My 16 year old drove my car without a license

[Anonymous]

She is in the process of getting her license. Is taking drivers ed and must still pass the driving test.

I am home sick and she took my car and drove herself to school

I told her a million times that she will mess up getting her license, car insurance won’t pay etc.
I am mad and frustrated. What is the appropriate punishment here?
I don’t want to help her anymore getting her license

[Anonymous]

Her driver's license was just delayed by a month or how ever long you deem appropriate. Make sure she has no access to the keys.

[Anonymous]

Always have your car keys on you and sleep with them hidden. We do that. Our one son hasn’t taken our car but he tells us about his friends have frequently take their parents. We aren’t taking chances. We keep our keys in our pockets and hide in the bedroom when we sleep. We have two teens.

I would delay her license by a certain amount of time.

[Anonymous]

How else was she supposed to get to school?

[Anonymous]

Op, are there other behavior issues going on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like bad parenting for both the teen taking the car and the parent crowd-sourcing what to do.

It’s ok to ask for advice when faced with a novel situation. Don’t try to shame people who are trying to raise their children well. There’s no objective right or wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Her driver's license was just delayed by a month or how ever long you deem appropriate. Make sure she has no access to the keys.

+1
I would still allow her to get her learner's permit and to drive under supervision because it's important for everyone's safety that she have as much driving experience as possible, but I would definitely delay the driver's test by a few weeks as punishment. Teenagers are still experiencing brain growth that affects their decision-making skills. She definitely needs additional time to work that out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like bad parenting for both the teen taking the car and the parent crowd-sourcing what to do.

It’s ok to ask for advice when faced with a novel situation. Don’t try to shame people who are trying to raise their children well. There’s no objective right or wrong.

Don’t be an enabler. Shame is only felt if one is shameful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like bad parenting for both the teen taking the car and the parent crowd-sourcing what to do.

It’s ok to ask for advice when faced with a novel situation. Don’t try to shame people who are trying to raise their children well. There’s no objective right or wrong.

The advice is to start with good parenting.

[Anonymous]

If she had been in an accident you'd be paying $$$$$$

[Anonymous]

Parents seemingly is a big part of the problem.

[Anonymous]

I borrowed my parents' car a few times when I was 16 and 17. My mother warned us many times if she ever found out that we'd taken her car she'd call the police and report it stolen. She never found out. I'm an upstanding citizen as an adult.

At least your daughter took the car to school, unlike me who picked up friends and then went to the mall to meet boys.

Just ground her for a week and keep your keys on you from now on. No big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I borrowed my parents' car a few times when I was 16 and 17. My mother warned us many times if she ever found out that we'd taken her car she'd call the police and report it stolen. She never found out. I'm an upstanding citizen as an adult.

At least your daughter took the car to school, unlike me who picked up friends and then went to the mall to meet boys.

Just ground her for a week and keep your keys on you from now on. No big deal.

Ummmm, no.

[Anonymous]

Her drivers licence was delayed til she can afford her own car and insurance.

No discussion.

And I would have had her arrested.

Yes I would have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her driver's license was just delayed by a month or how ever long you deem appropriate. Make sure she has no access to the keys.

+1
I would still allow her to get her learner's permit and to drive under supervision because it's important for everyone's safety that she have as much driving experience as possible, but I would definitely delay the driver's test by a few weeks as punishment. Teenagers are still experiencing brain growth that affects their decision-making skills. She definitely needs additional time to work that out.

Not every 16 year old should be driving a car, you know.