Texas is way more lenient than most when it comes to a parents right to choose on how, or where they are schooled, including offering parent taught drivers education options in Texas. Being able to keep your child safe, happy, healthy, and educated is of the utmost importance to parents. However, questions can arise when it becomes time for Texas teens that are home schooled to start driving; The process can seem somewhat overbearing, and even intimidating at times. This should be a joyous and special occasion, which is why many drivers education providers make it easy on parents, and their teens.
Parent taught drivers education programs allow parents, or guardians, to teach their children to drive themselves. Some courses allow the teen to take the permit exam through their website. Once the exam has been passed, the process of obtaining the permit is simple. Make sure that you have all of the needed paperwork. Keeping all of your ducks in a row will save you serious aggravation in the long run.
Now, you are able to show your teen that their hard work and dedication have paid off. Go to the DMV, with your teen, pay the permit fee, and then let the next step in the process begin. Once your teen has been awarded their permit, it is time for the driving portion of the drivers education to begin. Remember parents, stay calm, take it slow, and allow the experience to be fun. Teens, give your parents a break, they are realizing that their baby is growing up.
Personal Experience
Before even thinking about a program, parents must order a parent taught drivers education packet from the State of Texas. Fees must be paid, and the packet must be obtained before your teen can become enrolled in a parent taught drivers education program. All of this can be easily accomplished with a computer, but it is still an important bit of information to pass along.
My first born daughter recently turned 16, and we felt the time had come to get her drivers license. She is a home schooler, and Aceable made the process simple, and way less stressful than it could have been. Due to the schooling situation, I felt as if this process was going to be extremely stressful, aggravating, and possibly painful. As if watching your first born growing into a woman was not hard enough.
We simply ordered our parent taught drivers education packet from the state, chose a school with a program that was right for us, and then we implemented our plan until the ultimate goal was reached. Certain time restrictions are in place for the students, such as they can only do certain things for an hour or two a day, which actually makes this transition easier for the parent. Teaching a teen to drive can sometimes feel worse than having teeth pulled, but teaching them to drive in smaller time frames, allows them to learn more. They are able to retain the information easier, for each individual lesson.
At first, my expectations of parent taught drivers education courses were that this was going to seem more like a chore, than a learning experience. However, after choosing Aceable as our course provider, it turned into a learning experience that both my daughter and I enjoyed. The website is easy to navigate. The curriculum is top notch, and it challenges your teen, as well as informs them. So, from one Texas parent, to another, Aceable should at least be one of your top three choices for parent taught drivers education.
Here’s the course we used in the state of Texas to complete the training requirements.
Parent Taught Drivers Ed Is Perfect For Traditional Students
Just because one child in the family is home schooled, does not mean that all of the children are. Traditional school children also need to be taught to drive. Many schools offer drivers education, and private brick and mortar type companies are available too. Of course, can you really be certain that these instructors are able to teach your teen the best techniques for driving safely?
My son is 14, and he attends public school. After having such a pleasurable experience with my daughters drivers education, we will once again call on the services of Aceable to make my son’s dream of driving a reality as well. This will ensure that I am able to teach him proper safe driving techniques.
Texas drivers are known for being aggressive, so teaching Texas teens safe driving techniques is a given. Making sure that their attention stays focused on the road, and their surroundings is easier said than done, but in emphasizing safety, you will know that you have done your due diligence to put a safe driver on Texas roads.
Key Takeaways From Parent Taught Drivers Education
Anyone that is stressing out over the situation, should not. You have raised your teen to be a young, responsible teen, and in most cases it shows. I would be lying if I said that the entire process was all sunshine and rainbows. There were maybe a few times that I had thought about pulling out my hair, but that was merely by her lack of concentration on the road, not the drivers education program.
Aceable was the right choice for our household, and they may be right for your household as well. Life is full of stress, do not let your parent taught drivers education program add to that stress. Make the choice that fits not only your needs the best, but make sure you have the needs of your teen in mind as well.
My Top Recommendations For Parent Taught Drivers Education In Texas
Top Choice – Aceable Online Drivers Ed
Aceable is without a doubt my top pick for every state it has been approved in. They are gaining approval in new states all the time, so click here to see if Aceable is available in your state. If they are in fact approved for drivers education in your state, look no further. This is the single best online driver training course that has ever existed online and I’ve pretty much gone through them all. While any of the courses I listed below will be higher quality, if you compare the Aceable site to the others, the difference becomes pretty obvious very quickly. That difference in quality definitely carries through into the course.
Review #2: iDriveSafely Teen Driver Course
To date, iDriveSafely has historically been one of my favorite online drivers ed courses. For starters, they have an excellent reputation. They’ve been running online drivers ed programs for well over a decade and have a graduating customer base of about 5 million students as of this writing. In addition to the good things said about them in forums and review sites, they have also maintained an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. I also like that they provide both student and parent resources. When a young adult is learning to drive, it should be a combined effort between both teens and parents. The separate parent guide is a big help in that regard. Of course, they have a money back guarantee, 24/7/365 customer support, and offer videos, animations, and interactive games to keep things interesting. This is about as high quality as they come.
Review #3: Improv Traffic School Drivers Ed Program
Improv Traffic School is my favorite online traffic school and I’m really excited they are now offering online drivers ed programs. Like traffic school, online drivers ed can start to get boring after a while. Learning about driving statistics, how to calculate safe following distances, and learning about traffic signs just isn’t all that engaging. Luckily, the folks from Improv Traffic School are capitalizing on this. A bunch of stand up comedians from the Improv Comedy Club decided to educate through humor and it works wonders. The retention rate when people are laughing and having fun is much higher than when the traditional “serious” (aka: “boring”) approach is used. This school isn’t available in all states yet, but if it’s available in your state, I highly recommend them. Just choose your state from the drop down menu and see if it’s available for you.
Review #4: Online Teen Drivers Ed
Here’s another course that has been around for a really long time. I like sticking with companies that have been around for a while and this was one of the first online schools created. This school recently upgraded all of their videos and animations to give it more of a 3D look and they did a really fantastic job! Like all the other schools I recommend, they also include resources for parents and they’ve got an A+ rating through the Better Business Bureau. They’ve also gone the extra mile and got TSC Certified as well. Whether you go with iDriveSafely or this one is all about preference and who you think looks better. They are both great options.
Review #5: Teen Driving Course Online
I never really liked this course before because it was getting really outdated. I’m happy to say, it just went through a major face lift and it’s much better! I still think iDriveSafely or the Online Teen Drivers Ed courses are much higher quality, but the prices on this one are usually a little lower. Aside from the quality of the course being a bit lower (it’s not quite as interactive), the company is solid with an A+ rating at the Better Business Bureau, more than 10 years experience, are TSC Certified, offer a money back guarantee, etc.
Review #6: Driver Ed To Go Teen Driving Course
Here’s another good option. I don’t think it’s the highest quality of the bunch, but it’s a good one for the budget minded. Of course, the company is rated with an A+ through the Better Business Bureau, they’ve been around more than 10 years, and I’ve had them on my website for 2 years now without a single complaint, and they are TSC Certified. The reason I don’t like them as much is because everything is lower quality. They’ve got the animations, graphics, and videos, but it’s simply lower quality than the iDriveSafely course. However, they are legit and I know a lot of people like to buy based on price. Use the link below to check for current pricing, but chances are, they are the cheapest online drivers education course you’ll find.
Review #7: Safe2Drive Online Drivers Ed
Your first order of business is to find a stellar driver’s ed course and an A-list driving instructor to provide the best possible training. If you’re up for the task, the best way to ensure your child is in the most capable hands is to make yourself the instructor. That’s right, you can be the instructor, thanks to Safe2Drive’s Texas Parent-Taught Driver Education program. Safe2Drive is operated by Inventrum, LLC, which was founded in 2003 and provides online defensive driving, traffic safety, and driver’s ed courses in 11 states. Safe2Drive’s Texas Parent-Taught Driver Education (PTDE) Course is approved by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
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