Before Each Driver Training Session

• Take time to plan out your route rather than winging it. Choosing quiet side streets, and avoiding busy thoroughfares would probably be a solid choice. Make sure you go over the route with your teen. It will help them be prepared too.
• Have an agenda of what road skills to work on before each drive begins.
• Adjust the passenger side mirror so that your teen has to adjust the mirrors themselves. It’s a good practice to get into.
• Stay calm and try not to raise your voice. If you’re calm, your teen will be too. No use in making them more nervous than they already are.

Driver Training On the Road

• Be sure to give your child plenty of advance notice when they will need to turn, or if you want them to perform a specific road skill.
• Keep talking to a minimum so as to not distract your child.
• If a mistake is made have your teen pull over and explain the error so that it’s fresh in their memory.
• Speak and instruct in a calming tone. If you feel like your teen is starting to get frustrated end the lesson for the day.
• Be on the lookout for potential hazards or dangers as scanning their environment is a learned skill that your teen doesn’t yet have.
• When starting, keep the lessons short, maybe 15 or 20 minutes. As your teen gets more comfortable get up to around 40 minutes of driving per session.
• Remember that the information in drivers education is the be-all end-all and you shouldn’t contradict what was taught in these classes. Put your ego aside while keeping in mind that your teen’s drivers’ ed teacher is a certified instructor, specially trained on how best to teach new drivers.

Home, After the Driver Training Session

• Go over the entire session, explaining mistakes, but still accenting the positive.
  Ask your teen to assess how he or she drove and what was learned.

Congrats! You’ve made it though. Your teen is ready for the road test and you are probably ready for a nap. Parenting isn’t for the faint of heart, so don’t worry, you’re doing a great job!

My daughter brings me an endless amount of joy. Watching her little personality develop into the intelligent and funny little woman that she is both amazing and terrifying. Sometimes I look at her and see my own face looking back at me. It’s startling, really, to see how many of my mannerisms she has picked up. Seeing those faces always makes me wonder what other characteristics of mine she has watched, learned, and made her own.

Logically I know that she is absorbing just about everything that I do at this age, it’s just what two-year-olds do. They soak up everything around them like a sponge. So I know that she is taking in both the good and the bad. As such I’ve been worried that she will pick up on my insecurities and unsteady confidence. She’s pretty independent and strong willed now, but she’s two so the trick will be to continue to continue to support her independence and confidence as she grows. With that in mind, I have been making a more concerted effort to be the woman that my daughter thinks I am and to be the strong and confident mother she deserves, but it’s hard. Everyone needs a little confidence boost to get through.

Some people put on some makeup and high heels and feel ready to take on the world, but I feel truly on top of the world in my Nissan Midnight Edition. Honestly, it’s hard not to. When I’m driving I feel in total control. It seems that my daughter picked up on that and decided to give her trike an “upgrade”. What was once a pink trike is now painted black “just like mommy’s”. She’s been driving around the neighborhood like she owns the place.

I may not always be a perfect mother or role model for my daughter, but I’m learning to Be One as I go and trying my best. If my daughter learns nothing else from me, I hope she holds onto that confidence and spark. Life has a way of making you question your confidence, but if her current little personality is anything to go by, I don’t think I have anything to worry about. Parenthood is hard, but as long as I can make my daughter’s life even a little bit easier I’ll have done my job.

Now, my friend lives in a one bedroom apartment and the new apartment is completely furnished, so she, fortunately doesn’t have mountains of clothes to contend with. What it really comes down to is moving her TV, clothes/shoes, books, kitchen supplies, and tchotchkes. It’s a lot of stuff, in varying sizes, but I have faith that we can do this with a few easy steps.

1. Organize items in groups of similar size and shape.
2. Wrap up the breakable items, like the TV in a sheet or towel to protect from scratches.
3. Place the larger non-breakable items first toward the cab of the truck.
4. Then, starting at the cab end of the truck place items from largest to smallest in the truck bed.
5. If possible put the TV or other fragile items between the bags of clothes to add extra cushion.
6. Tuck all of your possessions in the truck using a tarp(or two), securing the tarp with bungee cords so that nothing flies out of your truck.
7. Take longer bungee cords and add an extra layer of security across your items so that everything stays in place.

Having finished our game of high stakes Tetris and feeling that everything is secured and ready to roll, we 100% did a well deserved happy dance. There is something extremely satisfying about fitting everything into one trip. Fortunately, the 2017 Nissan Titan, was capable of handling the job. Now, after all that hard work, I think we deserve some ice cream from Sweet Pea on our way to D.C. It was quite a workout after-all.

If you find yourself in need of a vehicle that is capable of making moves, stop by Younger Nissan of Frederick today, located at 7418 Grove Road, Frederick, MD 21704 to take a test drive in any of our exceptional vehicles. We’re sure to have the right one for you and your needs.