Parental challenges galore, and this is a big one. I think her choice of vehicles is excellent, they are really cool. I remember this for 9 kids, not all mine, but all my responsibility. One of the posts talked about teaching driving in parking lots of a closed business on Sunday, I am sure many people don't remember those days.
My neighbor, Jerry, should be telling the story but he doesn't do much on the net. He has a beautiful 40 Ford Coupe and has been a car guy most of his life too. The real story is as his oldest son was growing up, he was a "pill" as my mother would say Jerry didn't know if he'd end up in jail or dead. He had taken him to the drag races and his son liked the action. Jerry made a proposition, "we can build a race car and as long as you stay out of trouble the car will be "ours" but if not the "Jerry and Son" on the window could have the "son"scrapped off. They built Jerry's old 49 or 50 Chevy street racer coupe into a bracket racer and towed all over the mid west chasing points and did pretty well. After his son got through school with no issues and got on with his life the car was mothballed for 20? years or so. A year or so ago he was able to purchase a house and shop so he could take to car home with him and had planned to put it back on the street. Working lots of hours meant he didn't get much done on the car and then he started not feeling well. It had gotten bad enough that he had to go to the emergency room where they diagnosed cancer and within two weeks he was gone. The coupe is now in possession of Jerry's grandson and it has been on the track where he used to race and there were lots of racers that remembered them. I really liked Jerry's son, didn't see him often but he was just fun to be with, I miss him too.
Never having any kids of my own, I find this thread very informative. The reason I made the choice to not have children was the fear I would have an offspring just like me. I however I have always had the utmost respect for parents who spent their time paying attention to their kids and showing them right for wrong.
I came home from work one afternoon & 14 year old Daughter Tracey told me she had brought a car, I was expecting a Mini or a Beetle but no , it was a 1962 Fairlane & it was a 6 hour trip with a trailer. The original 221 ci engine was dismantled in the trunk. Long story short the engine was reassembled a quick coat of metallic blue & of she went. Tracey is now 50 years old & still has it, definitely not like Father like Daughter, I have never had a car that long.
I truly believe the way to raise productive kids is to be involved in their lives, my teenage girls still like hanging out and playing games with us and come for road trips with me to pick up junk. Like Ryan’s daughter, if they are getting in trouble I don’t know about it. I’ve always told them I will trust them until they give me a reason not to.
Kids don't come with instruction manuals for sure. I have 2 kids, what worked well with one didn't work with the other, a lesson I learned pretty quickly. If you figure out what each child needs soon enough, life is good, if not, it can be a bit rocky. I wasn't a real fast learner, fortunately my wife was much better at kids then I was. My children and myself survived each other. Things have a different perspective when you are looking back over the last 40 years, but you don't get the chance to change what should have been done differently, you can only move on from the point you are at. At this point, both my kids are productive members of society. My wife did a good job. Both are into cars, so I guess I may have had some influence, good and bad. We are a pretty tight family now. Gene
I bought my daughter a 68 stang in 1990 when she was 16. Nice little 6 banger with plenty of sheet metal. Yes she wrecked it pulling out into an intersection. Only front end damage and key removal for a while. She still has the car at 48. On a sad note. I did get the call in the middle of the night losing my son in an accident. Tell PJ to stick with robotics. I did that work for 10 years in material handling and welding most fun I’ve ever had. I agree, giving our kids freedom until you see a reason not is a great way to raise them. But Maybe losing a son drives me to give this advice…… Put a tracker on her phone. And also you’ll find that a lot of insurance companies give discounts if you let them monitor driving. I’ve saved 120 bucks every 6 months on my drivers. But importantly. You too can monitor the kids driving habits.
My son's first time behind the wheel of a car was at 12 years of age and it was my 27 roadster... Now I help him on his mustang... r
Being that my dad had a wrecking yard when I was a kid growing up, one of the elements of that was, we also were on the California Highway Patrols list of company's to call for towing, when there were wrecks, or cars impounded for dui's etc, etc. I went on a lot of those tow calls, late at night with my dad, as he had me there to help him if he needed a hand. Many times, the wrecked cars were a terrible thing to see, especially if there was a fatality. Just being exposed to those situations, was a series of teaching moments, for sure that really did leave an impression on me, about being a safe driver. Also, because of our association with the CHP, I knew better than to make any mistakes as a driver, because my dad knew all of those Highway Patrolmen, and they knew my car and me as well ! On the element of "Racing with the Police" I will share this amusing little incident about 30 years ago, when I was driving my 46 IHC KB-5 modified firetruck down to California to go to a gathering of antique aircraft. The truck has no markings on it as to what particular fire department its associated with, on the back is a little door for accessories, that I had put an official sticker on that says " fire fighter ", that sticker was in the shape of an arch, as it was intended to be used on the front of the traditional firefighters protective helmet. Being that the TH400 transmission, that the truck has in it, the original speedometer wasn't hooked up, so I didn't really know how fast it was going. So I am in California, going down hill in light rain, just past Mount Shasta, the truck has big mirrors so I can see in back of me very well. I figure I was doing an easy 75 to 80 MPH down hill and saw no one behind me. I am also wearing a very loud Hawaiian print, short sleeved shirt. Out of no where, I see a California Highway Patrol car right behind me, so I instinctively eased up on the gas, thinking that, well, this is it, I am going to get a ticket for speeding. To my amazement, the CHP car pulled up along side of me and he rolled down his passenger window as I rolled my window down as well, the Patrolman yelled out to me, " I really like your cool firetruck " I yelled back at him, " thank you and gave him a thumbs up " He then passed me and went on his way ! I was blown away by that experience. I learned right there , if it looks like a firetruck, and acts like a firetruck, and its red, with a siren and a rotating red beacon, and a little sign on the back that says firefighter, then it must be a firetruck ! I also learned that there is a certain amount of respect from the various police officers in regards to the fire department, all of the years I owned that truck, I never got pulled over for anything!
Ryan will know what I am talking about. Taught my son to drive at the Berger Center in south Austin when he was 11. It is basically a giant parking lot that is marked out with roads and is empty most of the time except for sporting events. My kid learned to drive and drag race in that lot
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