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LOL! Yes! I know! I literally looked up if Uber had age restriction rules! (You are correct--it's 18) And upon finding that out, I briefly looked into if any sort of "ride-sharing/carpooling Uber-style service for kids" exists! I couldn't find anything. I know people who hire people to drive their kids around, like a nanny/babysitter, but several friends and I have discussed how more of an Uber/Lyft-style service could be highly successful in an area like ours (upper middle class, busy suburban area that requires driving to get nearly anywhere, busy active families with 3+ kids who participate in many different activities--almost zero of which are school or town sponsored...) Like a mix between Care.com and Uber...
I think so much of that "I'll never let MY kids x, y, z..." that non-parents or new parents do is not only because they aren't there yet, but also that they don't know THIER kid at that age yet. I just remember sitting in my beloved moms' group as a young mom in a big city, amongst my dear friends and their little ones, and us all being terrified at the thought of our sweet little angels becoming teenagers one day! I can remember the pit I would feel in my stomach when I thought about it. And I remember an experienced mom (now grandma) talking to our group and addressing our concerns by gently reminding us we wouldn't wake up tomorrow with teenagers--even though that's a common metaphor to describe the passage of time--we would have years with our children, day in and day out, before their 13th birthday. We would learn more about them everyday, and be prepared by the time their teenage years arrived. It was a comforting message at the time. And now, with that precious baby of mine on the verge of high school, and driving, and dating, and soon choosing colleges and moving away I can see how true that advice was. I don't think often about what "all teenagers" should or shouldn't do, or what "typical teenagers" are like. I think about MY kid, the teenager I've gotten to know more each day for the last 14+ years.
There was such a service in my town for a short time; I believe it was called "Kid's Cabs" or something like that. Problem was, like Uber, it was expensive. It folded quickly.
Amen to this paragraph. My brother's kids are several years older than mine (though I am older than him, go figure!). Anyway, his oldest is 10 years older than my youngest. By the time his were both teens, say 13 and 15, mine were 5 and 8. He used to complain to me about people who complained about teenagers. When mine got to be teenagers, I knew what he meant.
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 05-01-2017 at 01:08 PM..
Surely you have read the numerous posts where parents say it has helped them for their teens to drive. Fewer trips for the parents to make. As I said at the beginning of this thread, "never say never".
I didn't say "NEVER" and I can totally see the benefits. What I'm saying is a kid needs to be responsible. Just because the law says they can get their drivers License doesn't always mean they should! My oldest is only 11, so I have a few years yet before she can drive. I will evaluate everything then.
We will match whatever savings the kids have when they are old enough to purchase their first car. They'll also be responsible for half the insurance payment for their cars.
My first car was one I purchased with my money from my first job, after taking the bus to get there for 6 months. My uncle helped me navigate CL and I found a $1400 car, which I resold for the same price almost a year later. He put it under his name/insurance for me. I paid for everything.
I'll do the exact same for mine. They work, I help them navigate a cash car when they're ready, they pay insurance/gas/maintenance.
I was able to do this with AP courses, working full time, extra curricular activities, etc. Unless they develop special needs, I expect they can too. It was good for me. I also learned to do car maintenance at this time, but they'll start much earlier.
When I was 19 my grandparents bought me a new car - I will also consider this when my children are past the first few years of driving and have proven themselves to be responsible - but I will not tell them it is my plan.
My kid will be driving in four years. I bought a new car last year -- a nice safe Buick with low insurance premiums. I already know when that car is paid off my kid will be driving it and I will buy myself a new car. That is if kiddo keeps good grades, is responsible and works to cover their insurance.
My theory is most kids wreck their first car. I did (it was an old car). So I am not buying a new car for a teenager.
Except many of us wouldn't buy cars that were considered minimally safe to begin with. It would seem odd to me to feel fine driving your entire family (including children) around in a car that had questionable safety records, but once they were driving, feel I needed to buy the very best and safest car available, with every safety option offered. Because if I didn't, it would mean I'd rather my child died than spend for the best of the best.
Um, no. Black and white thinking. How much would you be willing to spend to reduce the risk by 1%? By 0.0001%?
Would you pay for them to ride to school in an armored truck? I know this is an extreme and absurd example far beyond what you had in mind. But the point is that you have to draw the line somewhere, and you cannot be willing to spend enormous sums for an incredibly small improvement in safety. Once we establish this, then maybe there is room for reasonable disagreement on where the line should be drawn. Reasonable disagreement between reasonable parents.
I bought my Subaru Forester almost 10 years ago and I did have in the back of my mind that one of my kids would get it someday, and I would get the new car. That was looking more likely as my younger approached driving age, but then someone hit it when it was parked and totalled it.
So now I have a Prius and I owe my mom $5K for it and it is unlikely I will be able to provide a car for my younger when she gets her license in Feb of 2018. I don't want her to have the Prius, it is still too 'new' to me, the visibility in the rear isn't great, and the low ride means we scrape something every time we pull into a driveway or parking lot or hit a bump. IMHO it is not really a teen friendly car. However, one of its attractions is her surfboard fits in it, so maybe it is destined to be her car.
I hope to start saving part of her child support each month towards a new car but who knows?
Dad has provided a car for older child: First she drove a Ford Edge which was a bit of a lemon, and now she is driving Dad's old Acura SUV. He is hoping to buy her a new car when she graduates, but he has 4 kids and I personally think that is a bad precedent to set when a used car will work just as well. She wants a Honda CRV.
I bought my Subaru Forester almost 10 years ago and I did have in the back of my mind that one of my kids would get it someday, and I would get the new car. That was looking more likely as my younger approached driving age, but then someone hit it when it was parked and totalled it.
So now I have a Prius and I owe my mom $5K for it and it is unlikely I will be able to provide a car for my younger when she gets her license in Feb of 2018. I don't want her to have the Prius, it is still too 'new' to me, the visibility in the rear isn't great, and the low ride means we scrape something every time we pull into a driveway or parking lot or hit a bump. IMHO it is not really a teen friendly car. However, one of its attractions is her surfboard fits in it, so maybe it is destined to be her car.
I hope to start saving part of her child support each month towards a new car but who knows?
Dad has provided a car for older child: First she drove a Ford Edge which was a bit of a lemon, and now she is driving Dad's old Acura SUV. He is hoping to buy her a new car when she graduates, but he has 4 kids and I personally think that is a bad precedent to set when a used car will work just as well. She wants a Honda CRV.
Good example of why it doesn't pay to do too much planning.
BTW, I have a new CR-V and it's great! Maybe you could talk your DD into a used one, 2-3 years old.
Teens are expensive to insure - Pick the right vehicle
Quote:
Originally Posted by TamaraSavannah
I was with a friend today and when saying good bye, he made me feel like I was in the Subaru commercial, of the dad with his daughter, now a teen, but always his little girl.
Here's the catch in that Subarus, if properly maintained, can last forever. Mine is a 2002 and if I had to give mine to a "son or daughter", I would.
So when does one start picking the car, especially if they are not rich enough to buy a new one for them?
My first cars were hand me downs in a Plymouth Volarie and an Isuzi Opel (inherited from an Uncle), cars that certainly fit the hand me down but I'm not sure where they stood on safety, back then.
Does one buy a car thinking that in a number of years, it will be the child's car?
Turns out bigger is better when it comes to teen drivers and insurance. With three teen drivers I found out by default that a GMC Yukon is super cheap to insure for new drivers. In fact I have one with 210,000 miles that I bought new and yeah they grew up in that vehicle. They rode in it as toddlers and now they are driving it. The cost to maintain it is paid for by the insurance savings. Probably the same with, other huge SUVs, pickups etc.
Teens are required to log a considerable number of behind-the-wheel hours, both with an instructor and with parents, before they're licensed. During this time all the adults involved observe whether the teen has learned when to brake, how to change lanes, etc. Anyone who does not demonstrate good judgement about those things should not be driving.
I don't think it's obligatory or necessarily even wise to buy a teen a brand-new car which makes decisions for them. If nothing else, these features can give a young driver the idea that it doesn't really matter what they do wrong. If they forget to brake in time, oh well! The car will do it for them.
Yeah right. And what the parents all to often do is sign the logs for non-existent co-rides.
That's like letting the fox guard the henhouse.
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I can see how true that advice was. I don't think often about what "all teenagers" should or shouldn't do, or what "typical teenagers" are like. I think about MY kid, the teenager I've gotten to know more each day for the last 14+ years.
Teens are expensive to insure - Pick the right vehicle
