Learning to ride a bike - how old?

[Anonymous]

Definitely learning without pedals accelerates the process. I don't have YouTube access now, but I remember a good video explaining the process, maybe by rei.

Have an incentive, like after you get the hang of it we can bike at some enticing location, like a special playground.

[Anonymous]

my kids all learned around 8.
It's really easy at this age---took them about an hour with help from a parent.

[Anonymous]

OP, mine didn't learn until 8 and 6, so also a little on the older side. With the 8 year old, it was just a matter of exposure. The 6 year old is also incredibly stubborn with gross and fine motor skills deficiencies. What finally helped was having my mom, a lifelong teacher, do it at her house. Part of the problem was that he had a crush on the girl down the street and was embarrassed to be practicing and I think part of it was that he just responded better to someone who wasn't my husband or me. Is there anyone you can have take her to try somewhere private?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Yes, but this takes time and patience. Something most parents in 2017 do not have. Much easier to sign up and pay for classes to delegate almost anything.

[Anonymous]

Mine learned at 3.5 and 4.5. Balance bikes and teaching young are key.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Yes, but this takes time and patience. Something most parents in 2017 do not have. Much easier to sign up and pay for classes to delegate almost anything.

Unfortunately this is all too true. Pretty soon you'll be able to parent from your Smart Phone.

[Anonymous]

One of my kids has no interest in bike riding. Loves soccer, baseball and football, but really no interest in bikes. He's getting the hang of pedaling, but seems mostly indifferent.

[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??

the emotional trauma of my parents sending me down the hill with no brakes still haunt me to this day. sometimes parents are not the best teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Yes, but this takes time and patience. Something most parents in 2017 do not have. Much easier to sign up and pay for classes to delegate almost anything.

Yes, you and Ms. "Sniff! Bet-she-knows-how-to-use-an-iPad!" are the only good parents left in the whole country. Hey, I know, you should write a book that none of us will read. Or maybe you can start a club that none of us will join. Or maybe you can just sit around the house posting on a message board about how amazing you are! Yeah, that's it. You truly are inspiring!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Hugs to crazy electronics poster. You seem kind of unhappy with your life. Maybe try getting outside for a walk instead of posting on a message board. Internet addition is nothing to be ashamed of!

[Anonymous]

OP, both my boys learned at age 8. My older was reasonably athletic, just scared. And DH did a crappy job trying to teach him at age 6 which made things worse. We just didn't know what we were doing.

But at age 8 I wanted to try again so I watched some youtube videos and got a balance bike. DS was riding a regular bike with pedals in less than 2 weeks. My younger DS has delays and motor issues so I didn't even try to teach him until he was 8. I used the balance bike again and he learned almost as quickly as his brother.

The balance bike method is great. You put the seat low and they literally just sit and scoot around using their feet. As they get more comfortable they start balancing. Then you let them ride down very gradual inclines. They can always put their feet down, but quickly learn just to balance. After they go down a few steep inclines, they can usually switch to a pedal bike. They start by gliding down a hill (not pedaling from a dead stop) and learn to pedal to keep themselves going. Last step is learning to start by pedaling.

It's so easy. Just search on youtube for some videos that make sense to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Yes, but this takes time and patience. Something most parents in 2017 do not have. Much easier to sign up and pay for classes to delegate almost anything.

Unfortunately this is all too true. Pretty soon you'll be able to parent from your Smart Phone.

we pay people to teach our kid 100 other things (sports, swimming, music lessons, tutoring) , why is it such a big deal to pay someone to teach your kid to ride a bike? Sometimes kids learn better that way and it reduces a lot of parent-child tension, especially with older kids who are reluctant, for whatever reason, to learn. does it make you feel better to essentially tell someone they are a crappy parent because they hire out this one thing? Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Both my kids were 5. We took the pedals off and they learned within the day.

[Anonymous]

Mine learned around 6 yrs old with the take off the pedals and learn to balance first approach. However, what they really needed was time by themselves with the bike to work on it without a hovering "encouraging" parent. Find a park or deserted parking lot where you can sit nearby, read a book and shut up while they figure it out. For us, we were able to give them that space while we were at a family camp where all the kids get around on bikes so there was also a peer pressure aspect that helped motivate them, esp. DS who had really resisted learning for a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are bike classes that focus on kids learning to ride a bike. You might try one of those.

NP, where?

Google took 30 seconds:
http://www.waba.org/youth-education/

not sure where you are located but the Parks programs in Fairfax also have them