Parallel parking problems

[Marvin]

My poor teenaged daughter cannot parallel park for the life of her. Is there an easy way I can explain it to her and help her learn this?

 

[HondaMan]

Marvin, explain it to her in these steps:

Pull the car straight up to the point where you can just see the back of the car you're pulling in behind through the right passenger window.

At that point, turn the steering wheel all the way to the right (assuming you're on the right side of the road).

Start moving backwards, keeping an eye on the right side mirror.

As soon as you are clear of the car in front, quickly move the steering wheel all the way left.

Continue backing up, watching the front end and the curb (alternate).

Once you're in, straighten the car up and you're done!

 

[Kohn]

I have a hunch that it's the closeness of the car to the car in front while she maneuvers that frightens her. I suggest you let her practice on a dirt road. Put markings and corner poles on the ground indicating the location of an imaginary car. Then let her practice parking behind that car.

Why dirt road? She must see after every round the tracks of the wheels of your car, relative to the imaginary car in front. That would help her understand better the distance between your car and that imaginary car. A lot of fear come from the thought that one might scratch someone else's car.