Isaac is Driving
One of the most interesting pieces of parental advice I have received from a non relative came from a guy named Gever Tulley. Here is the speech I am talking about. One of the things Tulley suggested you should do is let your kids drive a car. My dad did this with me and I still remember driving out of the camp grounds from our annual Labor Day camping trips. It was a treat and a delight. Trying to pass that feeling on it Isaac and to teach him to respect but never fear things, I decided on Labor Day to let Isaac get behind the wheel. We went to a big giant parking lot. He sat on my lap. I had control of the petals and never let the car go faster than idle speed, but Isaac had complete control over the wheel other than the occasional course correction. Here is the best of the videos:
Two funny related stories.
For the rest of the day, whenever I would near an intersection Isaac would, from the backseat, say "Turn it, turn it, turn it!"
Second, when we were driving we saw another car looking like they were doing the same thing. The car was going slow in a parking lot. We decided to go over and check it out. When we did we saw a Mom in the passenger seat and a teen son in the driver's seat. She got out and they swapped seats. As they did I rolled down the window and said "Doing the same thing we are?" She said yes and looked into the car's interior only to see a two year old. She about passed out. "He's a little younger though" I said. She laughed that nervous laugh of someone who is shocked. Then her son got out of the car and I instantly saw that he was a kid that had been babied his entire life--the product of a helicopter parent.
Isaac will definitely be the product of helicopter parents, too, but hopefully not in the same way or to the same degree. He LOVED driving and wants to do it all of the time. Tomorrow he and I are showing Mom his skills.
Two funny related stories.
For the rest of the day, whenever I would near an intersection Isaac would, from the backseat, say "Turn it, turn it, turn it!"
Second, when we were driving we saw another car looking like they were doing the same thing. The car was going slow in a parking lot. We decided to go over and check it out. When we did we saw a Mom in the passenger seat and a teen son in the driver's seat. She got out and they swapped seats. As they did I rolled down the window and said "Doing the same thing we are?" She said yes and looked into the car's interior only to see a two year old. She about passed out. "He's a little younger though" I said. She laughed that nervous laugh of someone who is shocked. Then her son got out of the car and I instantly saw that he was a kid that had been babied his entire life--the product of a helicopter parent.
Isaac will definitely be the product of helicopter parents, too, but hopefully not in the same way or to the same degree. He LOVED driving and wants to do it all of the time. Tomorrow he and I are showing Mom his skills.