The jurisdictions around here have made it much more time consuming to get a license. In MD they can’t test until at least 16.5. Before that, there’s a lengthy (extracurricular) classroom training, 60 hours behind the wheel with an adult driver, and 3 2-hour sessions with a professional instructor. Scheduling all of that introduces a lot of delay.

Beyond that, at least some kids nowadays lived a near-virtual life long before covid. They don’t need to go out to see their friends. Some kids also think cars and responsibility are “scary.” There’s some truth in that. Driving in this metropolitan area is awful. The level of recklessness, aggressiveness, and pure lack of skill is astounding. Many drivers seem at best oblivious to other vehicles, others narcissistically malicious. So there’s good reason for kids and parents to be concerned.

On the other side of the equation, the later a kid learns to and starts driving the less experience they will have when they go away to school or otherwise become emancipated. Better a licensed young driver still being coached by a parent passenger than a half-formed one out on their own.

They need to go out to see their friends in person. You think a FaceTime call is the same as going out with friends? Not even close to being the same mentally or physically.

+1 - My teens are OVER the virtual social *stuff*. If you say, "Zoom" in the house the teens roll their eyes. They play video games, of course, and interact online sometimes, but in person is in person and virtual is never the same.

Cool story. Irrelevant, but cool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids spend a lot of time gaming online and socializing with their friends that way instead of in person.
So less interest in driving to get together, I guess.

That is so sad. Do better as a parent. Like, damn.

Mind your own business. Like, damn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who pray tell us going to teach your adult child to drive?

A driving instructor.

Yeah nothing better than being 30 and sitting next to a 57 year old driving instructor and his sack of broken dreams.

My ds’s driving instructor has a thriving driving school. He is retired from his first career and makes his own hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who pray tell us going to teach your adult child to drive?

A driving instructor.

And nearly all the parents said they did it by the time their kids turned 18 anyway--rather than 16. Mainly because the restricted license and lack of driver's ed in school. Seems like smart and rational parenting given teen driver stats, esp if the teen's aren't eager to do it. And if some kids don't learn because they live in a city and don't need to, they will go to driving school or have a friend teach them when they do need to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The jurisdictions around here have made it much more time consuming to get a license. In MD they can’t test until at least 16.5. Before that, there’s a lengthy (extracurricular) classroom training, 60 hours behind the wheel with an adult driver, and 3 2-hour sessions with a professional instructor. Scheduling all of that introduces a lot of delay.

Beyond that, at least some kids nowadays lived a near-virtual life long before covid. They don’t need to go out to see their friends. Some kids also think cars and responsibility are “scary.” There’s some truth in that. Driving in this metropolitan area is awful. The level of recklessness, aggressiveness, and pure lack of skill is astounding. Many drivers seem at best oblivious to other vehicles, others narcissistically malicious. So there’s good reason for kids and parents to be concerned.

On the other side of the equation, the later a kid learns to and starts driving the less experience they will have when they go away to school or otherwise become emancipated. Better a licensed young driver still being coached by a parent passenger than a half-formed one out on their own.

They need to go out to see their friends in person. You think a FaceTime call is the same as going out with friends? Not even close to being the same mentally or physically.

+1 - My teens are OVER the virtual social *stuff*. If you say, "Zoom" in the house the teens roll their eyes. They play video games, of course, and interact online sometimes, but in person is in person and virtual is never the same.

Cool story. Irrelevant, but cool.

It is not irrelevant at all. You all raising introverts with anxiety

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid's perfect world would be a car be can get into, tell it where he wants to go, and then sit back and scroll through social media while the car drives him where he wants to go. And I think he is not alone. This generation is ripe for self-driving cars.

Not my kids, but then again I didn't raise them to be like this either. Both of my teens got their licenses first day they could. I still limit screen time on their electronics, but I never limit face to face time, never limit driving, and always encourage independency.

The bolded is flat-out contradictory.

Anyhow, I think what you meant to say is that you are a control freak.

A control freak? You a lazy ass mom setting zero boundaries and letting your kid be helpless. Cool mom.