How many driving lessons before you took your kid out to practice?

[StressedLP1]

Just wondering what others did.

I taught by DS the basics in a vary quiet car park and he’s now had three lessons with an instructor where they go in fairly quiet roads.

Shoujd I be taking him for practice now or wait till he’s had more lessons?

The very different views here are quite interesting!

I feel like most skills practice is key and a weekly driving lesson isn’t enough practice. I taught DD the basics in a car park the day after her 17th birthday and she had driven several short journeys before she had lessons. The instructor was great at explaining some bits better and getting on to test technique quickly as she had the basics

DH didn’t want to teach her at all!

I wasn’t worried initially but after some lessons she wanted more dual carriage way practice which was scary! My policy of ‘just stop’ when driving in town if she was worried wasn’t a good idea on the dual carriageway

We'd booked DC1 in for an intensive course during the summer holidays, but they advised we take him out before then (his birthday is in the spring). I took him out once a week for the three months before his course, Sunday mornings on industrial estates before moving to quieter roads. He wasn't ready to test at the end of the intensive course, but his instructor from that took him for additional lessons. DC1 has since passed his theory and practical tests first time.

You need to learn a skill that is something that could kill another person.

No I don't want someone unqualified to do that. Nor do I want bad habits handed over.

My son is at uni this morning they had the news that 4 of their friend were killed last night in a carcrash that went wrong. This is not something to make light if being daft. We are operating heavy machinery that we need qualified instructors to show us how to do.

It is not short sighted it is a different opinion to yours. I did not tell "you' how to do it. However for me and my children who are at the age they are learning to drive. I want qualified people to teach them the right way.

I have lost loved ones to car accidents I know at least 2 of them would have benefitted from a stricter teaching than his dad showing him how to drive.

My DS had 6 lessons with an instructor to get the basics with the safety of dual controls then we went to just me teaching him / taking him out practicing. He will then have another few lessons before his test to polish up. The average driving required to pass the test is about 60 hours and at £40 per hour it was too expensive to not do the majority of it myself.

I took my daughter out before her first lessons. If you knew me OR her you'd know how that makes me a total legend.

We get on quite well when I take her out for practice. I'm uncharacteristically calm and she's uncharacteristically cooperative and sensible.

We didn't.
Our cars are automatics. They were learning in a manual and they said they didn't confusing. They passed 1st time, took nearly a year with a few monhs off as getting a test schedule was the long waiting bit.

Yes this ^^

DS's instructor also gave me the heads up that he'd be safe to go out with me.

We only did simple drives together. Sometimes heading out at 7:30am on a weekend to get a quiet drive in on dual carriageways.

I didn't take DD out because my car is an automatic. She passed first time with 1 minor after 5 months.

Even if my car had been manual, me taking her out would not have made her a better driver as I am not qualified to teach and have no doubt picked up many bad habits over my 30+ years of driving.

I agree that the instructor is the best person to tell you when it's safe.

I waited until they had done reversing with their instructor before taking them out. So maybe about 6 lessons. In my mind this made sense in case we got in a situation where they need to back up, so we wouldn’t have to swap drivers iyswim. After that I took them out most days as we live rurally and all their activities were a car ride away.

It's just practicing what they've already been taught. My parents took me out which helped massively with my confidence and we did the sane for dd, after about 4 x 2 hour lessons

My parents took me our before I had any lessons, I had driven in a field and around our yard (rural property) a bit so personally I would take a kid to a good carpark or something first. But they people I know who passed their tests fastest did 90% if their practice with family to learn how to drive, followed by a handful of lessons to learn how to pass the test.

Of course I was able to drive on fairly quiet single track roads to start with, if I had lived in a more built up urban area or city it would have been harder.

DS's driving instructor always invited a parent to sit in on one of the lessons so they could see what/how the instructor taught the lesson. DH took him up on the offer and once he had done that he felt confident to take DS out to practice. So I'd say DS was probably about 3 lessons in - although he'd had a head start by having 2 lessons with an instructor on private land when he was 16 - a sort of Young Driver lesson.

DD drove with DH for a week everyday on private land so she learned the controls and steering and I took her out the day she was 17. She had 3-4 lessons a week and drove with us at least twice a day. Passed her test 8 weeks after her birthday. Before the experts start giving their views we live where speed limits are lower than UK so not unusual experience.

None. Took him in a car park and then he also drove home at 6am on his 17th birthday. We then went out as much as possible between lessons and he passed in 8 weeks. Probably would have been sooner if he could have got the test booked in sooner.

Ds did Young Driver so already knew how to operate a car. I took him out once his driving instructor said he was competent enough not to need dual control. We went out early morning and so dealt with traffic and meeting situations but without the stress of heavy traffic until further on in his lessons with me and Dh.

I told Ds I am not a driving instructor but we had watched a lot of driving videos by driving instructors together and we talked about what words his instructor used in terms of get up to speed, brake harder or more brake so that he could understand what I was telling him. Narrating helped so I knew he had seen the cyclist or the traffic lights ahead were green and they may turn red.

2 lessons and I took her to an old estate near us where all the houses have been demolished but the roads are still there. Everyone round here learns to drive there as it's very quiet but proper road markings. 5 lessons in now and she's driving everywhere with me in the car, 20min to dancing via the local town etc

It's quite hair raising for me if I'm honest.

covid happened when my DD started to drive so i had to make a decision, let her wait until it was all over, or get in the car with her. She knew the basic's, and i took over.

she had her own car, she had a learner police which cost about £300 for the year as long as i was with her obviously. and she then passed on her 2nd try!

i vowed i would never teach anyone to drive again after that

We started out in car parks or quiet rural roads locally, and any time for practice was taken between lessons. DH has an automatic company car was not insured for mine so it all fell to me.
We had struggled to get an instructor for a while due to lockdown, and they recommended we drive near the test centre to practice for the test(there was a backlog from covid).
The test centre is in the next city, so 45 mins.drive each way plus practice time after work/college. Great for learning, but tiring for this nervous parent!!

Same, but they both took 3 goes to pass, so it cost a bomb in lessons. By the time they did pass, though, they’d had so much practice in a busy area, we did think they were reasonably safe to be let loose.

My dd had 5 1.5 hour lessons before I took her out.

The first few times were a bit nerve wrecking but I actually enjoyed taking her out after a bit, it's like anything you do with your kids where you can watch them improve.

Your parents and you can do as you are legally allowed. I stand by my opinion that operqtions of large mechanical machinery should be done by qualified teachers not mum and pops or great aunt Jean

I think that’s a bit dismissive Enko. It’s arguable that the better drivers are the ones who had hours and hours of practice with family before passing their test. Insurers obviously think it’s relatively safe as insurance for a learner driver (who always have to have a driver with a full licence alongside them) is far cheaper than insurance for a driver who’s just passed their test.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences - it’s really interesting. I’ll definitely be asking my son’s instructor for his input. If anyone has any other advice/vids/books etc to share please feel free to do so!