scorpeao
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,521
Location: NorCal USA
Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on Aug 12, 2015 14:40:31 GMT
I only have one child and when we were going through learning to drive I was thanking God that I only had to do that once. It's terrifying....
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Post by brina on Aug 12, 2015 14:48:50 GMT
Just got in the house for taking my 15-year-old son. It was his first time on the road after two sessions in the parking lot.
It's 5:00 somewhere, right?
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Post by underwatermama on Aug 12, 2015 14:55:39 GMT
I'm right there with all of you. DS is 16 and it is his "job" to learn to drive this summer. He's finished drivers ed but still has about 25 hours to go (10 of those at night). I've only driven with him a few times, dh has done the bulk of it, thank goodness. He's been on the freeway as part of the class, but I don't think he's done it since. The scariest thing is when I can see there's a red light up ahead (not totally close), and yet I feel him still accelerating and if I was driving, I would have already taken my foot off the gas. Scary, I tell ya.
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MaryMary
Pearl Clutcher
Lazy
Posts: 2,975
Jun 25, 2014 21:56:13 GMT
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Post by MaryMary on Aug 12, 2015 15:17:12 GMT
Ugh, it is terrifying. I almost started a thread just like this last week. Scariest thing I have experienced so far as a mother. I would rather pottytrain triplets.
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MaryMary
Pearl Clutcher
Lazy
Posts: 2,975
Jun 25, 2014 21:56:13 GMT
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Post by MaryMary on Aug 12, 2015 15:19:01 GMT
I only have one child and when we were going through learning to drive I was thanking God that I only had to do that once. It's terrifying.... I am kicking myself for having five kids right now. I don't know if I can survive this four more times. Hold me.
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Post by monklady123 on Aug 12, 2015 15:23:27 GMT
I'm right there with all of you. DS is 16 and it is his "job" to learn to drive this summer. He's finished drivers ed but still has about 25 hours to go (10 of those at night). I've only driven with him a few times, dh has done the bulk of it, thank goodness. He's been on the freeway as part of the class, but I don't think he's done it since. The scariest thing is when I can see there's a red light up ahead (not totally close), and yet I feel him still accelerating and if I was driving, I would have already taken my foot off the gas. Scary, I tell ya. Yes, exactly! I see the red light and I KNOW I would have already started slowing down, even if it was just the natural slowing down of not-accelerating. But he's still got his foot on the gas pedal. The thing is, so far he's never failed to stop without hitting the car in front. But, I was just rear-ended not too long ago in a traffic jam on the parkway outside Pittsburgh (heading into the Squirrel Hill Tunnel for those of you who live there...you know, that stretch where there is ALWAYS traffic) by someone who just wasn't paying attention. So I know it can happen. Really, I'm not cut out for this.
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momto4kiddos
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,153
Jun 26, 2014 11:45:15 GMT
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Post by momto4kiddos on Aug 12, 2015 15:38:35 GMT
My 4th is eligible for her permit in 2 weeks. She's done the class portion of drivers ed already this summer. So a few weeks from now she'll be behind the wheel for the first time. I'm glad she's my last...I share your sentiment, i'm getting too old for this, lol.
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Post by wallyagain on Aug 12, 2015 15:39:35 GMT
We lived in a small town and were surrounded by country roads where the boys could practice driving. DH did all of that, thank goodness. He's WAY more patient than I could have been. From the country roads, they learned to drive on the highway and in the city. They are both really good drivers.
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ellen
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,748
Jun 30, 2014 12:52:45 GMT
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Post by ellen on Aug 12, 2015 15:50:20 GMT
I was surprised that my daughter preferred to have me in the passenger seat rather than her dad when she was learning to drive. We started out with really hitting the road to and from her school. She had band practice daily for 6 weeks and I always made her drive it. It was several miles and it had a variety of driving situations in it. After summer band was over she was a much better driver and we were both more comfortable having her do different routes. It was stressful at first, but by the time she approached 16 I actually kind of liked it.
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Post by Patter on Aug 12, 2015 16:22:27 GMT
My 15 year old, (almost 16), got his permit and now he has an I don't care attitude if he drives. I paid money for that drivers ed class! I want to know how everyone first starts out? I want to start very very small. Like having him drive me to the grocery store and make him park at the very back. I started with my girls in a medical office parking lot in our subdivision. It was always empty in the evening and on the weekends. It was awesome. We started by learning the basics and where everything is in the car. They had to be familiar with everything first. Then we started driving very slowly around the whole building going one way then back the other way. I made them stop at every "intersection" in the parking lot so they could get used to braking. They also had to use their turn signal at every corner around the building so they got used to use that also. Going around the building both directions got them used to turning left and right and using both turn signals. After they did well there, then they started driving in our subdivision only. After that, we let them drive to church. It was a slow process but one that worked well for them. I learned to drive in Germany and got my first driver's license there. I sure wish my kids could have. Now that's an awesome place to learn. Dad cut me loose, gave me the car the day I passed, and I took the autobahn. That man was crazy for doing that. I wasn't so nice when my girls passed. They only got to go on a 35 mph road. LOL! Have fun!
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Post by gmcwife1 on Aug 12, 2015 19:13:03 GMT
Ugh, I'm not nervous, but I'm tired of being the parent that has to do the 50 hours of driving because dad isn't very patient!!
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Post by monicad on Aug 12, 2015 19:53:02 GMT
I have a lot of upper body tension that won't go away. LOL We did our first big highway drive yesterday ( we live in the Bay Area so it's not easy) and she did good. Thankfully this is my last driver!
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Post by originalvanillabean on Aug 12, 2015 20:00:23 GMT
I don't wish that on anyone. My niece drove us to the mall last year. Maybe 2 miles tops. Oh - my - goodness. Never again. I think we hit the curb of every turn.
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Post by gale w on Aug 12, 2015 20:00:40 GMT
I have 3 with learner's permits right now. Definitely feeling the anxiety.
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akathy
What's For Dinner?
Still peaing from Podunk!
Posts: 4,546
Location: North Dakota
Jun 25, 2014 22:56:55 GMT
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Post by akathy on Aug 12, 2015 20:01:23 GMT
When my youngest daughter was learning to drive neither my DH or I could handle it any more. We hired a woman who taught people how to drive. I don't remember how many weeks she took her driving but she met us at the DMV when DD took her test which she passed with flying colors Some of the best money we spent!
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Post by my2apps2 on Aug 12, 2015 20:09:39 GMT
My daughter just got her permit yesterday. I suspect she will be easier to teach than her brother was, but the thought of teaching another one is making me nervous. I let her drive to a friend's house yesterday and she did really well, she was surprised that it was harder than she thought it would be so that is a step in the right direction!
Still, it's one of the more scary things parents have to do!
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msliz
Drama Llama
The Procrastinator
Posts: 6,419
Jun 26, 2014 21:32:34 GMT
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Post by msliz on Aug 12, 2015 21:34:27 GMT
Just started this process with a 17yo with anxiety. We've been to the elementary school parking lot twice. She's so nervous and she's really terrible.
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eastcoastpea
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,252
Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
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Post by eastcoastpea on Aug 12, 2015 21:38:22 GMT
My kids are still not old enough yet; but, I don't see how I'll be able to handle it. Since cell phones have become commonplace I no longer enjoy being in the car as a passenger.
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Post by SunnySmile on Aug 12, 2015 21:44:01 GMT
Yes! My dd just turned 16 and finally got her permit. Dh is in charge of driving with her. Amazingly, she is doing really well, we have been impressed. Her older sister was a nightmare to drive with. She used to love to take turns with no brakes. ACK!!! So far, all is well with this dd. Ironically, my dh was hit by a car while he was walking in a crosswalk last week. He's healing up from his injury, but guess what, it was a young driver. He was crossing the street with the crosswalk right of way sign blinking, and she turned left on a solid green without waiting for him to cross. She says she never saw him. Back to driver's ed for you!!
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Peal
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,524
Jun 25, 2014 22:45:40 GMT
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Post by Peal on Aug 12, 2015 21:51:03 GMT
I made DH teach DS how to drive. It wasn't until he was pretty confidant that I rode with him. He got lots of freeway practice as you have to be able to drive in the freeway to get anywhere here. 3 weeks after he got his license he got a job that has him navigating one of the busiest interchanges in the city at rush hour. So he's become a pretty good driver, but he still refuses to drive my car. And he still has a tendency to turn into parking lots a little too quickly.
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The Birdhouse Lady
Drama Llama
Moose. It's what's for dinner.
Posts: 7,346
Location: Alaska -The Last Frontier
Jun 30, 2014 17:15:19 GMT
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Post by The Birdhouse Lady on Aug 12, 2015 22:49:20 GMT
My daughter got her permit when she was 14. She really didn't want to drive as much as she wanted the permit (looks like a drivers license)
I remember the first time I let her get behind the wheel in our driveway. She looked down at her feet and said "Remind me again which is the gas and which is the brake" I knew right then we were in trouble!
She only "drove" a little bit. She was terrible and she knew it. She doesn't like failing at things and feeling stupid (who does) She decided she didn't want to drive anymore or ever! It was almost winter so I didn't push the issue especially when we were going to add in the extra fun of snow and ice!
Last spring our neighbor a (a younger woman) wanted to take her out and let her drive. I was very happy to let her do so!! She got quite a bit better and gained some confidence.
Fast forward to now. She will be 16 in less than a month. (yikes!) I take her out almost daily and I still get a bit freaked out mostly because I am not in control. I have signed her up for a driving school and they will be the ones to give her the driving test. Before the class she needs 40 hours of driving time. She is older and I think that really helps. She still needs to work on her parking but other than that I would say she is doing well.
Thank God she is my youngest and I don't have to do this again!
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Post by monicad on Aug 12, 2015 23:27:23 GMT
I have 3 with learner's permits right now. Definitely feeling the anxiety. I bow down to you! How on earth are you surviving that??
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Post by gale w on Aug 12, 2015 23:36:41 GMT
I have 3 with learner's permits right now. Definitely feeling the anxiety. I bow down to you! How on earth are you surviving that?? It ain't easy! Two of them have been driving for a while but are still very anxiety-inducing. My 16 yo son just finished the classroom portion of Driver's Ed and hasn't done the car portion yet. They prefer that we do some practice before the instructor takes over so we're just doing parking lot and country driving with him so far.
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johnnysmom
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,684
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:33 GMT
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Post by johnnysmom on Aug 13, 2015 0:11:53 GMT
You people are freakin' me out so I had to go look at how soon I have to join this heart-attack-inducing activity. DS14 can enroll in drivers ed as early as 14y8mos, but the first 2 hours of driving has to be with a drivers ed instructor......it's probably too wishful to think he could become a pro in those 2 hours, huh?
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Post by 950nancy on Aug 13, 2015 0:21:51 GMT
Mine were both 15 and a day when they started. I just trusted things to go okay. We started in the foothills and 30 seconds into my son's first drive two deer stopped in the road and just blinked. He was super calm and asked me how to get rid of deer. My second child, who I wondered if he would pass the driving portion, was told he was the best driver the tester had ever been with. WTF? I asked the guy if it was his first day. Apparently my son stopped at all of the stop signs with HIM. It is nerve wracking, but it gets better. Hang in there.
ETA: My sons wanted to drive with me because their father didn't have my patience. I did all but two hours of their practice driving. My husband is much better with other kid stuff.
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