I am a big mean mom..

[aprilgail]

I paid 400 for drivers ed- I paid for private driving lessons and for her permit test- also pay her car insurance until she is out of college and making money - gave her a car before she even had her permit (I bought a new one and just kept the old one for her)- my brother is now getting a new car and his "old" one is much newer than the old one I gave her so he is giving her that one and I will sell her older one. My parents did the same for me when I was growing up. Sorry but I can't even imagine a parent not paying for their child's permit test and license!

 

[bigbabyblues]

My DS got his license earlier this year. We paid for his permit, his drivers' ed and his license (no exam fee here, or else it was included in the license). I did tell him if he did not get his license before his permit expired, I wouldn't pay for the second (or third) permit. As far as insurance, you may want to ask again--we originally thought the same thing, if he drove one of our vehicles, we didn't have to add him--WRONG. He had to be added to the policy and it went up. I'm not saying yours is the same, but you may want to make sure.

We bought a small car for him because DH works 24 hour shifts and hour away, and I didn't want to be stuck at home without my car, plus an extra car just makes life easier. It isn't the car he wanted, but it is one we could easily afford without a payment that is safe and in excellent condition. We will pay for the insurance as long as he maintains his current GPA. If his grades slip, he will have to take care of his insurance, and it isn't cheap. We are paying for one tank of gas every two weeks--this gets him to and from school and where he normally goes (he hasn't needed more yet). If he needs more to run around on, that is on him.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We paid for driver's ed, permit, license and insurance.

Heck, I wanted him to drive.

I didn't want to be the one running for milk. Or running him to school.

Ugh. Now, I wave bye.

 

[Allison]

I consider it part of their high school education expense.

 

[Mizzoufan]

If your a mean mom, it just means you are doing something right

 

[Lilacs4Me]

For us, getting a learners permit is just one of those things that you just know you will pay for at age 15. It was $350 through the school. I never thought I would *not* do it.

If they don't get their permit (and spend 9 months practicing), they don't get their license. It's kind of a "must do", at least where I live.

DS has two months to go! He gets his license Nov. 28th.

 

[Hikergirl]

Yes, we paid the lerner's permit fee for both dd and ds. We paid for dd to take driver's ed and a couple of private lessons.
Ds is taking his 5 hour course soon and we are paying for that and we will pay for some private lessons.
For my kids driving is a necessity, I refuse to drive them around after they graduate HS.

 

[diznygirl]

Honestly? My mother didn't pay for mine. And yes it was because she was mean.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

Of course I would. I can't imagine not. In fact, I would be telling them they have to go do it.

haha, DS17 has several issues that prevented him from getting his permit when he turned 15 (shoulder injury that resulted in surgery and subsequent rehab for 6 months) and when it was finally time to sign up for class, the thrill was already worn off and he just looked at it as another chore and additional time spent in a school classroom. At the time, he was playing lacrosse and had off-season football conditioning, so several days a week he was literally at school from 6am-9:30pm.

He lived to tell the tale, but he wasn't happy that I "forced" him to take drivers ed lol!

 

[kimblebee]

Honestly? My mother didn't pay for mine. And yes it was because she was mean.

lol at least you're honest.

Everyone will accuse me of changing things but I think I didn't explain well enough by what I mean by a boys car. To me, it's just really powerful and temperamental and something that a gearhead would buy (and that's who had it before us). Yes, girls can be gearheads too, but it's just the way I think of it.

I do drive..I have an active licence. I just don't like doing it anymore and I can't at night because of my vision. If I was the only one home and needed to go somewhere, I could get myself there.

 

[Fat01]

snipe:

So, am I a meanie?

Yes, you are. I feel bad for your daughter. By the looks of the poll results here, others here feel as I do.

For the record, I'm a Father of five.... and I, with smile on face, paid for each kid's drivers course and learner's permit.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I am not an "everyone must have a car" or even "everyone must have a DL" person. I do not have a car and commute mostly by foot and bike witht some public transit thrown in and dirving DH'S car once in a while. I hated driving when I first tried it and delayed getting a license until age 20 (in the states) My kids are currently 18 and 20, neither has a DL. I am not going to push them to get them if they do not feel comfortable/safe behind the wheel.

That said -- I planned on paying for permits/lessons/driver's ed as appropriate (it runs close to 2000€to meet the minimum in Germany) and DID pay for a course in the US for my oldest and for the theory courses and 4 behind the wheel lessons for the youngest before he deicded he wasn't comfotrtbale with driving and doesn't really neecd a DL with options here in Germany. While I am not going to pressure either kid to learn to drive, I think it is a great skill to have and one I would support them in gaining if they were up to it.

I know not everyone has the means to pay for this stuff for their kids, but I think if you do, you should---driving permits, etc falls into the "expecting childrearing expenses" category for me.

 

[Kimberle]

Yes, we did. Our dd is 18. We paid for all her learning expenses for driving. Unless you live in a major city with good public transportation, I think teaching your kids to drive is a parental responsibility. I know several parents who did not teach their kids to drive. As adults, they are severally hampered in getting a higher education and job.

I also see many very bad young adult drivers who didn't take drivers training. (After age 18, you're not required to in most places.)

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I do consider driving a necessity - here. If I lived someplace with a good public transportation system, I might feel differently. I will pay for DD to get a permit when she turns 15, driver's ed at some point that year, and a license at 16. I'm debating a car at 16...we'll see. You can't get anywhere without a car where I live; there is literally nothing within walking distance of our house other than other houses. For her to be a functioning adult in our town, she has to drive.

 

[DVC-Don]

We paid for both of our kids driving lessons and fees. They both got their learners permits at 16, then took driving lessons at the high school. In addition they completed a safe driver course through our insurance company. We did not let them take the drivers license test until they had driven for one year on the permits. That way they drove all four seasons and even made them drive us about in snow storms. Just before they took the state test for the license we had a private driving school take them out for a test drive to get a second opinion. Both have been driving now for 10 years without any tickets or accidents.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

DD#1 wasn't at home, so her other parent got his mom to pay for her license and training. And the car. Then a new car at graduation. So he could the parent.

DD#2, we paid for her permit and classes. She, however, was in no way focused enough to really drive (for example, she almost flipped the minivan around a curve, because she refused to slow down because "I got this" when told she needed to slow down because of the bad curve ahead. NVM that it was a 25 mph curve, on a 40mph road, and really, that 25 was the limit on that curve. We made her pull over and didn't let her drive again for 6 months. Six months later, she was still not paying attention, more interested in playing with the radio, telling people in the car to "shut up because I'm the driver and in charge", etc. She got her license at 18 1/2, when she moved out. It took 3 accidents* for her to learn that she needed to pay attention to the road and not her cell phone, radio, friends, etc. All on her dime.)

*1. she rear-ended a guy who was stopping because the guy in front of her was stopping to make a right turn into a shopping center. She claims she "didn't see him stopping". No damage to the guy's truck but bent the frame on the old minivan she was driving (her boss's). The car was worth about maybe $250 (which is why she let her drive it), so no foul on that one.

2. She backed into another car in a parking lot, because she "didn't see it". SoIL said she was busy messing with the radio and he told her to stop and pay attention. No damage to either car.

3. She sideswiped a parked car, on a side street. She "felt like she was blacking out" until the officer said that would take her license, then she said that "oh, a squirrel ran out in front" and she "swerved to avoid it". That one cost her $1000 and points on her license. She settled down after that one, partially because SoIL told her another accident and she would lose the car keys permanently.

 

[robinb]

I do drive..I have an active licence. I just don't like doing it anymore and I can't at night because of my vision. If I was the only one home and needed to go somewhere, I could get myself there.

I think that would be another reason why your DD should learn to drive.

 

[VandVsmama]

Just a couple of weeks ago, DH & I were talking to our 2 DDs about learning how to drive and getting one's driver's license. We are a ways away from venturing into driver's ed, learner's permits, & such. Neither kid was interested, but it makes sense given our kids' current ages. BUT I told my DDs that before they head off to college, they WILL have their driver's license whether they like it or not because in our family, we raise you to be strong, independent individuals. And part of being an independent individual is being able to drive yourself from 1 place to another and not having to rely on Mommy and Daddy to be your chauffeur until you are a senior citizen.

I kind of look at it as part of the cost of raising children. For me, it falls into the same mental bucket/category as providing clothes & shoes for my kids. Where we live in the US, you really do need to know how to drive a car and you need a driver's license. It's just a fact of life. Getting around without one with our lousy bus service around here is far more difficult.

 

[CarolAnn856]

It would honestly never occur to me to not pay for our kids to learn to drive.

 

[HarperLeigh]

I do drive..I have an active licence. I just don't like doing it anymore and I can't at night because of my vision. If I was the only one home and needed to go somewhere, I could get myself there.

All the more reason why you should pay for your daughter to get her license.