If you become a parent, then hopefully, you can expect to feel proud of your child on many occasions. Part of this pride will come from you watching them behave correctly in a number of different scenarios as they grow up. Under your tutelage, they will gradually blossom as they reach and pass many memorable milestones on their way to adulthood.
You will presumably want to teach them how to drive. That might involve you looking into available used cars, Utah residents, if you feel that buying your teen a pre-owned vehicle makes sense and you have the money to put that plan into motion.
However, you will also probably want to talk to your teen about safe driving eventually. What is the best way to do that? We will discuss it right now.
Talk to Them Based on Their Personality
How you bring up the subject of safe driving with your teen will depend to some extent on the sort of person that they are. You need to consider their personality and characteristics when tailoring your approach.
If they are lighthearted and carefree, then you can talk about the subject in more of a joking way. You can emphasize that while what you are talking about is serious, you can still have a little fun with your teen if you feel that’s appropriate.
If they naturally have more of a serious demeanor, then you can tailor your approach so it matches that. A more serious teen might respond more to car accident stats that you bring up to accentuate the points you are making.
Try to Use Your Own Experiences
It’s also often helpful to talk about your own experiences as a motorist when you are speaking to your teen about safe driving practices. You might bring up a time when you did not behave as safely behind the wheel as you should have. Maybe that caused an accident or you damaged your car.
If you have never been in an accident and you have always been a very safe driver, then you might instead talk about a friend or relative who got in a car wreck. You can highlight the behavior that led to it, whether that was driving drunk, getting distracted by a text message, etc. If you can point to real-life examples of poor driving behavior, it should make your words more impactful.
Logic Works Better Than Threats
If you have a teen who you feel acts foolishly sometimes, you might feel inclined to threaten them with dire consequences if they do something irresponsible while they’re behind the wheel. That’s probably not the best approach, though.
Instead, rather than talking about grounding them or revoking their car privileges if they make an easily preventable mistake, it’s probably better to emphasize that they can endanger their lives or the lives of their friends if they don’t take driving seriously. Try to talk to your teen like they’re an adult. They will probably respond well to that approach.
