Parents... What Bad Habits Are You Passing On To Your Soon To Be Driving Children?
Parents... What Bad Habits Are You Passing On To Your Soon To Be Driving Children
?This article was prepared by a former police officer and raises the issue for parents of how they can take the first steps for preparing themselves to being the driving experience for young drivers. From his perspective, Gord Kowalchuk offers what he believes are his Top 3 Negative Driving Examples Parents Teach Their Kids
Top 3 Negative Driving Examples Parents Teach Their Kids
Perhaps you have seen that opening sequence to The Simpsons program where Marge and baby Maggie are driving from the grocery store ... Did you notice that Maggie did everything that Marge did when Marge was driving? Turning the wheel to the left and turning the wheel to the right and then honking the horn? When do our beloved little ones pick up what we are doing at the controls of our automobiles? Age 3, 5, 13? What lessons are we teaching our children? Are we lying awake in our beds late into the night because subconsciously we do not want our kids to be driving cars with the driving habits that we have taught them?
I have been blessed with two wonderful children who are now off at university. One currently has a drivers license and one is still waiting for that perfect opportunity to take the drivers test. Many of my friends and relatives have children who have graduated into the ranks of drivers. Some of my dear friends have some nasty driving habits and often it has come into the conversation that so and so has such and such situation come up while driving. Often the comment comes up to this string of conversation not surprising, he (she) is a chip off the old block! I have been invited by friends to go driving with their children because they are hoping that my experience as a traffic services or highway patrol officer will help give them some assistance while they are behind the wheel. When I have been with some of these young drivers I have asked them where they have they learned their driving skills and habits and they say Mom (ladies mentioned first only out of courtesy and politeness) and Dad do it all the time! I truly believe in the old adage Monkey See, Monkey Do! Here are some of the bad examples that parents give to their aspiring driving prodigies.
1.ATTITUDE. As parents we have accumulated perhaps several decades of poor driving habits and attitudes. We speed here and there, we honk horns and give the salutes to the other drivers who we feel have wronged us. Bad example... shame on US. And what were we thinking, that our kids did not have enough attitude of their own.
2.KNOWLEDGE. As time passed, we, as parents, have selective memories and sometimes laws and driving procedures change. Did anyone notice that they have come up with different road signs today that did not exist when we looked through our drivers manuals years ago? I must confess that sometimes I have found that I am not as current on some of the obscure things that they will be pulling out of the new manuals.
3. HABITS. Bad, nasty, dreaded habits that we do every day that the trooper would write us up for. For example, speeding, rolling stops or not stopping at all at stop signs and red lights. The list is long... I will not harp on the issue... I hope that you got it. Enough said!
Driving is a life experience that can be a cruel judge of drivers who make errors in judgement or interpretations of what they should be doing. The news media shows examples of crashes and wrecks every day and police are quoted as to what the causes of the crashes are. Unless you are in a driving simulator there will do no do-overs, resets, or Control Alt Deletes in real life. It would be heart breaking if any one of the young drivers that I know lost their lives due to a caused by a bad habit crash.
What can a parent do to stop the negative road lessons?
First and for most, parents can take a serious look about how they drive. Some people are simply not good examples and although it may bruise the ego, it may be in your childs best interest to let them know that they should be paying great attention in the Drivers Ed classes and not do the Monkey See, Monkey Do! by following what parents do as drivers. It may save them hundreds of dollars in fines and auto body repairs. As your test, have someone sit next to you as you drive and play traffic cop. Have them take notes (or videotape) as you drive and note all of the offenses that you make. If you have a friend who is a police officer or a driving instructor, perhaps you may ethically bribe them to give you a driving critique when they are off duty or off the clock. (Many of my fellow Police Officer buddies are very fond of BBQs and steaks so this may be a good starting point.) If your driving fine list is more than a couple offenses in a half hour of driving, perhaps it is in your interest to hand over all of the driving lessons to professionals. If you decide that you can be a good example get a current copy of the Drivers Manual through the licensing branch, library or search online so that you can brush up on any of the skills that they are teaching. While you are doing research, pull up information that you can share about texting while driving and impaired driving.
Every parent has their own strengths and skill sets that they share with their children. Start a safe driving conversation and lessons at an appropriate stage of your childs development. The investment of your love, time and care in your childs driving career can make all the difference in your world.
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