Learning to Ride a Bike!

Hi A.,
I just taught both my boys (7 & 5) to ride their bikes. By far the best advice I read was to lower their seats as low as they would go and have them practice lifting their feet as they coasted down the driveway (I have a really long driveway - we also practiced in a nearby parking lot). Then I drew lines for them to try to keep their feet up "this long". Then, have them practice stopping. Then when they can use brakes and coast, have them try to peddle. My 7 year old took about a week (I took the pressure off myself) my 5 year old took about two hours on coasting practice and then another hour the next day until he was off and running. It took a lot of patience on my part (but I didn't spend one minute running behind the bike!) but I am so glad I took the time. They LOVE being outside riding their bikes now. Good luck!

A.,
This trick worked wonders for our youngest three children (ages 5,6 & 7), I just wish I would have known about it for my oldest 2 children!

After your son has mastered riding his bike with training wheels, do the following: Put seat in the lowest position. Take off both training wheels. Completely remove the pedals from the bike.

Let your son ride his newly "remodeled" bike around the yard much like the scooting toddler toys he used to ride. At first, he will probably not let his feet leave the ground, but that's ok. Soon he will get more comfortable and start to "glide" a bit. After he is gliding most of the time, and isn't putting his feet down as much, reattach the pedals. Remind him to pedal hard as he's starting out, and of course, remind him that you will be there to help him if he needs it, but I bet he won't.

This trick sounds "nutso", but we used this trick with our now 5-year old son last summer and he was riding without training wheels in less than a day. Good luck!

I have 5 children and the last two I taught on grass. It's harder to pedal, but if they fall it's a softer landing. My last child learned in the greenbelt. Once he got the balancing figured out, he just kept pedaling and didn't run out of grass. It was then an easy transition to go to the street.

How's it going? If he's having a really hard time, you may want to take a step back and slow down...5 is really quite young and his little muscles may not be quite ready for it. On the other hand, if he is seeming to be doing ok, go for it! What we did was teach our kids first how to start out. The whole coordination between lifting the foot, pushing the pedal, aiming the wheel, and getting balance, is the hardest thing. Once they could do that, all the rest of it was easy going for them!
and please...HELMET HELMET HELMET. even on a trike -- build the habit!!

Have the training wheels on, but not evenly (one of the training wheels off the ground a bit). This helps them practice balancing using the bikes wheels and one of the training wheels. I think it made the transition from training wheels to without them easier.Our son (at 3 1/2) and daughter (at 5) learned to ride without training wheels on this bike with the crazy training wheels.

find a grassy hill. when they fall, there won't be the skin scrapes that come from pavement. And the hill takes care of them going fast enough to actually balance. Both our kids were balancing well w/in 2-3 sessions and we hadn't had to run 1/2 hunched over!

My husband raised the training wheels a bit so they had to lean to the side a bit to even be using them. Eventually they were balancing well and weren't using the training wheels and wanted them off. So we took them off and off they went with no help or running behind or crashing! My boys are 7, 5 & 3 1/2. We took them off at 5 for the older two, the youngest is still getting the hang of pedaling. Hope this helps!
J.

My older daughter really struggled with learning to ride a bike and it took weeks of running beside her to get it. I have a 5 year old son and I wasn't looking forward to going through it again but my son surprised me and basically taught himself in just a few days. Here's how he did it. He had a small 12" bike that had training wheels that recently broke so we took them off and since we had a new 16" bike with training wheels we didn't worry about it. I noticed that my son liked the old bike and since it was now too small for him he could easlily sit on it and "ride" with both feet on the ground pushing himself. I told him one day to try to push himself and get going then put his feet up and pedal, when he felt like he was tipping , put his feet down. It worked within just a few hours he was riding like a pro and after a few days we took the training wheels off the bigger bike and he now rides it fine.

He's got to want to do it. Be positive. Make it fun. Wear helmet and other protective equipment. Make sure the bike is the right size. Not too big or too small. Practice, practice, practice. We had told our then 4-yr-old that 5-yr-olds don't use training wheels. So, when he turned 5, he believed that he HAD to take off his training wheels. We were all matter-of-fact about it. He didn't seem scared, which helped. But, he was very well versed at riding the bike with training wheels. He transitioned well. However, he needs practice getting off and on the bike and turning. He can ride straight beautifully. Don't forget to teach him to use the brakes and other bike safety tips. It's a fun milestone. Enjoy it.

I am doing this now with my almost seven year old daughter! It is exhausting but I am just running behind her holding on and letting her go without training wheels, I have let her go a few times and she went without falling then when she noticed she panicked and then tipped over. I was worn out by the end of the weekend but I keep hearing to keep trying.
We started at first taking one side off and staying on that side with them, then I took both off! Let me know if you find a secret method as I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW! :)

I asked this question a while ago and got several responses... I will be happy to tell you what I was told. 1. Take training wheels and pedals off and let the child coast learning to balance first.
2. Take 1 training wheel off and while they are riding, walk/run along side where there is no training wheel.
3. Keep training wheels on but raise them so that they are not on the ground like the bike tires are.

We didn't use training wheels at all.

1-Helmet.
2-Make sure the bike is adjust perfectly for your child.
3-Make sure she knows how to use the brakes. Practice just that.
4-She'd coast down the slight hill just practicing balance with her feet ready to touch the ground in case she fell. (she'd sometimes drag her feet on the ground to stop.)(She'd push one pedal from up to down to start out).
5-She'd pedal up the slight hill while I ran behind and held the bike until she was going too fast for me to keep up.
6-tell her she was doing a great job - let her know when she was mostly balancing by herself.
7-let her know I only let go because she started going too fast (don't tell her until after she notices)

8-Let her get really confident going in straight lines before she tries to do turns.
9-She learned turns by herself...so I'm not sure how she did it.

It took about 5 days...a couple hours a day - some with me some w/out me. Her neighborhood friends rode their bikes around while we were learning. Sometimes she'd switch to the scooter for a while for a break.

Sometimes it will just happen, my oldest learned when he was 5/6, the second one learned when he was 4, the next did it at 3!!!! and my last 4, just take him to a park that has grassy hills and start there, let him go as he gets the hang of it, then move him over to the side walk, hold on to the back of the bike, run with him and let it go. They really pick it up very fast.

Teach him to learn to focus in the distance.
Also so you can be alongside him without breaking your back, take a longer towel and wrap it around his tummy so you can still be near him and guide until he has enough control to where you can pull away and he is off and riding before he knows it. Make sure he knows how to stop before all this happens though. :-)

Not really...just stick by his side until he finds his balance...once they find their balance, it's amazing!

With my two boys we started by adjusting the training wheels so that they were a little higher so that they had to begin to learn to balance without falling over. My oldest was riding 2 wheels by the time he was 3 and my youngest was 4. My youngest didn't even know that we took the training wheels off. He just got on and rode away.

My neighbor took off the training wheels AND the pedals. She did not like the idea of running beside her kids (exhausting) or holding on (does not teach proper balance) or letting go when you promise you won't (dishonest) so she took off the pedals and they coasted around on their own for a few weeks. It made it easy for the kids to balance because without the the need to pedal the kids could use their feet to practice balance and catch themselves with their feet quickly while learning. The only caution is that without the pedals there are no brakes so the kids need to practice on flat terrain or a gentle slope. I plan to do this with my kids when they are ready to learn to ride without training wheels.

Hi A.,
when we taught our oldest we just held the bike while she rode slowly down the sidewalk. Eventually we let go and she fell over as soon as she realized it but sure enough she got it. Just stick with it and don't let him give up, it might take a day or two. Good luck!

C.

I think what helped my girls the most was riding their scooters. They learn to balance really well on them and then they have a better idea of how to balance on the bikes. We also had them sit on the bike on a flat surface. They put their feet on the pedals, you hold onto the back of the seat or the handle bar. You gently tip the bike to the right or left and they have to turn into the lean, making sure to keep their feet on the pedals at all times. It gives them some confidence and teaches them how to correct the problems while riding. Due it about 10-15 times in a row without a "mistake" and they are good to go!
Best of luck to your son!!!

Hi, A.!

I'm L.. My son was a little hesitant to start riding his bike without training wheels, partly because we live in a really hilly area. (I was a little concerned, too). A friend told us about this neat trick, and it worked wonderfully.

Pick a nice flat spot (even a flat garage floor, but the more room the better). Take off the training wheels AND the pedals. Let him scoot around on the bike without the pedals in the way. In no time, he'll get the feel of the bike under his body, and establish his sense of balance. You'll know when to put the pedals back on (sometimes just an afternoon), and watch him go!

My daughter insisted on learning to ride with no training wheels at a young age (almost4) so that she could keep up with her older brother. After trying many everything I could think of I finally went to the 2nd hand store and found the smallest bike I could so she could touch the ground without the bike tipping. Once she knew she could stop herself from falling I only had to run across the park holding her up once. After that I held her up, gave her a little push and she got the hang of it. After a couple of weeks she had gained enough confidence and choose to go back to her 'big' bike. I would take it slow and he will take off when he is ready.

have fun! if he falls, don't make it a big deal. get up and try again.

My daughter refusedto ever have training wheels, she was sensitive to the sound they made.She also does not want help with these things... I just let the issue go, I never talked about it...one day I looked up from visiting/sitting outside with a neighbor in the yard and she was yelling,
"look Mom!"
she was riding in the cul-de-sac on a 2 wheeled bike, not even her own...I have no idea how she did it but I let her find the right time and the right way in a safe environment. I just hope teaching her to drive in 7 years goes this smooth.
Empty parking lots on early Sunday mornings are great, extra padding, a helmet a properly fitted bike and a lot of encouragement...it will happen when it is the right time and his sense of balance with the 2 wheels kicks in. Good luck!

Hey, A..

I had a hard time teaching my son until someone at a campground taped a tree branch (seriously)to the back of his bike (angled in under seat). This is how he taught his children. So you do this and then hold the branch (I switched to a dowel when we returned home), running along with him. Worked like a charm - it didn't take long at all and he wasn't afraid.