When I became a mother I knew that someday I would have to let my boys leave the nest. I just didn’t know how quickly that day would come.

As of this post, we are the proud parents of Andrew, a college student at Western Dakota Tech College perusing a degree in Diesel Mechanics, Carter, a senior in High School, and Christopher, a Sophomore in High School.

Our son Chris is the social one of the three boys and always has been. Now that he has the ability to drive he has newfound freedom to be with his friends.

Of course, there was some hesitation with Chris heading out in one of our vehicles to meet with friends with no adult supervision. Fortunately, we had guidelines and rules in place already with Andrew and Carter which made things easier for us.

Hopefully, by giving you some tips and tricks of what we have done, I can help alleviate your fears if you have teens at home who are dying to leave the nest.

Have a Plan Ready

Don’t wait until they are teenagers to have a plan in place for their social outings. Talk about curfew times, what happens if they get a ticket, contacting you when their plans change, and the consequences if they break your rules. Do not deviate from your plan. It has to be set in stone.

Some of our rules are:

• Curfew is 11:00 on school nights and midnight on weekends. (10:00 for ages 14-16 in South Dakota with a driver’s permit – state law) My mother-in-law always said, “Nothing good happens after midnight.”
• We have a code word that they can text us if they get into a situation they are uncomfortable. Then we will call them back, they can show their friends the call is from Mom or Dad, tell them they have to go, and then they don’t have to lose face in front of their friends.
• If plans change, they shoot us a text message so we know where they are going to be.
• If they get a speeding ticket they will pay for their own gas. If they get another speeding ticket they pay their own insurance. If they cannot afford that, the vehicle stays parked and they have to find other means to get around.

Use Technology

We have a couple of different apps to keep tabs on our kiddos when they are out and about with their friends.

Life 360

I highly recommend this app for your family. This app will keep track of anyone you add to your circle. It shows where they are, the top speed they traveled, and even if they are “off the grid”. You can set 2 places for alerts of when they arrive or leave that place. We have the High School and Home as our alerts. If you get the premium subscription version you may set more places and see more details like acceleration and extreme breaking.

Auto Insurance Devices

Many of the top auto insurance companies have devices to attach to your vehicle to provide you with discounts for safe driving. The information can also be used to show your teenager just how safe they are driving. Very eye-opening. Show them how their driving can save the family money if they play by the rules.

You have to have a sense of trust with your teenager no matter how hard that may be. They need to be able to navigate this crazy world with you still close to help assist when needed. Once you have that trust between you and your teen, letting them go is much easier.