Debbie Getting your child that first car is a big moment for both of you, which is exactly why you want to make sure that everything goes right. With that in mind, here are some of the most important points to consider when you want to buy your kid their first car.
Plan for the Worst
Obviously, if you are planning on buying your child their first car, then they have probably managed to earn their driver’s license – but you already know how little that will actually prepare them for the world of driving, so make sure that you keep the possibility of an accident in mind when looking for their car.
Obviously, this means one of the most important parts of buying your child this car is the insurance that you get for them. Fortunately, there are plenty of services that offer quick car insurance quotes to help you figure out what you need.
On top of that, you might want to consider putting together a little crash bag for the car so that your child will have everything they need if they end up stranded in their car for whatever reason. After all, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Teach Them to Look After It
Another great point to keep in mind is that buying your child their first car is a great opportunity for you to teach them how to properly maintain their car. There are plenty of elements of car maintenance that aren’t necessarily intuitive, and what better incentive for learning than knowing that they are working on their own car?
If things go well, you can rest easy knowing that they’ve learned a skill set that will always be useful to them. And if they don’t, then at least you tried. Either way, car maintenance skills are incredibly useful to learn, so why not use this opportunity to show your kid the ropes?
Ground Rules
Of course, in giving your child a new car, you have essentially provided them with more freedom than they’ve ever had in their life. This is an important milestone, to be sure, but also an important time to set out some ground rules about how they use that freedom.
The specifics of these rules are going to vary depending on your relationship with one another and the dynamics of your family – but a good place to start is by making sure you are both clear about why these rules are in place and what they are.
After all, it is never going to be fair on either of you if you aren’t all clear on what the rules are, not to mention the fact that it’s easier for your child to respect the rules if they actually know what they are. What’s more, you might want to offer some incentives for following those rules, such as paying for car insurance and a certain amount of fuel per month in return.
Ultimately, however, the details of these “ground rules” are up to you, so make sure that you think about them now – rather than when you find out your child has broken a rule that neither of you knew existed before that moment.
