Why Both You and Your Teen Will Enjoy Role Reversal

While learning to drive, the most common scenario is the parent instructing (or yelling) at the (nervous) teen behind the wheel. While you have more experience and knowledge than your teen, that doesn’t that switching up the roles every once in a while is a bad idea.

So, mix up your driving instruction routine every once in a while and allow your teen to provide the instruction. We understand that teaching your teenager how to drive can be a challenge, especially when they start to point out your driving errors. But, don’t overreact.

Rather, encourage your teen to critique your driving skills. While it may be somewhat painful to hear, it’s healthy for your teen to vent a little. After many driving lessons filled with nagging and frustration, your teenager will probably begin their first role-reversal lesson by mocking your teaching style.

Eventually, that novelty will wear off and they’ll begin to provide constructive (if not nit-picky) criticism. This has two great benefits. First, it allows your teen to show off what they’ve learned from you. Second, it may alert you to some of your bad driving behaviors. Hey, it’s never too late to improve!

If your teenager notices that you executed a maneuver improperly, acknowledge that your child is right. Your teenager will feel proud that they knew the correct answer, empowering them to do the right thing next time they are behind the wheel.

Obviously, if they point out something they think is wrong, but in fact isn’t, inform them of the correct procedure to follow.

Lead By Example

Make sure not to set bad examples in front of your teenagers when driving. Avoid things like talking on a cellphone, eating, not wearing a seatbelt, etc.

Teenagers are quick to learn behaviors from others, so try to set a good example on a daily basis.