Teaching the kids to ride bicycles was something I was struggling with…for years. I couldn’t teach my eldest as I had the twins outside with me when I would try. I just didn’t have enough arms or eyes. Then, when I tried to teach the boys, there were two of them & one of me…and a baby in the stroller. It was just not happening.
This was a job where I would need Daddy’s help, but even then, we found it challenging.
Everyone was still riding with training wheels, from eldest to youngest.
And then my sister-in-law told me about a method that she & my brother-in-law had tried that worked very well. She told me to look it up on YouTube, which I did. The method was simple…and effective.
Tried, tested & true, 4 times over. The kids are all riding without training wheels & that includes the 6 year old 🙂
You can expect to have your child riding by the end of one or two afternoons of practice.
Here is what you do:
- Remove the training wheels.
- Remove the pedals from the bicycle (Yes, unscrew them & take them OFF)
- Lower the seat of the bicycle so that when your child sits on the seat, her feet are COMPLETELY flat on the ground. The seat can be too low, that’s ok.
- Have your child “scoot” by using her feet and then, eventually, ‘gliding’ with her feet off the ground. This is how they get a feel for maintaining their balance.
- When she can glide comfortably for a few seconds straight, it means she can balance. Put the pedals back on.
- Now add in the pedaling motion. It shouldn’t take long & your child will be riding on his or her own.
- You may still have to work on the “starting” by using a little help from the curb for starting off, but this stage will not last for very long.
Here’s the link to a video that shows the method:
fyi- you may encounter some resistance to the “scooting”- They’d rather pedal with their training wheels. Stick with this method. You’ll be happy you did.
TRY IT & let me know how it worked!
ALWAYS remember to stay safe & have helmets for all- and that includes Mommy & Daddy!
Have a wonderful day & enjoy the sunshine!!!
Tanya
3 Comments
Amazing! Thanks for the tip. We’ll be trying this with our son Ethan very soon and we’ll let you know if we’re successful.
That is a great tip, I found it hard to teach my daughter too. I tried to teach her, and she couldn’t get it, So I took the training wheels off and let her practice.
She learned better and fasting by just doing it on her own
Great, thanks for the advice. Almost time to teach my son how to ride a bike!