(ThyBlackMan.com) As a father with his oldest child soon hitting the ripe age of 15, I can’t relate more to the stress of teaching your kin how to drive, especially after reading about how a man climbs 110 freeway sign and other CA traffic stories. At this time and age, our children are naturally opposed to authority. They blast rap music, shout baseless conspiracy theories, and quote lines from V for Vendetta every time you ask them to take out the trash. So, relating to them is difficult. They’d probably much rather kick it with T-Diddy or something rather than us. But if we can’t relate to them in everyday life, how are we supposed to teach them the skills that will keep them safe on the road? Well gosh darn it, it’s time we show our kids how hip we really are! So, here’s a father’s guide to teaching your kid how to drive:
Step 1: Enroll them in Driver’s Ed
Okay I’m really not a good driver so I just enrolled my kids in Driver’s Ed California. I mean when my father taught me, he didn’t even trust me enough with the car, so he put me in a wagon and made my younger siblings push me around the farm. They’d make really loud engine noises to distract me and would push me really 
fast, so I didn’t have time to dodge the overgrown weeds whipping my face as we barreled down the dirt driveway. I don’t even remember how I got my first license, or if it was even real. I think my dad was dating someone at the DMV for a while. Regardless, I definitely didn’t feel like I deserved it. So, if we want the best for our kids, we should put our faith in qualified educators that will properly inform them of how to stay safe on the road.
Step 2: Prepare a groovin’ mixtape for their car
Okay so this took me a few tries, so don’t get frustrated. On your computer, open the “Windows Media Player” application. At the top left, click “Create Playlist.” Now you can import songs by dragging the files into this window. Some recommendations: “Gangnam Style,” the Cha-Cha Slide, anything by Eminem (?), and then sneak in some Marshall Tucker Band at the end on “accident” and see if they’re into it. Insert a writable CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive, then click “burn” at the top right. Label it “[your name]’s hits 2018” so they know it’s recent!
Step 3: Still take them out for drives
This is essentially like homework. School can only do so much—then it’s up to us dads to fill the gap and help supplement our children’s education with a different perspective on academics. And by “different perspective,” I mean, correct everything they do. If they suspect that you’re wrong, tell them the school interpreted the law wrong. If it seems they know the law better than you do, insist that they can follow it, but that “an unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law” (Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail).
Step 4: Bond
Nothing will bring you closer to your child like the open road and some sweet jams! It’s a tough thing to do, but even begrudgingly allowing your child the freedom to drive around and across this great nation will forge a lasting impression on them forever. And one day, they’ll know just how hard it was for you to let your child go (who’s ready for grandkids???!)”
Staff Writer; Craig Barker
