Educating your child about essential car maintenance can be a great way to spend quality time together while equipping them with essential life skills. Here are a few ways to teach your child about car maintenance.

Why Teach Car Maintenance To Your Child?

Once your child is old enough to drive on their own, they’ll need to know this information like the back of their hand. Not knowing how to properly care for their vehicle can result in damage, which can quickly become expensive. In addition, having this knowledge can help them get out of a dangerous situation, especially if their car breaks down in an unsafe area, such as on the highway.

How To Teach Your Young Children

For small children, keep your instruction basic. Having them sit outside with you and watch what you’re doing can go a long way to forming a basic foundation of knowledge. If you’d like them to be more involved, ask them to hold the flashlight for you! Remember, it’s best to have them wear safety goggles while doing this—just in case. Talk to your child and explain what you’re doing; they won’t understand everything, but you’ll be surprised how much they pick up.

If your child has a toy vehicle, such as this Mercedes push car for toddlers, this can be a great way to bring auto maintenance down to their level. Pretend to perform maintenance on their car once you’ve finished with your own. Your child will love the fun game, and they’ll understand the concepts a bit better.

What To Teach Your Older Kids

Once your kids are in middle or early high school, it’s time to start teaching them the essentials. Start with the basics, like the parts of the car, how to open the hood, and what the warning lights mean. Then, you can move on to essential skills such as how to fill up the gas, check and fill your tires, check your oil, and refill your wiper fluid.

Having a baseline understanding of vehicle maintenance will make the driver’s ed process easier. Now you know a few ways to teach your child about car maintenance, no matter what age they are. Above all, be patient and have fun. Remember—you’re making memories!