With most families, it is highly likely that your son or daughter will want driving lessons as soon as they turn 17. Driving is one of the first transitions into adulthood, where young people are afforded a greater sense of responsibility and independence. As a parent it can be a scary time; letting your child loose on the roads has its benefits – you won’t need to play chauffer all the time – but also its disadvantages – you will no doubt worry about how they are getting on. You have a role to play insomuch as you can offer teaching yourself and or pay for lessons.

Paying for lessons

It is quite common to pay for all or some of your child’s driving lessons as their 17th birthday present. However, lessons are expensive. The average cost of a lesson with the AA’s driving school is £24. You can save money by buying a batch of 10 or 20 lessons; you will usually be offered a discount of around 10%.

Most young learner drivers need around 30-40 hours of tuition, however, it is not compulsory to have a certain number of hours from a fully-qualified driving instructor; instead you can play the role of driving instructor.

Learning with a driving instructor is more structured than parental teaching and methods used are in line with the latest requirements for passing a driving test.

Taking control of tuition yourself

As long as you are over 21 and have held your own driving license for at least three years you can take on the role of driving instructor.

There are both pros and cons to teaching your child yourself. The main benefit is lower costs. You will have to pay insurance to cover your son or daughter whilst they are a learner, but you will not have to pay for driving lessons. Generally your child will feel more relaxed driving with you, in a car they are familiar with.

However, there are several problems that can arise if you take on the teacher role. Firstly you’ve probably picked up bad habits over the course of your driving lifetime, which you may inadvertently pass on to your child. Additionally you are not familiar with the latest driving techniques and methods required to pass a test. What’s more your time will be limited, so you can only take your child out driving when you both have time. Finally, arguments can erupt as children don’t like being told what to do and as a parent you can be condescending, offering nothing constructive and berating your child for their mistakes.

It’s important to stay calm and relaxed; offer constructive criticism and praise and try to explain everything clearly.

A combined approach

The best approach is to combine paid lessons with a fully qualified driving instructor backed up by parental tuition. This is not necessarily the cheapest approach, but due to better pass rates and more rapid learning, in the long run it could prove to be cheaper than standard lessons alone.

Recommended reads:

• Sixth form or college?
• University accommodation: Halls vs private
• Your teenager's first car
• Freshers' flu
• Quick gap year guide