Teaching teens how to drive is one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of parenthood. That’s why teenage drivers should take it easy and drive carefully, while parents should prepare for the challenge by reading this quick list of best-practice tips.

Keep your priorities straight. Drivers education should be at the top of your To Do List. If they are taking classes, then make sure they are always on time and never pull them out early.

Practice often. Teens are advised to drive a certain number of hours by their driver’s education program. Make sure that you two are meeting or exceeding these hours.

Start slow. Begin your lessons in an empty, wide-open parking lot. Make sure they can accelerate, brake, turn, and drive straight. Once you both feel comfortable with these skills, then advance to a low-speed, low-traffic road, and then gradually move towards moderate traffic and higher speeds as skills progress.

Remain calm. Tensions are high and mistakes are costly, however, freaking out and yelling will only make the situation worse. So remember to always remain calm and give “constructive criticism”.

Give good directions. When helping your teen navigate, be sure to know where you are going, communicate effectively with very specific instructions, and always give directions far in advance. Rather than, “Turn right… here!”, tell your teen driver “At the next stop light, take a right”, or “Take the off ramp at exit 243, two miles ahead”.

Point out other driver’s mistakes. This is a great way to criticize bad driving without having to directly criticize your teen driver. You can also point out your own mistakes when you are driving.

Talk about distracted driving. Anything that takes their eyes and mind off the road is distracted driving. Tell them to keep their cell phones out of reach, their vanity mirrors closed, their music pre-tuned and their eyes on the road. You can also have them read this interesting study on distracted driving as it specifically relates to teen drivers.