Learning to ride a bike - how old?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my younger DD absolutely refuses to even try to learn. She's incredibly stubborn so I also try not to to push it too much, because that makes her refuse anything even more. At this point (she's 8) I don't see it happening. Her sister was almost 9, but for her it was because of fear...

Let me guess. She knows how to swipe and use a tablet with ease though.

You want her to learn? Take away the electronics.

Good grief. That's just mean.

OP, kids learn at all different ages. One of mine (physically not very adventurous, never liked riding a scooter, preferred to read books all day long) learned around age 8. The other (physically adventurous, loved riding a scooter from a very young age) learned to ride without training wheels at 3, without ever having used one of the balance bikes you now see everywhere. Some kids just get it and some don't; some care, and some don't and really have to be convinced to give it a go. Get her out riding the scooter as often as possible and let her take one of those REI classes. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

All our kids learned around 3. But that was because it was important for US to have them learn since we are a biking family. we took them out everyday until they got it, and when they fell they weren't allowed to go back inside until they tried again. Oh, and my husband made a big deal about the whole thing - told them in the morning that after he came home from work that no matter how tired he was he'd take them out. They loved the attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my younger DD absolutely refuses to even try to learn. She's incredibly stubborn so I also try not to to push it too much, because that makes her refuse anything even more. At this point (she's 8) I don't see it happening. Her sister was almost 9, but for her it was because of fear...

Let me guess. She knows how to swipe and use a tablet with ease though.

You want her to learn? Take away the electronics.

Good grief. That's just mean.

OP, kids learn at all different ages. One of mine (physically not very adventurous, never liked riding a scooter, preferred to read books all day long) learned around age 8. The other (physically adventurous, loved riding a scooter from a very young age) learned to ride without training wheels at 3, without ever having used one of the balance bikes you now see everywhere. Some kids just get it and some don't; some care, and some don't and really have to be convinced to give it a go. Get her out riding the scooter as often as possible and let her take one of those REI classes. Good luck.

No, it is called parenting. Kid doesn't care to want to learn because they are content not learning and are inside on electronics.

So you either continue to harp on it like OP seems to be doing, while not implementing something

OR

you implement a plan.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on the kid and their motivation. I have five grown kids. One of mine didn't learn until he was 10! He was into roller-blading and just didn't care about his bike. He finally learned on his own in less than an hour. Another one of my kids was riding a two-wheeler without training wheels at 3.

I don't see why you would need a class. Parents have been teaching kids to ride bikes since forever.

[Anonymous]

Why is she refusing to learn? What is she doing when all of her friends are outside biking? Does she scooter, skate, walk, or hang inside?

If she is hanging inside then I agree with the PP and take the tablets and TV away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends on the kid and their motivation. I have five grown kids. One of mine didn't learn until he was 10! He was into roller-blading and just didn't care about his bike. He finally learned on his own in less than an hour. Another one of my kids was riding a two-wheeler without training wheels at 3.

I don't see why you would need a class. Parents have been teaching kids to ride bikes since forever.

Agree. Do we really have classes for bike-riding now??

[Anonymous]

Mine learned at 4. They had mastered the balance bike long before that though which made the transition to a real bike seamless. Practically got it on the first try. Highly recommend the balance bike for little ones.

[Anonymous]

REI has learn to ride bike classes that I have heard very good things about.

[Anonymous]

I didn't learn until I was in 5th/6th grade. There's a lot of other things outside of biking. My son on the other hand learned to peddle a 2 wheeler at school around 3.5 but I think it's because he was plopping around with friends at school and just picked it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends on the kid and their motivation. I have five grown kids. One of mine didn't learn until he was 10! He was into roller-blading and just didn't care about his bike. He finally learned on his own in less than an hour. Another one of my kids was riding a two-wheeler without training wheels at 3.

I don't see why you would need a class. Parents have been teaching kids to ride bikes since forever.

Agree. Do we really have classes for bike-riding now??

I get your point, but some kids are resistant, maybe due to fears or lack of motivation. Sometimes kids are more receptive to learning things from someone other than their parent. People who teach classes like this have also worked with a variety of kids and are really good at teaching them. not a big deal. Do what works best for you and your kids.

FWIW.. we had a balance bike and 2 kids who learned to ride insanely early, but I still get that not all kids learn early or are as motivated as my kids were.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:REI has learn to ride bike classes that I have heard very good things about.

+1 In addition, I've also seen community services type classes that teach kids to ride a bike in a week during the summer.

[Anonymous]

My 5 y o took mom's classes for 8 consecutive days. I used a patience, positive mental state method.

[Anonymous]

I took my kids to a baseball field to learn how to ride their bikes. Falling over on dirt hurts a lot less than falling over on concrete or asphalt. Plus, the bike doesn't getting going so fast on packed dirt.

Took them a day to learn. Once they got the hang of it I took them to an empty parking lot to ride around.

[Anonymous]

OP here - wow, you people harping on the electronics must be feeling a lot of guilt to be jumping that conclusion. She has always preferred being inside, reading. She would read all day long if I didn't force her outside. She doesn't care that her sister, friends, etc. can ride. This has just become one of those power struggles.
The point of my original post was just to see the range of ages other's kids have learned in.
Thanks to everyone else with suggestions!

[Anonymous]

My DD learned when she was 5. Our next door neighbor's children learned at the same time, they were 7 and 11.

The neighbors had tried to teach their kids to learn to ride, but what worked for them was using my daughter's old bike that we got for her when she was 3. We took the training wheels and pedals off and turned it into a balance bike for our daughter to learn to ride on. All the kids used it. All ended up able to ride their bikes within a couple weeks.