According to research by State Farm Insurance and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia teens stand a lower risk of having an accident if they share a car with their parents. This should be a warning for all you parents who want to reward your children with cars after they get their license.

The research basically showed that if a teen is free to use a car whenever they want, come and go freely, they tend to be more careless and might have more accidents. The research results are actually quite logical. If a teen has to share a car with their parents, they know that even a gentle scratch might reduce their chances of driving again in the near future to none.

So what options do we, parents, have? The way I see it, is that there are 3 options. First, you can do something to postpone the moment when your kid actually drives alone - you can do that by telling them they need to make, for instance, 2000 miles with you in the passenger seat, before they are allowed to drive alone. Second, you can promise a car as a graduation gift, not a 16-year old gift. And lastly, you can let your kid drive right away, but impose some strict driving rules and execute sanctions if necessary. Good luck!