While it is nothing new, high school students driving to school offers a whole new set of issues for their parents. You not only have to worry about them while they are at school, but on the way there and back home as well. Is this an exercise in learning or just another opportunity for the student to skip school and go for a joy ride? But then again, that is nothing new, and high school students have been doing that for years. In fact, there’s a good chance that you did so yourself at some point.
Will Another Driver in the Family Help Everyone Stay on Schedule?
You might find that you are likely to get more from your teenagers if you give them more. You instill a good set of values in them and teach them good analytical skills. Then you have to trust that they are good judges of right and wrong. This is not always easy when you are sending them off into the world with a thousand pound vehicle that is often worth more than any teenager can really comprehend.
That being said, it is a natural evolution to see your high school students driving to school. It frees mom and dad up from the chauffer role. It allows teens to learn responsibility, and it teaches them that you trust them (at least to a certain extent).
Teen drivers learn how to budget time and how to allow for traffic and highway emergencies and back ups. They find that if they run around doing pick ups and drops offs of their friends for rides to class, they will deplete the gas supply quicker and might learn to ask for money for giving rides. In short, allowing your high school students to drive to school is an educational tool in real world economics that they won’t get from a book.
Yes, it can be quite nerve wracking for parents the first few weeks. After all, you will be losing your precious baby boy or girl because they will become more of an adult once they turn that key and pull out into traffic. The marvel here is that if you do it correctly, letting a teen drive can actually bring your family closer together. It frees up a lot of time for the family and the individuals in the family. In fact, once you get past the initial shock to your system, you might just find that you are actually going to enjoy your teen being able to take care of things without you.
Some of the beneficial side effects of high school students driving to school are that teens will actually listen to their loud music in the car and not so much at home. They may store a lot of the things they think they need in the car, thus keeping more clutter out of bedrooms. Teen drivers often become more socially interactive and do more things with friends. Best of all, having another driver in the house frees you up more time for you. A new driver is often willing to run the most mundane errands, simply for the chance to get behind the wheel.
