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Motor skills
Submitted by admin on Mon, 17/11/2008 - 10:18pm
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As parents we get to hear lots about developing motor skills (usually fine or gross) ... and then there are motor skills of a different kind!
She isn’t quite 15 yet but one day asks the question. "Dad, could you maybe take me to a car park and show me how to drive?" When I was young my father let me move the car up and down our driveway well before I was 15. I remember him whacking me for swerving for a dog that ran out when we went on our first on-road outing. Luckily my school had a drivers’ education program so the stress of learning went down for him and me. My experiences led me to believe that learning basic vehicle handling before facing traffic is a good thing. The pros are:
The cons:
I decided to give it a try anyway and off we went late one Sunday morning. The venue was quiet (a local cemetry ... don't say it!) with just a few parked cars as people visited their dearly departed. In this location, any traffic will be going only 20-30 kph, giving plenty of time to react. I pulled up deep in the cemetery grounds and gave my daughter a description of how to pull away from stopped and how to stop again. Then it was her turn. *DRUM ROLL* ... She did fine and we progressed to driving round round-abouts, indicating and turning, driving past parked cars, starting on a hill.... She scraped the kerb once and I learned the importance of thinking through details – like which way to turn the key. If you turn it the wrong way when trying to turn it off!!! My daughter reported back to her mother that I had been very relaxed and only raised my voice once. After the second lesson she can drive around quite well, although will need a bit more practice on three-point turns. There were a few moments when I realised how little control I had without a dual control car; we developed a code word which meant ‘hit the brakes hard’ it was STOP! However, in moments of panic it can take a little while for the word to come out. I feel hopeful that she will master the basics of manoeuvring the car and can then focus a bit on anticipating what other drivers (who will only be doing 20-30ks) will do. By the time she gets to have proper lessons she will be well on her way to being a ‘good’ driver. Then, we will have to face her wanting to drive us out on the ‘proper’ roads and, one day, the inevitable complete loss of control when she wants to go solo. Hopefully I will have done the right thing and both our relationship and her self-confidence and safety will benefit from it. Time will tell. My next challenge – her younger brother wants to learn to ride a motorbike! For the record - a quick comparison of legal / minimum driving ages around the world: Argentina: 18 -Campbell  
  
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There comes a time in every father’s life when they realise their little girl is growing up. She is nearly as tall as you are, can develop strong arguments and the mother-daughter thing can get explosive – particularly at certain times of the month. 
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