Learning how to ride a bike
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Anonymous
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My son just turned 7 and he does not yet know how to ride his bike without training wheels. My husband and I love to go bike riding and I think it would be so much fun to share this activity as a family. He does not seem very interested in his bike. Once in a while, he will ride it around the court for a short time. I learned how to ride my bike when I was 5 years old. What can we do to get him interested in biking? He has trouble balancing the bike and gets easily discouraged. Knowing what I know now, I probably should have started him on a balance bike when he was a lot younger, but at age seven, we will probably have to teach him using a different method.
What have you used and what works? TIA |
Anonymous
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I would try a class:
http://www.rei.com/class/21795/market/120 http://www.waba.org/youth-education/ There’s a guy at the Diener school that does bike riding lessons, but I can’t remember his name. |
Anonymous
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My kids both learned on regular bikes modified to balance bikes. Just take the pedals off his exiting bike. The bike will be the right height and weight. I started my kids on gentle down hill slopes. As the got more confident they picked their feet up earlier or pushed themselves faster. Then we moved into knees up. When they were confidently going down hill, I would tell them to pick their knees up. I wanted them to understand what if would feel like once the pedals were back on. Finally, when they were ready, I put the pedals on and went back up the small slope. They could then easily pedal down the hill. Lastly we moved to a flat surface here I gve the traditional push and my kids were off and biking.
Good luck. |
Anonymous
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You can't make him like to ride a bike, but I wonder if there isn't some sort of vicious circle going on - where he doesn't like it because he isn't good at it. It wasn't until my son was 7 that he got rid of his training wheels. His friend pulled him aside and told him the secret - its easier to balance when you go faster. So the day he tried, he just said he had to go fast and took off. I think kids fall into a trap of being overly cautious and then they fall because they are going so slow.
We also started on a bike that was probably too small for him, but that way he knew he could get his feet down and catch himself easily. Plus it meant he had more control over the bike (less bike to kid ratio). Another key factor was finding a good place to practice - we found a paved path that was surrounded by grass. A lot of parks have them. So if the kid starts to fall, tell them to aim towards the grass. I admit, we also had a deal where once he learned, we would buy him a good bike (up until then we'd been buying cheaper bikes). And now that we got one, I realized how horrible the cheap bikes are to learn on (if it is the right size - which is why we had him learn on a smaller size). You could buy it used if you have any idea what you are doing (I am clueless, so we went to a bike store). The other thing that helped a lot is my son used a scooter a lot before he tried the bike without training wheels. I think this helped him learn to balance. And - I realize most people will hate this idea - I let him ride it slowly around the house. It did no damage, and he learned to balance while barely moving. |
Anonymous
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You do NOT need a class! I watched the REI video and then taught my very, very reluctant 9 yr. old and later my very very reluctant (almost) 8 yr. old.
It took about four 15 min. sessions for the 9 yr. old. Might have been similar for the younger child. You do not need a balance bike. the one thing you need is a bicycle wrench (which is about $8 at your local bike store). This wrench is important b/c it is extra thin and will allow you to easily loosen the nut keeping the foot pedal attached to the pedal shaft. This is not a complicated process. You literally twist the nut with the bike wrench and voila!... the pedal will come off. Once the pedals are both off (just the foot part of the pedal is removed), and you already have removed the training wheels, then you just lower the seat as much as possible, and encourage the kid to push with his/her feet on the ground. Little by little, he should lift his feet up off the ground and try to glide for a few inches. Inches become feet. Ideally, he should glide for the count of 10. You may have to run behind him and hold the bike steady during the early part of gliding lessons. This works even better if you have a sidewalk or cul de sac with just the slightest amount of slope on it. Remind the child to look FORWARD, NOT DOWN. That will help him steady the front wheel. Look AHEAD. Also, encourage the child to keep the handle bars level. It's very common for them to twist and turn the bars. Keeping them level will straighten out the front wheel. After about 2-3 sessions of this, the child should begin to steer the bike to the right and left while gliding. If the child can glide for about 10 sec. and glide to the left and right, he/she is ready to put the pedals back on. (you may have to run behind them for just a little while giving a bit of balance when the pedals come back on). Keep the sessions short (15-20 min.) so that the child doesn't give up. Do not expect him/her to learn it in one session. Gliding IS the essence of riding the bike. Training wheels only teach a child to pedal. They don't teach the child to balance. Gliding is balancing is riding a bike. Neither of my kids had any motivation to give up the training wheels... but both did through this method. Have your camera ready == when they take those first few pushes of the pedal on their own... OMG! .... it is so exciting. You must catch their face in a photo. Very fun. You can teach your kid to ride a bike! |
Anonymous
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21:33 here again. I forgot to mention that once the kid is pedaling, you will need to return the seat to a higher position. But, keep it low at first so he has maximum security in being able to put his feet to the ground.
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Anonymous
Damn, if they're that old 8 and 9, then of course they wouldn't need a class. Most kids start much earlier than that. |
Anonymous
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I think I mentioned that they were VERY reluctant and enjoyed their training wheels quite a bit.
Why so snide? |
Anonymous
| Snide indeed! My 8 yo just learned and picked it up quickly. But it's not a big deal that he did or didn't do it earlier than 8. |
Anonymous
| I must be mean. I wouldn't even consider leaving the training wheels on past 5. I think the problem is the same one that happens in most of these situations: the parents are acting nervous. Of course your seven year old can ride a bike. Internalize it. Tell him you know he can do it. Build him up. Take the training wheels off and then let him try it when he's ready, giving him lots of confidence and opportunities. |
Anonymous
Hey- when we are living in a time where it is notmal for parents to spend LESS than 2 hours a day with their kids, and that time is being spent RUSHING through dinner, homework, and bath/bedtime routines, I think it's time to step back and quit judging. What do you think? |
Anonymous
I'm 55 and can't ride a bike. Nor can my 65-year old sister. Nor our 47-year old nanny. It happens. But we're all very accomplished people. Probably more than you, mean girl. |
Anonymous
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Training wheels, one of the worse inventions ever.
I agree, gliding is the first big step. You don't even need to take the pedals off. Just simply don't use/pedal them. Only issue with them is you can get hit in the back of the leg/foot by them when you panic and put your feet down fall and wipe out. Practicing on a grassy slope can minimize scrapes and bruises when the eventual wipe out occurs. |
Anonymous
I don't think the PP was being snide, just accurate. Do you "need" a class, not necessarily. But sometimes it really makes the difference. Maybe your kids wouldn't have been so dependent on their training wheels if they had done a class earlier. |
Anonymous
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One thing we did, with our daughter who was reluctant, was have her ride on the rather chewed up grass of a local park. Firm enough to ride on, soft enough, at least in principle, for a not-so-scary landing.
I read about another method that we didn't try, but sounded promising. Get a very large bedsheet and fold it so it is narrow. Wrap it around your kid's middle and have two adults stand on either side of the kid, each holding one end of this bedsheet "rope." Then, as the kid pedals you walk/trot alongside and assist in the balancing. One more note. I was too scared to learn as a kid. With the help of a friend, I learned when I was 21. It's possible. |