Thursday, January 14, 2016

tips on teaching your kid to drive... from a fighter pilot training instructor Michael “Moose” Moore.

Preparation is your most effective weapon for minimizing risk and maximizing reward.

Talk them through everything—even how annoying your side-seat driving is about to be.

“Let them know, ‘It’s not gonna be fun, I’m gonna try to talk to you."

For the first lesson, bring them to a big, empty parking lot and cover the basics where the danger presented by other drivers is removed

 When you think they’re ready to move on to the driveway, your street, and beyond, meticulously plan the route. Review it. Visualize it. Review it again.

 Sit in the car together and visualize it. Let them know what’s about to happen, in detail, to eliminate surprises as much as possible. Demonstrate first when possible.

If you don’t want your kid to hit your fence, don’t let them know you’re secretly afraid they will.

 If it looks like they’re about to hit the fence anyway, tell them to take a deep breath, assess the situation, then take action.

 If that doesn’t stop them hitting the fence, stay composed and allow them to correct their mistake. “I discovered a long time ago, whenever you’re teaching anybody anything, make sure the lesson ends in success,” he says. “Even if it’s just pulling forward and easing into the brakes to stop and put it in park, that can be a successful day. Never end on a negative note—emotions have to go out of it.”

Moore earned his stripes during the Vietnam era on a steady diet of sarcasm and ridicule from instructors, which taught him how much emotions affect learning and performance, and informed his approach to teaching. “Yelling and screaming was not the answer. Staying cool, calm, and collected ruled the day. You were worried something could happen, but you showed confidence to instill confidence in them. If they weren’t ready you just didn’t send them. Instead, it’s, ‘We’ll do another ride.’”

Essentially, learning to drive amounts to learning from mistakes—the stakes are just higher. “The first time you lose control of your car driving in the snow and hit a mailbox, you learn not to downshift on an icy road going 30 miles an hour. Some lessons they have to learn the hard way. As a parent you don’t crush them. You say, ‘Great lesson, let’s move on.’”

http://lifelanes.progressive.com/moose/

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