Having kids who can drive is great! And it's also not!

Three of my children are licensed by the State of Ohio to operate a motor vehicle, and #4 can get her temps in a little more than six months.

There are pros and cons to this.

From a parent's perspective, the "pros" center on convenience. No more taxiing the kids around. If they have soccer practice, fine. Grab the keys and drive yourself. Want to go to the mall? Excellent. I'll just stay here. Enjoy yourself.

And if they manage to save up enough cash to buy their own car, as two of mine have done and the third is on the verge of doing? Jackpot. They can drive themselves AND you still have a car available should you need it.

As for the "cons," well, I'm not sure I even need to list them. Unleashing your child on public roads, even if they've gone through driver's education and have completed the required hours of practice, is a nerve-wracking thing. You know how stupid and reckless other drivers are, and now you're telling your kid to go out there and take his/her chances with them.

So I'm eternally torn. Life is easier for Terry and me in that we've recouped all the hours we used to spend driving our children and their friends around town. But the worry is ever-present. As are the car insurance bills.

Yeah, insurance. Insanely expensive. It's reasonable to expect your child to pitch in, but there's no way even my kids who have jobs could foot the bill on their own.

Then there's gas, repairs, license and tag fees, etc.

The verdict? Driving kids = convenient, but driving kids also = worry and expense. It's up to each parent to figure out which one outweighs the other.

I wish I had an answer for you.