Get Your Children Interested in Caring For Their Car
Taking care of your car can be a great hobby – after all, we love taking care of cars so much that we opened our own repair shop! It’s also a great hobby to share with your children. Not only is it practical, but it can be fun and rewarding as well. Today, we explain some ways you can help get your child interested in car care and repair.
Your Kid and Your Car
Start With The Basics – No matter how versed you are in car repair, the first thing you’ll want to do is show your kid the basic inner-workings of the vehicle. Point out the key parts underneath the hood, from the spark plugs to the engine and battery. If possible, do this on multiple vehicles, as the equipment won’t always be in the same place. Once you’ve looked under the hood of a few vehicles, ask your son or daughter to identify some common parts. They’ll enjoy correctly naming the parts and their functions.
Simple Maintenance – The next step in getting your children interested in car care is having them help you complete simple maintenance tasks. In fact, if you have a teenager who will be driving soon, you can even make it a requirement that they learn how to service some aspects of the car before they take their temps test. Start them off real easy by having them show you how to refill your car’s windshield wiper fluid. If they have any questions, have them reference your car’s owner’s manual.
Hands-On Maintenance – Once they’ve mastered that simple task, it’s time to move on to bigger maintenance tasks that will be very helpful down the road. There are three specific tasks that every car owner should know:
Walk them through each process. Show them how to do it, and then ask them to complete the task on their own. These are great maintenance tips to know, as they can get you out of a difficult situation, and they can save you money.
Explain Car Problems – Lastly, since you’re not going to be able to fix every issue with your car on your own, bring your child with you to the auto center when you need to have work done. They probably won’t be able to watch the service be preformed, but the mechanic can help explain what was causing the issue. This will help your child learn what is causing a certain problem at an early age. Warning signs and sounds will become more familiar, and your child will have a better idea of how to handle future issues because of the knowledge they gained at an early age.
Car repair is a great skill to know, so start teaching your kid at an early age. They’ll thank you for it down the road!
-
Cheaper Gas Means More Car Crashes
Feb 25, 2015While declining gas prices may help you save money at the pump, it also may increase your risk of being involved in an auto accident. Guangqing Chi, an associate professor of sociology at South Dakota State University, said the likelihood of being involved in a car crash when gas prices drops is also impacted by […]
-
Independent Car Repair Shops Preferred Over Dealers
Jan 28, 2015Consumer reports recently confirmed what we already believe, that local, independent car repair shops offer better repair satisfaction than franchised new-car dealerships. The analysis by Consumer Reports weighed five key car repair factors to determine their findings. They five factors they examined were: Price Quality Courteousness of the staff Work completed when promised Overall satisfaction […]
-
Should I Warm Up My Car When It’s Cold Out?
Dec 4, 2013The temperatures are slated to drop significantly over the next few days, but that doesn’t mean everyone can just curl up with a blanket until spring returns. People still have to get to work or the grocery store, and many times they’ll start their car and let it run for a few minutes before driving […]
