DS19 could have gotten his permit on his 15th birthday this summer but has no interest in driving.
He hopes Self-driving car comes around soon 
Glad to know our S19 isnât the only non-permit getting child out there. Turned 15 in May and everyone he knows did drivers ed this summer and have their permits. Now they are doing all of their practice driving hours and all hoping to get their licenses when they turn 16. I figure we can work drivers ed into next summer somehow. Heâs in no rush. He can ride his bike everywhere he would want to go.
Here they canât get permits until they turn 16. S is so eager that he wants me to take him after school on his birthday.
Itâs 16 for permits here too. D turns 16 in December. She can get her permit but last I knew she was considering waiting until spring when the roads are better. We wonât have a car for her anyway so she isnât in a big rush. She is actually more looking forward to getting a job in December than driving. Itâs the younger d22 that is already making driving plans.
Ours could have gotten her learners a year and a half agoâyou can get one in Alaska when you turn 14(!)âbut we pushed back, feeling like she was a little too eager. Well, as we delayed her she got progressively less interested in getting it, but itâs useful for the photo ID, if nothing else, so we were planning on taking her in for the written test this weekendâand then she stretches out her tendon yesterday to where she canât even stand without serious pain. Iâm almost tempted to think she did it on purpose as a delaying action, I am.
I tell you I never imagined how useful Amazon Prime w free 2-day shipping would be with a kid in college. D16 went to buy books at the bookstore and found out that they did buy-back no matter where you bought the books. Looked on Amazon and she could get them cheaper there. All the books for the semester came to under $300, a lot cheaper. I added on various little things she needed too (bike helmet and light).
Iâm so tempted by Amazon PrimeâŠjust for the streaming
Amazon prime for student (once they have .edu email) is free for 6 months, then half price of reg rate, $49/yr I think.
I love Amazon Prime. My college senior buys her books at her college bookstore but usually sells them back to Amazon because they pay more.
Anyoneâs kids do Youth In Government?
Love Amazon Prime! Weâve had it for several years. 2 day shipping is wonderfully handy. It has saved me running around town looking for a specific item when my kids have given me practically no notice that they âneededâ something. Highly recommend it.
Amazon Prime =D> <:-P :)>- ^:)^
(Sorry, @carolinamom2boys, no experience with Youth in Government.)
Amazon Prime is great even without the streaming.I actually find their streaming movies and music underwhelming, just a supplement to Netflix and Spotify.
But the shipping upgrade is awesome. Since they normally charge $4 to upgrade to 2-day shipping, it pays for itself with only 25 purchases per year. Iâve already made 44 purchases this year.
As for driving, I canât wait for D19 to start driving. Sheâs young for her grade (turned 15 in August), so she canât possibly have her license before sheâs a junior. Plan to get her permit some time later this month after driving school is over.
Getting up at 5 am to drive her to XC practice gets old pretty quickly. She rode her bike the first week, but the XC coach told the team the story of a XC runner a couple years ago who was run over on her bike ride and advised everyone to not ride their bikes in the dark. So I actually drive her to school with the bike in the back, so she can ride her bike home.
My S19 can get his permit at 15 1/2 in late March 2017 (heâs still 14 until next week!), and the earliest he could get his license is around Christmas of 2017. He doesnât seem that eager, so the goal will probably be for him to get his license by the end of junior year (in case he needs to drive to a job in the summer). So far, he has driven in a parking lot one time. They do Driverâs Ed as part of the sophomore PE/Health class in our schools.
I think I joined Amazon Prime on the day it became available and never looked back. Iâve been shopping on Amazon since 1999 and can remember when I could regularly find â20% your entire purchaseâ coupons for the site - I wish those still existed!
S19 got his permit this summer in the first week he was eligible. He wasnât eager, his father was. We have a stick shift car that we have to get rid of at the end of this month because it wonât pass inspection and isnât worth the necessary repairs.
So S19 is learning to drive the hard way, on a stick shift first and in our insane driver D.C. traffic environment.
Believe me none of this was my idea but DH is determined that a key parenting responsibility is teaching your kids to drive stick. Itâs why we bought the car in the first place. He is still trying to convince either D15 or D16 to take the car because we could register it without an inspection in the areas they both go to college.
The plus side for me (and it is huge) is so far I have done none of the practice driving with S19 and it turns out that DH is an awesome driving instructor when there is no fear of damage to the car on the line. Quote from yesterday while backing out of our narrow single lane sloped driveway lined with bushes, âTry to avoid running into those bushes but if you do, no biggie, just back up and try again.â
My first experience driving outside of a parking lot was a stick during morning rush hour from Route 5 up to Silver Spring on the DC Beltwayâso @mom23travelers, I feel your sonâs pain.
My wife and I both really want our kids to learn to drive a stick, but weâve learned that you simply canât find one where we live (well, unless you want to buy a $60k sports car with no clearance for driving on rutted packed snow to teach your kid to drive in, that is). Still trying to figure that one outâŠ
My parents made me learn to drive in a stick. And take the test in a stick. A 72 Pinto to be exact, in the rain, on hills. I flunked the test and had boyfriends drive me around until I turned 18 and took the test in whatever I felt like (which wasnât a stick).
My first car was a 72 stick Pinto that was Flesh colored. :))
1975 4-speed Fiat station wagon. Embarrassing but effective.
I learned driving with a stick too, but I could not start DHâs car the other day. Too long ago :))
I think a stick shift car can be theft-proof. 