When Joshua passed his driving test just over a year ago, all the stars seemed to align and it made 100% sense for him to have his own car. At the time, he was travelling backwards and forwards to Chelmsford College by bus and train most weekdays, and when he wasn't at college, he was working. He also had access to his trust fund, which gave him some capital towards buying a car, alongside his monthly wages to help cover the running costs.
So, rather than simply adding him as a named driver to one of our cars, it made far more sense to help him get his own set of wheels and enjoy that independence.
Fast forward a year or so and Brandon has now passed his driving test, but the circumstances are quite different. He doesn't rely on public transport to get to college, as he's doing his sixth form at Beauchamps, and unlike Josh, he doesn't currently have a job or access to his trust fund. Consequently, he doesn't really have the financial means to run his own car just yet.
It therefore didn't make much sense to buy another car for the household when we already have three sitting on the drive! Instead, we've gone down a slightly different route with Brandon and added him as a named driver on Tina's car. Since Tina moved jobs to Tesco on the Wick, her EcoSport is hardly used, so it seemed the ideal solution. Brandon gets the freedom and independence of having access to a car without having to take on the financial burden of owning and running one himself.
Fortunately, the insurance on the EcoSport was due for renewal on 1st November, so the timing worked out perfectly. Unfortunately, the financial pain has landed firmly on me! The monthly premium just to add Brandon as a named driver is around six times what I was previously paying for just Tina and me. Yes, apparently the privilege of having a newly qualified teenage driver in the household doesn't come cheap! 😳
So, as of last Sunday, Brandon is officially able to take the car out on his own. You'd think that would be a straightforward cause for celebration, but it's actually introduced a whole new level of stress and a few more grey hairs for Tina and me this week!
The reason is that Brandon wants to drive himself to school, which also means he's taking Holly along for the ride. So we're now in this rather strange position where our two youngest are leaving the house every morning, jumping into a car and heading off to school without either of us being there.
I'm sure we'll get used to it eventually, and it's great that Brandon has the independence to do this while also helping Holly out with her journey to school. But I have to say, the adjustment is proving harder for us parents than it is for them!
From the moment they leave the house, Tina and I have been glued to Life360, watching that little car symbol make its way across the map. Every time it slows down or comes to a stop, I swear my heart briefly stops too, as I immediately start imagining some sort of incident!
Of course, there's usually a perfectly innocent explanation, but that doesn't stop us checking every few minutes to make sure they're both getting where they need to be safely.
I suppose this is just another one of those parenting milestones where you have to learn to let go a little and trust that you've taught them well. Brandon gets his newfound independence, Holly gets a lift to school, and Tina and I get to spend our mornings nervously monitoring a little car icon on a phone screen.
Who said parenting gets easier as they get older?! 😂
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