8 Tips on Teaching Your Kid How to Drive

I was just having a conversation with a friend at work who is going through the process of teaching his son how to drive.

As a parent, this can be a very stressful process. Not only are you dealing with your child "growing up," but there is actual risk involved in letting your teenager take control of a moving vehicle.

So where do you start? Here are some tips that I've learned as we've taught our first two sons how to drive. I have one more coming in about six months, so I'll let you know if this is all hogwash. However, the following have seemed to work well for us with son #1 and son #2.

1.  Have a plan.  Don't just get in the car, throw your kid the keys and "wing it." Think about all the skills you want your student to have to be a safe driver. The outcome you are shooting for is to train your young person to be a safe, smart driver that is developing good habits. Your plan should include understanding your state's requirements for getting a drivers license as well as professional drivers education (whether it is required by law or not).

2.  Know your own limits. I'm a control freak. I have to drive when I'm in the car. It is even difficult for me to let my wife drive...and she is a great driver. You have to be aware of your own limits before you can begin to teach your child how to drive. Otherwise, your stress and "need to control" will make it a horrible learning experience for the student. Believe me, I'm guilty of this. That's why my wife will often take the boys out on the road earlier. She's more comfortable letting another person drive. It's not stress free for her, but she's better equipped at it than I am to handle this stage.

3.  Start slow. Needless to say, but start slow. I mean, really slow. Don't even leave the driveway on your first trip out. Cars are complicated vehicles and they take a great deal of fine motor skills and cognitive thinking to operate. For someone like me, who has driven for more than 25 years, those are skills that I take for granted. Take an hour and go over the "ins and outs" of your vehicle with your student. I even make my sons take the time to put the spare tire on the vehicle that they are going to drive, so they know how to do it in an emergency. I don't want them changing a spare for the first time on a busy highway in the rain. How do you adjust the mirrors? The seats? How do you work the signals? The emergency break? The transmission? Where are the blind spots? These are all things you probably want to talk about first, rather than finding out while the vehicle is moving.

4.  Find a nice big parking lot. This was a big "a ha" moment for me. I've found that almost every fine motor skill your young person needs to learn about operating a car (outside of controlling speed) can be learned in a big, empty parking lot. Find a lot that works for you. Have your student apply the rules of the road whenever possible. Treat every "intersection" in the lot as a 4-way stop. Drive on the right side of the road consistently. Practice parking in tough spots. Develop skills to make tight turns and maneuvers. Practicing in an empty parking lot takes away risk and stress. I've even gotten out of the car and let them drive alone. Spending an hour in a parking lot two or three times before hitting the road can really help your young driver get comfortable behind the wheel...and it can help you manage your stress level, too.

5. Save highway driving for last. My experience is to start slow and work your way up. I let the professional drivers education teacher take them on the interstate for the first time. Rather than jumping right to the freeway. Find safe, high speed zones that you can travel first. Find a nice 45 MPH stretch that they can drive on comfortably. Then find a 55 MPH zone with less traffic. A nice drive in the country is great for learning how to handle an automobile at higher speeds.

6. Talk to your insurance agent. This is a no brainer. Before you hit the road, understand the insurance requirements in your state. Know when you student  needs to be on your policy before you put the keys in the ignition. A good insurance agent will also give you tips on how to keep your premiums down. Boys are expensive to insure because they are greater risks. But good grades and other discounts are available. Don't be shy about asking. Your agent may have access to some good education materials for both you and your young, aspiring driver.

7. Set limitations. When your young driver officially gets that license, it is no time to turn them loose. Set some limits on when and where they can drive. Know the laws governing when they have to be home and who can be in the car with them. Laws vary by state, but parents can often be surprised to learn those restrictions.

8. Continue to coach. Finally, keep an ongoing dialogue going with your young driver. Drive with them every once in a while and provide feedback. Some insurance company's offer a device that you can plug into any car that can provide data on speed, braking, distance travel, etc. This can be helpful information to continue to mentor new drivers into safe drivers.

These are just some items I've picked up in my experience that I wish someone would have shared with me the first time around the block (literally).

What are some tips you have on this topic?

New, Strategic Public Relations Job Opportunity at Nationwide Insurance

I'm excited about a new role we're creating on my team at Nationwide, in Columbus, Ohio.

Interested parties should apply on line at www.nationwide.com  and send a resume to recruiter Merry Sroufe, Nationwide Talent Acquisition at: sroufem@nationwide.com

Here are the details:

Sr. Communications Consultant

Job Code 18221

This role will provide public relations support for Nationwide’s marketing organization, including CMO thought leadership, consumer-facing advertising, cause marketing, and sponsorships. Individual will be the single point-of-contact for communications support and be “embedded” in the Nationwide Insurance brand team to drive aligned and optimal public relations support. The ideal candidate will have an established track record of experience & results in proactive public relations, thought leadership (from strategy development to execution), as well as experience in multicultural PR. This role requires a high level of collaboration. Qualified candidates will be able to demonstrate their effectiveness to work within a matrix organization. Position will report to the AVP of Public Relations in Corporate Communications. Role will manage the sports sponsorship lead (H-band) as a direct report and will mange the multi-cultural sponsorship lead (H-band) as a dotted-line report. The role will also closely align and partner with internal communications support for the marketing organization.

Core Duties and Responsibilities:

1.     Plan, develop, execute, and measure thought leadership for the Chief Marketing Officer (20 percent)

2.     Plan, develop, execute, and measure PR support for brand initiatives, consumer-facing advertising and cause marketing  (60 percent)

3.     Oversee planning, development, execution, and measurement of PR for sports sponsorships (10 percent)

4.     Aligns with Corporate PR staff on the planning, development, execution, and measurement of PR for key multi-cultural corporate partnerships (10 percent)

5.     Manage demanding clients while driving meaningful PR results that are aligned to the overall corporate PR strategy

6.     The candidate will be responsible for executing and sustaining a national media relations campaign positioning Nationwide as a world-class marketer to key audience (trade and consumer-facing advertising reporters)

7.     Demonstrate an ability to move with ease in a complex organization, collaborating with peers, effectively counseling clients, and producing results that support and align to the organization’s mission and vision

8.     Will perform other duties as assigned

Minimum Job Requirements:

1.     Education:  Undergraduate degree in Public Relations, Journalism, or Communications. Business communications background preferred

2.     Experience: 7 - 10 years experience in public relations with a track record of producing national results on a regular basis. Also, deep understanding and track record in multi-cultural public relations as well as a strong ability to collaborate across disciplines to drive results

3.     Skills and Competencies: Demonstrate strong client management and counseling skills; strong writing and editing skills, fluent with AP writing style; established relationships and understanding of multi-cultural PR; proven ability to partner/collaborate in a matrix environment; strong ability to manage/co-ordinate PR agency resources; strong social media acumen; strong critical-thinking and problem-solving skills; proven ability to effectively create, manage, and track budgets; ability to facilitate media tours and support PR events, strong understanding of insurance and financial services industry/products is helpful; ability to collaborate with internal communications, general counsel, business unit, marketing and finance partner

4.     Values: Regularly and consistently demonstrates Nationwide values and guiding behaviors

iPad Air: First Impressions

New iPad Air. Comparing the cover of iPad 3 (left) to the
new iPad Air cover (right). The new cover is harder
to hold, but is a more secure stand for desktop viewing.

Got the new Apple iPad Air yesterday and have been giving it a whirl.  I bought the Space Gray 32GB + LTE for Verizon. Here are my first impressions.

Weight/size: This is a noticeable difference compared to the iPad 3 that I’ve been using. It’s really hard to believe you get so much out of a device of this proportion. Thumbs up.

Speed: Wow. The A7 chip is a game changer compared to the iPad 3. While the physical design isn’t revolutionary, the new chip is pretty incredible. Not only is iOS 7 very smooth, but almost all the apps on the iPad 3 that I thought ran well, are even better. Worth the upgrade. Thumbs up.

Speakers: Another wow. The one speaker design of the early iPad designs left much to be desired. On the iPad 3, you’d have to cup your hand around the speaker to get the best sound in a room with other people talking. The iPad Air speakers (two of them) are substantially louder. They also provide a richer sound. Thumbs up.

Battery life: The verdict is still out on this, but I watched two hour-long videos, read for another hour and only used about 20 percent of my battery life. So far, so good. I've also noticed that the iPad Air does become moderately warm when taxing the processor, but I must say it's hasn't gotten as warm as the iPad 3...yet. Stay tuned. Thumbs up (so far).

Retina display: As with the iPad 3, I haven't seen a better display on a tablet. Looks great viewing video, pics, and web pages. I tend to prefer a dimmer setting to read books, but it's crystal clear with no pixelation. Thumbs up.

Accessories: My only downside to my upgrade to the iPad Air is that the Logitech Ultrathin Bluetooth Key board is not yet available for purchase. There are several other cases that are, but the I like this model because it nicely complements the iPad design. In my mind, why cover up something they worked to make so nice with extra weight and ugliness. C’mon, Logitech! Thumbs down.

Cover: I also purchased one of the new cover’s provided by Apple. The black Smart Case. I don’t like the new design. On the old iPad covers, when you folded the cover, the base was about 1.75 inches and you could hold the device as if you were holding the spine of a book. A very nice fit. With the new cover, the folded base is about 2.5 inches and feels very awkward when holding the device (see the picture on this post). However, the new cover is a more stable base for desktop viewing. Not a fan. Thumbs down.

Overall, a great experience so far with the actual device, not with the accessories.