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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So let me get this straight....you are frustrated because she doesn’t leave the house, but she can’t drive, you live in a suburb, the weather has been awful, and it’s too far to walk anywhere?  Where exactly do you want her to go and how do you want her to get there?

[/quote]

We leave the house several times a day. We offer to include her, drop her off or pick her up, pay for her to go places, take her to dinner or a movie. 
She prefers to stay home. [/quote]

Stop inviting her to go places and start scheduling her to go.  She must be well under 45 hours, right?  So schedule her to go to the grocery store with you.  Schedule her to figure out if the drivers license manual is in Italian, and even if it isn't, to study for the test (because if her English is as weak as you think it is she will need to study to pass the test).  Schedule her to drive around a parking lot with your husband so he can figure out her driving ability - or pay for a driving assessment and schedule her to do it.

Schedule her to ride along for pickup/dropoff with your nanny so she learns how the carpool line works even if she's not driving.  Schedule her to do child-related chores.  Schedule her to go to Starbucks and talk to three people while she's there.  Schedule her to use Google Translate if necessary, but figure out what paperwork she needs for her drivers license and schedule her to go to the DMV and take the tests.

She needs to get out of the house, and it sounds like you have plenty of hours.  [/quote]

I agree with all of this, but honestly before you go sinking more time and effort into this AP - if driving is a necessary part of your gig (and with an 8 and 10 year old, I can't imagine it's not), focus on getting someone to do a driving assessment (and lesson or two).  Think about what you will feel like even if she passes the drivers' test (and is it just written or is there a practical part? In NJ it's just written unless the person has had  their at-home dl for less than a year).  Even if she passes, she may not be someone you want driving your kids around and you need to determine this piece of it ASAP. If this part does not work out, none of the rest even matters.

I have a preteen and driving is A KEY part of the job. I match from Sweden (they are very good drivers typically and need to spend the equivalent of several thousand dollars to get their license and they have to learn to both lose and gain control on ice in order to pass - one tricky things is that roads are typically less busy/crowded but this is true in most non-city  locations in Europe).  In addition to driving with them myself (and DH) their first weekend and first several weeks, I always hire a driving instructor during the first month (and they cannot drive anywhere except very locally in town until this is done).  I have the instructor tell me how they did.  So far nobody needed lessons beyond that, but if I got a bad (or even luke warm) report from the instructor, we'd need to figure it out FAST.  [/quote]

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