My son is twelve and when he rides with me I always shadow him. On busy (no cars paking on the road) he rides on the sidewalk and I ride in the streets. On the side streets I ride at about 8 o'clock, slightly behind and to the left. Often we even have a little overlap with my front and his rear wheel. I try to shy away from traffic if at all possible. In my opininon communication is very important, I tell him what to do and when as he is unsure at times. One of the most important things is teaching him about eye contact with drivers at cross streets...if you don't make eye contact assume they can't see you. We have been doing this kind of riding since he was about 10.