Attending driving school, earning a driver’s license and getting a first car are rites of passage for most teenagers. A driver’s license and a vehicle provide teens with more freedom and independence. They also enable the teen to get to and from a job more easily, and this leads to greater financial independence. Rather than simply providing driving school and a first car to your teen, use these are rewards to motivate your teen to succeed in various ways.
Set Expectations and Create Goals
As a parent, you understand through personal experience how important it is for your teen to excel in high school. This sets the stage for acceptance into a great college. It also provides your teen with the background needed to earn excellent grades in college. However, motivating your teen to take high school seriously can be challenging. Setting expectations and creating goals for your teen are important first steps. Rather than telling your teen to do their best and hope that they do so, you can set minimum expectations that they need to achieve. This may include earning A’s or B’s in current courses, applying to a specific number of colleges and more.
Offer Driving-Related Rewards for Achieving Goals
When teenagers work hard and achieve the goals that you have set for them, rewarding them for their hard work is important. Because many teens are eager to drive and to get their own vehicle, it makes sense to use these as rewards. There are different ways to tackle these goals. For example, you may offer driving school as a reward for achieving a specific GPA. You may buy a pre-owned vehicle for your teen upon graduating or getting accepted into a college. When you set goals and assign rewards for each goal, ensure that the goals are realistic. It is equally important to assign rewards that your teen may be motivated to work toward. Include your teen in the shopping process for a pre-owned car. By doing so, you can make rewards seem more enticing, and you may further motivate your teen to succeed.
Many teens are eager to get behind the wheel, but others may not be quite so enthused about the prospect. Talk to your teen about his or her desire to drive and to get a car. By doing so, you can determine if this type of reward system would be effective at motivating your teen to do well in high school.
