Any tips? I feel guilty that we haven’t got her riding properly yet. We recently got her a new bike as she got too big for the ones we had. So far, we have just been having her ride around whilst we hold her under the arms, she actually moves and steers the bike whilst we support if that makes sense. I got this tip off a video on YouTube as before I was holding the actual bike which apparently doesn’t help them learn to control the bike themselves. She’s getting more confident, but can’t seem to nail balancing. Do we just keep doing what we’re doing until she starts becoming confident enough for me to let go? On the odd occasion I have let go she loses balance. It’s tricky at the moment with the weather we can’t go to the park and practice as often as we’d like. I’m finding it really hard to explain to my daughter ‘how’ to balance because it’s something that just comes so naturally even as an adult who rarely rides bikes.
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It’s easier for them to balance if the set off down a gentle hill, without pedals (so just lifting feet off the floor) then add the pedals once the have mastered the balance. Then it just takes practice. I would be willing to bet she could learn in a matter of hours. But if she is getting frustrated make sure you don’t force it.
Thanks for this! I used to do that myself when I was young before I could ride properly and it makes sense so I’ll give that a go. Definitely don’t want to force it on her, when she gets frustrated we take a break or stop, but she also wants to be able to go on the bike track at the park
Is she too old now for a balance bike? That's the best way to learn as once they learn balance they can ride. One of my kids could ride a bike age 3! People used to stop and stare but we had got him a balance bike from age 2 and so we tried him on a bike and he just mastered it straightaway. My other kids were age 4 but it's more that their Dad wanted them to ride as he's into bikes and he spent time with them on it but I've known other kids not be able to ride until they're 10. I think the older they get they're more aware and frightened of falling off so it's best to start them young.
I'm sure your daughter will master it and be riding in no time but balance is the key.
I'm sure your daughter will master it and be riding in no time but balance is the key.
It definitely just takes practice.
If you’re holding her maybe try loosening the grip you have on her slowly. We’ve always held the seat of the bike and then loosened our grip until we aren’t holding at all. It also works well that way as they can’t see us letting go, so they aren’t concentrating on that, just concentrating on riding.
I would also do as suggested above and let her just kind of scooch herself along, as she would on a balance bike. She’ll get faster and more confident at lifting her feet.
If you’re holding her maybe try loosening the grip you have on her slowly. We’ve always held the seat of the bike and then loosened our grip until we aren’t holding at all. It also works well that way as they can’t see us letting go, so they aren’t concentrating on that, just concentrating on riding.
I would also do as suggested above and let her just kind of scooch herself along, as she would on a balance bike. She’ll get faster and more confident at lifting her feet.
Do not feel guilty. One of my sons rode a bike with no stabilizers at 2 and a half, my 12 year old still can't and has no desire to learn either which is fine, my eldest didn't ride until 8, yet I tried everything, from getting him a balance bike to doing the whole taking him along and not letting him go. Nothing worked for him and he would often be frustrated he couldn't do it (perhaps because I was trying to teach him, he was trying extra hard to do it as I was watching and got nervous? He also, like your daughter didn't seem to get the whole balance thing. However he was generally quite clumsy when it came to anything involving gross motor skills and seemed to have two left feet that he would be always tripping up on) Once he started playing out with other kids and learnt how to ride on his own (we had plenty of accidents at first I must say). My lad who learnt to ride very young, surprisingly, I didnt teach at all, he was just left to his own devices with his bike, got a feel for it and learnt himself.
If she plays out, just leave her with her bike, she will soon learn herself with her friends. That's the way I also learnt to ride, all my friends could and was just left to my own devices with a bike (I was 10 when I did! And can pop wheelies the lot now
)
If she plays out, just leave her with her bike, she will soon learn herself with her friends. That's the way I also learnt to ride, all my friends could and was just left to my own devices with a bike (I was 10 when I did! And can pop wheelies the lot now
)
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I learnt how to ride at bike at 28!
More practice is all she needs.
More practice is all she needs.
Thanks everyone, some great tips and reassurance. My youngest (5) had a balance bike from around age 2 and I don’t think she will have many problems riding a 2 wheeler, we’ve done a bit of practicing with her and she didn’t get it right away but seemed more balanced than my eldest. I wish we’d gotten a balance bike for the eldest when she was younger, they are really good in my opinion. I think she’d be a bit big for one now though. Hopefully we’ll get decent weather over the next few weeks to practice.
If it helps you can just unscrew the pedals from her Norma bike, with her been older I reckon once she has got the hang of it, she will
Be whizzing around in no time. All kids and adults for that matter, so things differently and in their own time. She Will get there when she is ready.
My mum used to get so frustrated and angry with me when I was little and she was trying to teach me how to go a bike, she didn’t have the patience and the pressure of her shouting at me put me off until I was about 10/11 and decided to teach myself using my brother’s bike. I’ve learnt not to be forceful with it with my own children. They learn at their own pace.
This is so true. They do learn at their own pace and I’d hate to put her off the idea.
My 7 year old has just learnt, he's been trying for a few months with no progress and is amazing now! I think I watched the same YouTube video as you which does make sense but with my son, the thing that did it in the end was speed! I pushed him along until he was going fast enough that the balance took care of itself and he went from there.
Holding him just made him lean into me whch wasn't a great habit to get into. Every time we practised it was in an empty car park so nice and flat, and when he got going we used cones to teach him how to turn etc and he can ride round the park no problem now. All in all probably took 4 hour long practise sessions. Good luck, she will get there!
Oh and I learnt at 8 by going to the top of a hill and just forcing myself down it, worked as well but I was the same with swimming, had enough and just took my own armbands off
Holding him just made him lean into me whch wasn't a great habit to get into. Every time we practised it was in an empty car park so nice and flat, and when he got going we used cones to teach him how to turn etc and he can ride round the park no problem now. All in all probably took 4 hour long practise sessions. Good luck, she will get there!
Oh and I learnt at 8 by going to the top of a hill and just forcing myself down it, worked as well but I was the same with swimming, had enough and just took my own armbands off
Do you have stabilisers on for her? I’d be inclined to let her just crack on herself - holding her isn’t going to really help - in my opinion. Get some stabilisers on so she’s safer and then set her up at the top of a gentle hill and let her go up and down.
As kids our folks used to push us from the back and then let go - so that we had no choice but to peddle or else fall over when the bike slowed down!!!!
As kids our folks used to push us from the back and then let go - so that we had no choice but to peddle or else fall over when the bike slowed down!!!!
The kids in our family, we'd have stabilisers, then as we got better remove just one but leave the other until totally confident.
My in laws have been teaching our less than enthusiastic 6 year old.
Balancing is the hard part so that's the bit you need to get right first. They've taken the pedals off his bike so it's like a balance bike and then apparently he will naturally start reaching for pedals when he gets confident balancing.
This is the video they used (they are both cycling enthusiasts - they taught our niece this way and then decided to inflict it on our son
honestly he couldn't care less about his bike!)
Balancing is the hard part so that's the bit you need to get right first. They've taken the pedals off his bike so it's like a balance bike and then apparently he will naturally start reaching for pedals when he gets confident balancing.
This is the video they used (they are both cycling enthusiasts - they taught our niece this way and then decided to inflict it on our son
honestly he couldn't care less about his bike!)