Bike riding classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m being a total bitch but really? You need to out source how to teach your child to ride a bike? Holy cow! Who taught you?

Well, I guess I'm being a bitch too then. Teach your own kid to ride a bike! Sheesh. Its really not that difficult and that experience makes it all the more rewarding for you AND your kid.

+1. This is totally a UMC DC thing.

Nope! The have these classes at the rec center in my small home town in rural Ohio. I see people on FB posting their proud “graduation” pictures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m being a total bitch but really? You need to out source how to teach your child to ride a bike? Holy cow! Who taught you?

Yes you are being a jerk. My 4yr old gets frustrated and wants to quit when my husband and I try to teach him things like riding a scooter or swimming. In a class setting he pays close attention and tries harder. It also helps him see other kids are learning the same thing he does and it helps him not get as frustrated.

Dude, every 4 year old gets frustrated at things that are hard. Imma get my popcorn and see what else you choose not to do with your kid because it is hard!
Wait until he has homework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After the REI one did not work for our child, we did one through Fairfax County Parks which totally worked. Maybe your area has something similar? Or if not you decide to do a Ffx one?

What was the problem with the REI class? Was just looking at one for my so ...

I had heard such good things. We had tried teaching ourselves (bitchy posters take note) but it did not work. Just ended in lots of fighting, carrying over into everyday life, and all with him still not learning. Some kids just do bot do well with their own parents as teachers, for my sensitive perfectionist it is especially true of anything he has difficulty mastering. Like he gets embarrassed we see him struggle? IDK - but not some magical bonding experience as suggested nor even a successful experience. I will absolutely outsource something I can if I ha e tried and don’t have success. Life is too short to sweat that!

Anyway, our REI class was full - whatever max capacity was - with varying levels of readiness, so between that and the instructor ratio they just didn’t get far enough along to the point where it worked. It likely varies. I was disappointed though because I had heard how great it was. The county rec class was more expensive (longer) but worth it. If I run into trouble again with my youngest I won’t bother with the REI class and will go straight to the parks one.

You have mental health issues if you don't have the maturity and patience to teach a kid how to ride a bike.

What's wrong with having mental health issues? Why is this an insult?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m being a total bitch but really? You need to out source how to teach your child to ride a bike? Holy cow! Who taught you?

Yes you are being a jerk. My 4yr old gets frustrated and wants to quit when my husband and I try to teach him things like riding a scooter or swimming. In a class setting he pays close attention and tries harder. It also helps him see other kids are learning the same thing he does and it helps him not get as frustrated.

Dude, every 4 year old gets frustrated at things that are hard. Imma get my popcorn and see what else you choose not to do with your kid because it is hard!
Wait until he has homework.

NP> Riding a bike should be fun, If it isn't fun because of personalities, then a class is a great option.

I could not learn to drive from my wonderful parents. It was just too much stress and arguing. I could not learn how to drive stick from my husband; I had a friend teach me in two hours after a 1000 failed attempts from my husband.

My kid unfortunately is just like me when it comes to our interpersonal dynamics. He was grouchy, I was patient. It wasn't fun; we gave up. In hindsight, I wish we had taken a class so he could learn earlier. He was 8 before he was really ready to listen to me.

You are not a better parent than those who choose to use a class. Some kids just learn better in group environments and from other adults. It doesn't mean the parents are pushovers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m being a total bitch but really? You need to out source how to teach your child to ride a bike? Holy cow! Who taught you?

Well, I guess I'm being a bitch too then. Teach your own kid to ride a bike! Sheesh. Its really not that difficult and that experience makes it all the more rewarding for you AND your kid.

+1. This is totally a UMC DC thing.

Yep. I'm a teacher. This is exactly what's wrong with half of my students. Someone said their kid gets frustrated. Who wouldn't? The lesson isn't just how to ride a bike. It's how to persevere. It's how to confront your fear of failure. And for the parents, it's an exercise in patience and learning to let go and watch your child fail and get hurt so......they can learn to get back up on their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Landon Summer has a one week camp that teaches kids to ride a bike. I have my 6 year old signed up for one in August.

I really thought I had heard it all. Are you people all handicapped? It takes a weekend to teach a kid to ride a bike. LAZY.

I have Cerebral Palsy and will probably end up using one of these classes for my son and possibly myself if it seems like something I could safely do. I'm glad they exist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a strange post, I had never heard of outsourcing this. It took my kids my 3 kids all of 30 minutes on a long empty parking lot to learn how to ride their bike. We did it the Spring after each turned 6 years old. Even my non athletic (at all!) middle child learned. My husband taught them, it was nice bonding time. I guess it makes sense for single parents who work long hours/weekends and just don't have the time/energy. I believe they had a bike riding couple of weeks at school also, but they were much older.

Which part of "some kids have disabilities" did you misread?

No one is begrudging kids with disabilities getting help. Come on.

Did you miss the post where someone insulted another poster by calling them handicapped?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m being a total bitch but really? You need to out source how to teach your child to ride a bike? Holy cow! Who taught you?

Well, I guess I'm being a bitch too then. Teach your own kid to ride a bike! Sheesh. Its really not that difficult and that experience makes it all the more rewarding for you AND your kid.

Yes, you are being clueless. Some kids have disabilities. We've tried for years. Our youngest can't do it. We were going to pay for occupational therapist to help, but I'm happy to hear that there is one more less expensive option we can try first.

I highly recommend the ICanShine course for kids with balance, anxiety or other challenges. They use some really cool bikes that wobble but don’t fall over and get kids riding in a week of morning classes.

[Anonymous]

Don't assume that ALL kids can learn to bike quickly. My husband and I taught our DD to bike for the last 3 summers and the experience was painful for everyone involved. She also took two learning-how-to-bike classes, but still can't bike well. She's very uncoordinated, scared of speed, falling off the bike, etc. Most of all, she's not motivated. She would rather stay home, reading books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Landon Summer has a one week camp that teaches kids to ride a bike. I have my 6 year old signed up for one in August.

I really thought I had heard it all. Are you people all handicapped? It takes a weekend to teach a kid to ride a bike. LAZY.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After the REI one did not work for our child, we did one through Fairfax County Parks which totally worked. Maybe your area has something similar? Or if not you decide to do a Ffx one?

What was the problem with the REI class? Was just looking at one for my so ...

I had heard such good things. We had tried teaching ourselves (bitchy posters take note) but it did not work. Just ended in lots of fighting, carrying over into everyday life, and all with him still not learning. Some kids just do bot do well with their own parents as teachers, for my sensitive perfectionist it is especially true of anything he has difficulty mastering. Like he gets embarrassed we see him struggle? IDK - but not some magical bonding experience as suggested nor even a successful experience. I will absolutely outsource something I can if I ha e tried and don’t have success. Life is too short to sweat that!

Anyway, our REI class was full - whatever max capacity was - with varying levels of readiness, so between that and the instructor ratio they just didn’t get far enough along to the point where it worked. It likely varies. I was disappointed though because I had heard how great it was. The county rec class was more expensive (longer) but worth it. If I run into trouble again with my youngest I won’t bother with the REI class and will go straight to the parks one.

You have mental health issues if you don't have the maturity and patience to teach a kid how to ride a bike.

You, too.

[Anonymous]

I taught my child how to ride his bike on our long driveway. Love, patience and persistence are key.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I taught my child how to ride his bike on our long driveway. Love, patience and persistence are key.

I would like to add that it took 5 evenings to master the skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m being a total bitch but really? You need to out source how to teach your child to ride a bike? Holy cow! Who taught you?

Well, I guess I'm being a bitch too then. Teach your own kid to ride a bike! Sheesh. Its really not that difficult and that experience makes it all the more rewarding for you AND your kid.

+1. This is totally a UMC DC thing.

Yep. I'm a teacher. This is exactly what's wrong with half of my students. Someone said their kid gets frustrated. Who wouldn't? The lesson isn't just how to ride a bike. It's how to persevere. It's how to confront your fear of failure. And for the parents, it's an exercise in patience and learning to let go and watch your child fail and get hurt so......they can learn to get back up on their own.

Exactly. What kind of kids are you all raising. « My kid is a perfectionist », « he got frustrated », « it wasn’t fun so we gave up ». Pathetic

[Anonymous]

It is riding a bike, there are maybe two or three simple concepts to riding a bike. I cannot believe there is a class for this. Some kids learn in 30 min, others take all summer or several summer but big deal. Where does your 4 year old NEED to go on their bike? If you gave your kid a bike and never said a word about how to ride it but pulled it out every time you went to the playground and encouraged them to get on it, they would figure it out eventually. It is ok for kids to learn at their own pace.