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Vineyard
Christian Fellowship
5034 W Greenway Rd
Glendale,
AZ 85306 | May 2007 |
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"It is never too early to start preparing
your teen for the inevitable task of learning to
drive." |
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One
of the greatest milestones in a teen’s life is the day
they start driving a car. Whether your teen is thirteen
or sixteen, he/she thinks about driving. It is a dream
for your teen, but it can become a nightmare for a
parent. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, motor vehicle crashes are the leading
cause of death for 15 to 20 year olds, accounting for
forty percent of all teen deaths. While this age group
makes up only 10% of the U. S. population, they account
for 14% of all crash fatalities (teendriving.com). It is
never too early to start preparing your teen for the
inevitable task of learning to drive. Parents must be
proactive in coaching and encouraging their teen’s
ability to drive. Your first step in being proactive is
setting the example when you drive. Don’t expect your
teen to drive the speed limit or slow down at yellow
lights if you don't do this. They WILL follow your
example. Parents must also set clear guidelines when
driving. Don’t allow your teen to talk on the phone
while driving and definitely limit the number of
passengers in the car. Teendriving.com has a helpful
link to help parents and teens draw up a driving
contract to write down in stone the guidelines you
expect when your teen is driving.
(http://www.teendriving.com/drivingcontract2.htm)
Another thing parents can do is go to their state’s
Department of Motor Vehicle’s website or to this
website: http://www.drivers.com/article/639/. Most
states have a new driver’s handbook that lets you know
of new rules and safety tips for the road. It is tough
for any parent to watch their teen drive out of the
driveway for the first time. But, the more you prepare
your teen for the responsibility, the more comfortable
all of you will be. It’s a skill that takes time,
knowledge, and patience.
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Greetings Parents,
Welcome to
summer! Things are about to heat up. The kids are out of
school. Vacations are being planned. We hope this edition of
our newsletter finds all of you doing well as summer gets
started.
We have had a interesting month. For several
weeks we have been discussing the topic of worship. This has
proven to be a challenge for many of our youth. The idea of
singing out loud with the possibility of their peers hearing
them is frightening!
We discovered that our youth have
little foundation for the most important call of God, which is
to worship Him. They are learning why worship is so important,
discussing the obstacles that hinder their worship, and
finding out who the person is that they should come to church
for on Sundays. Some of the most important truths they are
learning is that we become like that which we worship and that
fearing the opinions of their peers is one of the biggest
obstacles to worshiping God in spirit and in truth. They are
finding out that worship is the means to grow in intimacy with
Christ and that it is the way we are transformed into His
image.
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 What are your opinions on these
questions?
At what age do you think people should be
permitted to drive a car?
Younger than 16 -
4%
16 - 46%
17 - 8%
18 - 30%
19-20 -
2%
21 or older - 9%
Here are percentages of teens who reported
seeing these things at least sometimes among teens while
driving:
Teen driver on a cell phone -
89%
Teen driver upset on the cell phone -
71%
Teen driver using handheld device - 53%
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Here
are some of their interesting findings: