Kids & Cars

[RockAuto]

Toilet paper may be in short supply, but there are now plenty of children wandering around aimlessly after their schools shut down and booted them out the door. Now is a great opportunity to get kids interested in cars. A little tinkering on cars can help teach them how to use their minds and hands to prevent and solve problems. Increased confidence and competence will make them better able to handle and enjoy life's challenges.

If they have replaced heater hoses on a car, then they probably will have the confidence to replace a leaky bathroom faucet in their own homes someday. Instead of feeling helpless and panicky when the toilet paper shelves are empty, they will stay calm, trusting in their ability to come up with their own solutions if necessary; rags, shop towels, thimbleberry leaves, dad's old hankies...

Car "tinkering" does not have to start big. A child's first car project could be as simple as learning how to properly wash a car. It is easy to forget that a younger child may not even yet know how to connect a garden hose to a spigot. He/she will beam with pride once he/she has that knowledge and sees how nice the family vehicle looks after the grime is washed away. The adults involved in all this mentoring will have memories of good times spent with the kids that drown out insignificant memories of empty toilet paper shelves.



Thank you,
RockAuto.com

 

[Mike in Anchorage]

Good points. Thanks. My son began helping me change from summer to winter wheels when he was 9. Helped thread on the bolts, mark the tires, and help to bag them. By the time he was 16, he could change the entire set on his own. It all helps those young brains make better sense of this universe.

 

[pebjr]

I started my son early helping me perform maintenance on our cars. When he was 16 and got his driver's license I made him go out and change the tire in the driveway before I let him drive on his own.
He is 20 now and he performs all his own maintenance.

Funny story, I taught my daughter how to change a tire right after she got her license and about a year later she was riding with friends and went to Walmart and they had a flat tire. The driver and several guys who were with them didn't know what to do... my daughter told them that she would take care of it and changed the tire. they were shocked she knew how to do it.

 

[Rob Mayercik]

Like the idea, but I really hope there's more supporting the car in that picture than just a floorjack...