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I had a revelation the other day when our friends at DriveShop brought us a 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage G4 to check out. I looked at the price, great size & fuel economy along with some of the features and I realized it would make a great budget friendly family car or a perfect, safe first car for a teen. Then I realized that MY teen will be driving NEXT YEAR. Yes. In 2018 I will have a child driving around the city.
Obviously there are some positives to this. He can take himself to school, run to the store for me or pick up his brother from extra curriculars, but it’s such a huge change that it sort of struck me out of no where. Have I done my job preparing him for the world? Can he run errands by himself? Can he navigate the city? Can he change a tire?
It sneaks up on you like you’ll never believe! So as we were prepping for vacation I made it a point to have the boys help more than usual. Make packing lists, run into the store without me to pick up a few essentials (and I was so proud when they told me they chose an item because it was on sale and cheaper than the store brand) and even help me learn about the Mitsubishi Mirage while we were test driving it. The gas mileage this car gets is SO good. It also has loads of safety features that you don’t normally see on a car in this price range and even a backup camera which makes it a great option for a teen.
I’m putting together a list of things to make sure my teen will be totally ready once he gets that license in his hand. Here’s what I have so far (besides basic driving rules obviously):
- When in doubt – call Mom and/or Dad. While I do want to prep him I want him to know that no matter what the question/problem/situation he can ALWAYS call us.
- How to fill up the gas tank.
- Basic car maintenance (check tire air pressure, change a tire or windshield wipers etc.)
- How to run errands – pick up things from the store, checkout, use the self service check out machines, navigate the post office, go to the dentist or orthodontist for checkups on his own.
- Bank accounts and money management
- How to order at restaurants and when/how to tip
- How to interview
What am I missing? I’ve slowly talked to them over the years and let them help with errands. We’ve talked about driving and what to do or watch out for in certain situations. It just was a shock as we sat in the Mirage and I thought about how in just a year we’d have another driver in the family!