photo by jmv
My husband is my mechanic. Unless something major happens to one of our vehicles, he is my go-to-guy. He can fix almost anything and he saves us a ton of money in the process.
Over the course of the past year, we have added two driver’s in our house. My oldest son even purchased his first car. Car ownership brings much responsibility.
Before my kids hit the road, my husband made sure that they could complete a few simple tasks. They are required to know:
- how to check the fluids (oil, coolant, windshield washer fluid, transmission fluid) and how to top it off if needed.
- how to check your tire pressure and fill with air.
- how to change windshield wipers.
- how to change a headlight or tail light.
- how to change a tire.
This list is no way meant to be exhaustive, but rather a few requirements that we have in place in our home.
What do you think a young driver should know about car maintenance before they hit the road?
When Tonya isn’t changing a flat tire of her own (and wishing one of her boys’ was there to do it for her) she’s blogging about the fun, family friendly and educational destinations that her family visits at The Traveling Praters.
I wish I knew many of these things!
Don’t feel bad- I just learned to change a tire this past summer. My first tire ever! My boys were so disappointed in me. lol
We taught our kids car maintenance… it has been a fantastic blessing!! They have been able to stop and help people who were stranded on the side of the road. You have no idea how many people need rescuing with jumper cables and changing a tyre!!! These are really life lessons everyone should know… they don’t take long to learn you just need to ask someone who knows!!! Here’s a link to our car maintenance.
Oops the link: http://www.se7en.org.za/2011/05/07/so-i-taught-my-kids-car-maintenance-se7en-pitstop-skills
Thanks for including a link to your post! I love all your step-by-step instructions and pictures!
My husband is also a mechanic. He has come home and told me horror stories of people that didn’t know what they were doing, trying to do it. I am so glad my Grandpa taught all his granddaughters the important stuff, we were all able to fix our own vehicles and do proper maintenance for practically nothing (Grandpa always has a large supply in his garage, just for us girls lol).
My husband has done a great job of showing my kids what they need to know under the hood. Last week the starter went out on my sons car and he and his brother jacked the car up, crawled under it, took off the old starter, had it tested and purchased a new one before my husband got home from work when he helped them put the new one on. Not only did they save a lot of money doing the job themselves, but they were also very proud of their accomplishment.
How wonderful that your grandfather was able to teach you just what you needed to know. :)