{"id":833408,"date":"2026-05-07T18:34:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T22:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cafemom.com\/?p=833408"},"modified":"2026-05-08T16:24:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T20:24:18","slug":"flat-tires-oil-checks-and-giving-kids-the-confidence-to-handle-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cafemom.com\/parenting\/flat-tires-oil-checks-and-giving-kids-the-confidence-to-handle-life","title":{"rendered":"Flat Tires, Oil Checks & Giving Kids the Confidence To Handle Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Resilience seems to be a popular word in parenting circles these days, as in teaching your kids<\/a> to be resilient. It’s a hard world out there after all, and they need to be ready. I’d say independence<\/a> goes hand-in-hand with resilience here. Kids ought to be able to think for themselves, make decisions, and run with them. In our household, the catch-all phrase to address these sentiments is “Use your best judgment.” I’m always happy to answer questions — and there are many — but sometimes children should figure it out for themselves. There are endless examples of where this mentality applies in the real world, but I’m a car guy, so that’s where my brain goes first. <\/p>

I remember working on my first car, a wacky Mitsubishi Starion, with my dad in the driveway one day.<\/h2>
\"\"
National Motor Museum\/Heritage Images via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>

We were changing the brake pads so had the wheels off. The job didn’t get finished before dark — because no projects like this EVER go to plan — and rain was in the forecast. <\/p>

I asked my dad if it was OK to leave the wheels off overnight with the impending weather. He looked at me for a beat and said, “What do you think?” There was no trace of sarcasm; he clearly just wanted me to think for myself. After a moment of reflection, the answer was obviously yes, as all those components are exposed to the rain whether the wheel is on or off. <\/p>

It stuck with me and seems especially relevant as my eldest closes in on driving age. <\/h2>
\"dad
Antonio_Diaz\/iStock<\/figcaption><\/figure>

She’s interested in cars, which helps, but I’d argue that teaching kids the basics of car ownership gives them a leg up on the resilience and independence game across other scenarios. Specifically, relatively simple things like changing a tire — you never know when you might get a flat —and checking fluid levels. <\/p>

To make it happen, a 1969 Triumph TR6 is moving into our garage shortly. As luck would have it, a friend who owns this car needs help getting it back on the road but is not all that comfortable with a wrench. I have no idea what it’ll take to do so, but I am comfortable with a wrench. And so, we’ll be trailering it across town for a summer of automotive madness, I mean, LEARNING. <\/p>

Old British sports cars are notoriously quirky and known for being challenging to fix. <\/h2>
\"1969
MSI\/Daily Mirror\/Mirrorpix via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>

However, they’re also small, wholly mechanical, and the perfect laboratory for teaching kids how cars work. And, assuming we can get it running, my daughter will learn to drive on a two-seat, droptop, vintage sports car.<\/p>

It’s hard to say who’s more excited at this prospect — OK, it’s me — but there is no doubt as to the long-term benefits. She is already a confident kid, but once she knows how to change a tire, fill up the washer fluid, change the oil, and drive using a stick shift, I’d say it’ll give her the, ahem, tools <\/em>for a lifetime of confidently navigating the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Resilience seems to be a popular word in parenting circles these days, as in teaching your kids to be resilient. It’s a hard world out there after all, and they need to be ready. I’d say independence goes hand-in-hand with resilience here. Kids ought to be able to think for themselves, make decisions, and run […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":833409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-05-07T22:36:55Z","apple_news_api_id":"f8bdd23a-4d9a-46b4-a68e-cadc4e7b5c10","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-05-07T22:36:55Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A-L3SOk2aRrSmjsrcTntcEA","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31301,85],"tags":[1497,10785,20850,27499,285,32967,1656],"featured":[],"internal-tag":[],"series":[31296],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nTeaching 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