With spring finally here and graduation for high school seniors right around the corner, there are plenty of young men and women who are hoping and praying that they'll be gifted a car for graduation. Depending on where you live, or how you grew up, a car as a graduation gift might be the norm, and therefore, might be an expectation from the child. Even if you were gifted your very first car when you graduated high school, it's not a light decision for a parent or guardian to make concerning their own child. There are lots of factors to consider when making this type of decision. Let's take a look.

Should you buy your child their first car? There are certainly pros and cons to doing so. I was gifted my very first car by a wonderful family member. The car was old, had a few bumps under its belt, but I didn't care- to me, that car was everything! However, two years later, I took that car with me to college, and suddenly, I was on my own, and everything that could go wrong with the car started to go wrong/. I found myself stranded with no parents or reliable help around more than once. It was a nightmare at the time.

If you purchase a car for your child, you actually get to pick the car out for them. You'll be able to work with your own budget and choose a safe and reliable vehicle for your child from a trusted dealership. You'll be able to do your research, ask the questions you want and need to ask and make sure that the vehicle has all of the safety features you'd want your child's car to have. Even if it's as simple as acquiring replacement car keys in case of an emergency, you can ensure nothing is forgot about. You can choose the car based on what's safe, budget-friendly, and something that's not flashy and won't get your kiddo into trouble.

You can limit the extras

By picking out and purchasing a car for your child, you can fully limit the bells and whistles on the car. Sure, you may want them to have access to onboard call features, along with other convenient safety features, but you can also limit all the flash that can ultimately distract your child while driving.

You can still set rules

If you technically own the car- it's in your name, you pay for it, etc, you still have every right to make your kiddo understand that the car is a privilege. You can work out who will pay for the taxes, tags, insurance, etc., and set rules that must be followed in order to be able to use the car.

Your child can save their money for something else

Purchasing a car is no small task for a young adult. If you're able to purchase their first car, or at least help them purchase the vehicle, they can save their money for bigger things. College is so expensive, and it might be a good idea to save that money to use on books, fees, food, or even living expenses and gas.

Whether or not you think it is in the best interest of your child to buy their own car is up to you. There is no rule that says that you have to buy your child a car. If you want to work together with your child to help them buy their first car, you might consider matching funds, gifting them a pre-determined amount for a down payment, etc. No matter what, you know your child better than anyone, and what will work best for your family. There are lots of wonderful new and pre-owned vehicles that would make amazing first cars for young adults.

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