Unless you live in the city and have endless public transport options, your teen needs a car. This does not mean that you need to buy your teen a car, however. Helping them buy their own car, whether this means helping them research or helping finance, is a great way to teach your teen valuable life lessons. Researching, buying, owning, and maintain a car are all great steps that your teen can take towards the path of adulthood. Here are three great reasons why your teen needs a car:
Financial Responsibility
By helping your teen save and buy for their own car, you are teaching them financial responsibility. You shouldn’t, however, let them buy an old car that has substandard safety features. A great compromise between them saving and buying their own car is for you to help. This could mean paying for the car entirely and having your teen pay you back, or it could mean having them save for all or a portion of the down payment and then helping them out from there. Either way, you will want your teen to feel like they own the car and are responsible for it financially.
Build Up Their Credit Score
With your help, buying a car as a teen will help them build a good credit score for when they are adults. A good credit score can help them with anything from buying the second car to buying their first home. Getting started early is the only way to let them benefit from a good credit score when they are still young, instead of trying to build it up when they have graduated and have student debt to pay off.
Personal Freedom
Never underestimate the power of personal freedom. Teens are stereotypically rebellious when their personal freedoms are limited. A car is an easy way to grant them more freedoms and will negate any rebellious behavior. They no longer need to wait or ask you to drop them off at their friend’s house. They don’t have to ask you to drive them here or there because they will have the ability to do so themselves. Personal freedom is one of the greatest ways to learn responsibility.
Personal freedom can help your teen grow and can limit any resentment towards you. When you give your teen personal freedom, they will be more understanding of the few limits that you do set on them. Respect their decisions, and they will respect yours.
Cars can be a great lesson in responsibility. There are many used cars to choose from so your teen can find the car that is right for them and one that is acceptable to you. Let your teen have the freedom and the responsibilities that come with owning a car, and watch them grow into a mature adult. Teens will always be more careful with a valuable item in their own possession. The same goes for a car. The best part? Once they go off to post-secondary education, they’ll have a set of wheels to take with them.
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