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

OK, so we went to my mom's today and I told DS7 that I was going to bring his bike over there, and he could ride it if he wanted. I told him I'd hold the handlebar all the way if he wanted. Well, we went half a block with me holding the handlebar and he said he didn't need me to hold on anymore. And he had so much fun! Finally! I guess sometimes it just takes time.

I think I heard someplace else years back about these. Hum...

Good ideas, thanks!

Oh, wow!

That bar looks like an interesting option. My hubby has a bike he bought just so he could ride with ds.

And, yes...his vision checked out at normal for his age just last month.

I'm wondering if it would help to get a Medical Pedaler? He could practice the motion without actually moving.

I'm coming back to this post years later because Christmas is coming and I just know some parents are wondering about bikes for their children.

DS eventually rode a bike with training wheels when he was in Kindergarten. I thought he'd never get over his fear!

His dad is his most trusted adult (yes, as a mom I'm a bit jealous), and was able to coax him into spending more and more time just sitting on the bike with the training wheels. Then dad pushed him a bit. Next, dad had DS try to make the bike go by pushing the pedals.

The time-line on this was at least three months. Then, BAM!!, DS was off and pedaling down the drive way!

He had a similar trajectory when dad said the training wheels needed to come off.

That was over two years ago. We recently bought him a new bike for Christmas because he has outgrown his trainer bike. I watched him ride that old bike over the weekend and reflected how much he has grown; both physically and emotionally in such a short time.

Anyway...if your child is bike phobic, please don't give up. The smile on their face when they eventually ride on their own (even with training wheels) is something you'll never forget.

Happy Cycling!

Just chiming in to say that the balance bike was magic for our son. We took pedals and chain off and he paddled around for several months. He got really fast! Then we put the pedals and chain back. He was off like a shot and never used training wheels at all. It is honestly the way to go. They have such a safety net - and then they don't need it!!

My 2-cents is to make sure the bike fits, a lot of parents try starting kids on bikes that are too small or too big. They should be able to put their feet flat on the floor while standing over the bar. (Less of an issue for girls bikes.) And on tippy-toes while on the seat. Larger wheels are easier to balance than smaller ones, but it shouldn't be too big. We were lucky and got a hand-me down 18" bike from a friend. It's a trickier size to find, but it was the right size for both my kids when they learned without training wheels. And my son has a short inseam for his height so I've always had a tricky time finding him the right sized bike.

I am pretty sure that when I was a kidv4 year olds rode tricycles. I think we are just getting a bit silly with our expectations. That said ds7 had a wooden running bike at 2.5 and switched to a 16 inch bike without training wheels on his fourth birthday. Ds5 refused to switch from his plastic 3 wheeled bike until 3.5 and isn't really interested in his bike but will ride a running bike.

I prefer scooters for city kids anyway. They are easy to carry and store and they can stay on the footpath.

Yup.. when I was a kid we rode tricycles and big wheels until we were around 5 and then went straight to bicycles without training wheels. My parents didn't seem to even know training wheels existed. My younger brother not to be left out, simply taught himself on my bike & a few other neighbors kids earlier and my parents ended up breaking down and getting him his own bike earlier. At that age we were allowed out to play on a quite side-street in a group, with usually only one mom looking out of her window to make sure we were OK. Very different in those days.

I will second the suggestion for a balance bike (bought or created). We took the pedals off both our kids' bikes and let them use them as balance bikes for as long as they wanted. We didn't bother taking off the chains. We found the best place to bike was at the local elementary school, which has a large area of blacktop that is slightly sloped. We also gave frequent rewards (usually jellybeans) for completing small goals.

The training wheels did not seem to help, and it wasn't until we took the pedals off that we started to see progress.

It took both kids over a year to learn, and DD7 is still not confident enough to bike anywhere but the school blacktop. Definitely worth the patience!

Glad to see this post, as i am thinking should I buy a balancing bike for my DS3.5, he seems interested in his friend's balancing bike but refuse to use bike with training wheels. He likes his trike anyways, may be I should wait for next yr to buy him one :P

Balance bike..... Best thing ever. Training wheels teach bad habits which make the kids fall when the training wheels come off. Balance bikes are safer for beginners, teaching balance before pedaling. We let our then 2yr old ride it through the house all year long. By the time he turned 3 he was all set for pedals. It took him all of 15 minutes to master. Not because he's a bicycle genius but because of the balance bike.

balance bikes are massively popular here - my dd hated hers, but ds 2 loves it.DD would not ride a bike at all, a friend of mine tried to force her once - that went very bad. We started going to a hbike park with a playground attached, DD eventually asked for her pedal bike and rode no problems. She just didn't like feeling like she didn't know what she was doing. Watching other kids ride helped her get the idea.

Also maybe a scooter is a better idea. I know in our area most kids have a scooter, but bigger kids tend not to have bikes as there aren't many places safe to ride them right now. I'd be surprised if your DC was the only one with a scooter at bring a bike day. Maybe chat to the teacher.