I am in the process of teaching my 6 year old how to ride his bike. He loves to be outdoors. He is having some trouble balancing. Any suggestions on teaching him?
Teaching My Son How To Ride A Bike
- Thread starter butterfly1
- Start date
My daughter was a nightmare to teach to ride, and after 45 minutes I was convinced one or both of us would get seriously hurt if I kept trying. In defeat I put her training wheels back on.
I got her a Razor scooter for Christmas, which was about a month after the attempt. When she started using it, I noticed her push foot was very heavy on the ground.
One month into using it (sporadically, since it was winter), I noticed her foot didn't seem so heavy on the ground and she was doing more gliding. So as an experiment I got her little bike out, took the training wheels back off, and took off the pedals and told her to push it with her feet.
She did this for around 10 minutes and then asked for the pedals back. I reluctantly complied.
Her first attempt I gave her a gentle push, took one step, and let go. She rode around 50 feet before she put her feet down. So the next attempt I told her to circle back to me. Once again, gentle push, one step. She rode in a circle and stopped 6 inches from my foot.
I declared her trained.
I got her a Razor scooter for Christmas, which was about a month after the attempt. When she started using it, I noticed her push foot was very heavy on the ground.
One month into using it (sporadically, since it was winter), I noticed her foot didn't seem so heavy on the ground and she was doing more gliding. So as an experiment I got her little bike out, took the training wheels back off, and took off the pedals and told her to push it with her feet.
She did this for around 10 minutes and then asked for the pedals back. I reluctantly complied.
Her first attempt I gave her a gentle push, took one step, and let go. She rode around 50 feet before she put her feet down. So the next attempt I told her to circle back to me. Once again, gentle push, one step. She rode in a circle and stopped 6 inches from my foot.
I declared her trained.
I think he first needs to learn on more than two wheels. There's an adjustment that people who've never rode a bike before, they can add it to the back wheels and it holds them so they don't fall if they haven't learnt to balance it. It's going to be difficult at first, but after a while of them adjusting to the environment of a bike, you can totally take them off and start teaching them slowly to get balanced. Also make sure you take all of the safety steps to make sure he's okay if he falls.
Yes, my kid started with training wheels and he left them and he has the balance, but as soon as he gets a little away from me he starts screaming because he panics lol, it's an insane sight.
It must be. I remember that when I learnt to ride a bike, at first it was hard but then you get it all right, it's just a matter of practise, he might fall a few times.Sunflogun said:
I understand. I also know that they might be afraid at first of adding really high speed, but speed is what gets it balanced.Sunflogun said:
Its just a matter of practice, he will get it soon enough. My daughter just starteed riding her bike but she has training wheels on.
Training wheels are really helpful to gain balance because she places her trust in them. Once they're gone, the real training begins, she would have to trust herself to balance the bike but it takes practise yeah.katherine25 said:
Awesome! How old is he?Sunflogun said:Big improvement this weekend, he lost his fear and now he rides like a pro! Well, he can't start on his own or turn yet lol, but already goes alone.
My parents had me jump in and fall, and cry, bruise, bleed, and know what I was doing by the end of day one. No training wheels, no knee pads, and no pampering.
My parents had me jump in and fall, and cry, bruise, bleed, and know what I was doing by the end of day one. No training wheels, no knee pads, and no pampering.
Awesome. I personally also work with kids, I would love to teach them to ride a bike.Sunflogun said:
Make sure you are super patient, but also give a good speech about the importance of taking risks. Show her how awesome the experience of cycling really is. Instead of reverting to training wheels, I love the approach of attempting to guide them with your hands, giving weaker and weaker support until they are able to ride by themselves.
You just have to try, try again. My daughter can balance, she just has a tough time continuing to push the pedals.
My nephew also had trouble balancing before. He used to tumble down whenever we remove the training wheels. So we just left it on. As time went by, probably after a month or so, he was able to learn how to balance the bike by himself. We removed the training wheels and he learned by himself. I think it just takes time before a kid can learn how to balance.
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