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What is the problem with bicycles??

When our son didn't want to ride on baby pushers at a year and a half, we were understanding.

When our son didn't want to sit on his trike at three, we were confused and pushed him anyway. He got off and wanted to turn it over to see the wheels spin. He outgrew that trike before learning to push with his feet to make the pedals turn.

When our son picked out a helmet that he said didn't hurt we were excited that he'd be ready to ride his new bike with training wheels.

NOT! He sits on it and for one minute lets either of us push him and tell him to push down on the pedals with his feet. He gives up and says he's "too little to ride a bike". (He's 42" tall and almost four and a half, btw.) Arrrggg!!!!!!!

He starts preschool in August and I was told they have a "bring your bike to school" day. I think this is wonderful...or is it? Will our son be embarrassed in front of the rest of the kids because he doesn't ride?

Does anyone have advice for me on what to do for him to "gear up" for the big bicycle day?

When my grandson was about the same age, my daughter found a bicycle that didn't have pedals. It was a two wheeler so he leaned to balance just like on a regular bike but he didn't have to contend with learning balance and learning to use the pedals at the same time. I'm not sure where she got this bicycle from but it was great. He could really move quickly, pushing with his feet. Something like this might help your son. I wish I could give you more details about it.

Maybe if your son hears about the Bring Your Bike to School Day from someone other than his parents, he'll get more interested. Our son balks at all kinds of things that we as parents suggest, but he'll listen to teachers.

That said, our son is 7 and will still not ride his bike. He did not use his scooter or his tricycle either. He is just very cautious. He has told us that he would try to ride the bike again if we put training wheels on the front wheels too.... We're going to try to get him going this summer. He'll be at my mom's for daycare, and her neighbor's kids are 2.5 and 4 and are always racing by on their little bikes. Maybe that will encourage our son.

You will probably find some other threads about bikes if you search. I remember one bit of advice I thought was good was having the kid ride the bike in the grass, so that any falls wouldn't hurt.

Good luck!

Would he consent to something like this, where an adult is providing all the balance and steering at first? That's how our anxious kid got the hang of it.

http://www.amazon.com/Trail-Gator-Child-Bike-Tow-Bar/dp/B000QHCWIK

DeeDee

Edited to add: have you had his vision checked? Some vision issues make it very hard to ride a bike...

It turned out our dd7 needed absolute control over her movement, wobbly training wheels or parents pushing freaked her out. We bought the ebook "riding made easy", and felt silly about it, but it worked. As others recommend, start by taking the pedals and training wheels off the bike and drop the seat low enough that he can easily reach the ground, and encourage him to take bigger and bigger steps. I won't give away all the author's tricks but that should be enough to find out if this makes him more comfortable.
You could get a wooden scooter bike instead but they are expensive, and just taking off the pedals makes the later transition to pedaling less stressful.

We took the training wheels off when DD was 4. She was only 37 inches tall and it was hard for her to touch the ground on a 12" wheel bike -- which is necessary, but she managed. It was also hard for her to build up speed on a 12" bike. But she was very pleased withherself once she mastered it. We just did a little each day for 7 days, at the beachwalk so there was sand on both sides for falls. And fall she did and get frustrated but thought it was a good lesson. She had pads, helmet, she was OK. By then end of the 7 days, she could ride to one end and curve around and come back.

Ren

Have you had his vision checked? My younger DD was very reluctant to ride. When we got her vision checked by a Pediatric Behavioral Optometrist, we discoverd why. Glasses and some vision therapy helped.

This is what I keep hearing over and over. I was late to learn and so was DS. Luckily some friends got him a Razor scooter, and after he got the hang of balancing on that then he finally learned to ride without training wheels - around age 9...

He had done some OT earlier, and if he hadn't learned when he finally did, I would have brought him back to OT to learn to ride a bike. Sounds like the ebook is cheaper - do you have a link?

Thankfully DS14 has come a long way now - even skateboards a bit.

Smiles,
Grinity

http://www.ridingmadeeasy.com/

DD still hates her Razor, or at least is not very good at it. It's wobbly, and she has trouble establishing a rhythm. Biking is easier for her (now).

My two younger dd's have very different personalities dd8 is in a hurry it seems to do everything early, just after turning 4 she wanted her training wheels off because she was ready to ride her bike like a big girl and she did, while with dd6 when we suggusted she do the same thing when she was 5 she told us no I'm just fine having my training wheels please leave my bike alone...just recently she's now 6 1/2 she asked for them to be removed and she took off like a pro...every child is different and will do it when they are ready and I also think it had something to do with she was the only kid on the block (over 5) that didn't have her traning wheels off,lol