Which Tricycle to Buy for My 3 Year Old

i think at three you might want to consider a bike w/ training wheels- they make 12", 14" and 16" which are suitable for her age (depending on height). we decided to do that for our son, who will be 2 1/2 this month ( he is very tall tho, and pretty coordinated) he was already interested in bikes and we felt it was a better long term investment. also, he is around kids with bikes at the playground and already wants to be like the big kids. The first day we took him up there he got on the bike and rode after them as fast as he could calling "wait for me guys!"

we got a 14" and put the seat almost all the way down and the training wheels only 1/4" off the ground. he had no trouble riding it the first day.

One important thing to note- he was able to learn on a trike at daycare, so if she isnt comfortable on a trike already, it would make sense to start with the trike and get comfortable.

Enjoy your summer with the new trike/bike!

Totally depends on your daughter. At 3 my son rode a "push bike" (a bicycle with no pedals that you run on the ground and then coast) and 6 weeks later was riding a regular bike (a tiny little 12" one).

She's probably big enough in terms of size to get her a 12" bike, and at that size they come with training wheels on them. A bike with trainers is pretty much like a tricycle anyway.

That said, my son is 4 now and still rides the tricycles they have at his school. Even the 5 year olds ride them... so if she WANTS a trike, I'd get her one.

Hope this helps.
T.

Just skip the trike. we looked at what seemed like millions trikes for my daughter. None of them seemed very sturdy. She tried them out in the store and they all tipped over when she turned sharply. Not ideal at all.
We wound up getting her a small bicycle with training wheels. I can't remember what size the bike is, but I had her ride it in the store to see if she would be able to reach the pedals. I was worried that she wouldn't get the concept of pedaling, but she does great. She turned 3 in February.
He'll be able to use it way longer than a trike too.

We got our 2 1/2 year old a bike with no pedals. www.stridersports.com It is to teach balance and is a nice way to start. She is 3 1/2 now and rides a big girl bike no problem. Tricycles are good for teaching the pedaling though, which they don't get on the Strider Bike. I have seen kids from age 3 1/2 to 5 riding big kid bikes with no training wheels. I think it really depends on the child. I do think at 3 they can usually handle a 12" bike with training wheels and supervision. It takes about 1-2 wks of taking them on a ride each day to get them to learn to steer and brake etc... The steering is the hard lesson!

If you want less chance for falling off, try a "big Wheel" .
They are low to the ground, easy to use, light to put in the car.
My 3 kids loved them, and I noticed the injury level ( and my stress)
go up when we did trike and bikes....
Bandaid Mom...

Instead of purchasing a tricycle you can buy a small bike with training wheels that way when she outgrows it you can just take the wheels off and that may last longer. Either way she will love it!!

Santa brought a Dora big wheel type tricycle for my little girl and she also rode a regular one. at 3.5 she also got a little bike with training wheels and loves that. i would have her test ride some at toys r us or walmart and see what she prefers. it seems that kids are riding bikes earlier and getting onto 2 wheels much earlier than i did. also, how much room for riding do you have and are you packing up to go to the park? what is the convenience factor you are looking for?

I'd probably skip the trike & go straight to the bike. My oldest had a trike and a bike. The trike was a short-lived fad, and the bike she loved immediately and never went back. My twins went straight to bikes. We are a biking family, so we buy only from bike shops. The Trek Mystic 12 is my top choice. We've had 2 girls go through them, and my son has his own Trek. My twins just turned 3 and still love their 12" Treks. Trek also makes a great trike - it performs more like a real bike, has regular bike tires, etc., but I think a bike will take her further. My older daughter rode the Mystic 12 until she was about 5 and then we upgraded her to a 14. At 8 yrs old, she just got a 16" last month. She's smaller for her age and this will last long. Also, most bike shops will do "trade-ins" on quality bikes like Trek, because they really hold their value, so if you don't have anyone to pass it down to, this is something worth considering.

We always had a trike and both of my daughter's used it until they were too big for it. The first time we got a basic red trike from Toys R Us and the second time we got an expensive Kettler trike. The first one was always the favorite. Good-luck.

I got my son a trike that had a handle that allows me to push and steer. It was a Radio Flyer at Target and it has a metal frame with plastic seat etc. It's held up great - we removed the push handle and he still rides it once in a while and the younger neighbor kids enjoy it too. The push handle made trips to the park easier because little legs get tired fast! He refused to ride in his stroller and always wanted his big boy trike ;)
The poor trike has lived in the backyard for 2+ years and has faded a little but is still sturdy. I think I paid about $40 for it.

We got a the radio flyer tricycle when our daughter was 2.5 however, even though it supposedly adjusts to fit a 5 yo, Santa brought her a 12" bicycle about 7-8 months later. We intentionally chose not to buy a tricycle that allowed us to steer/push from behind because we wanted her to learn it and not be dependent on us.

I know, it seems like a waste to have gotten the tricycle because we only used it a short time but will say this: it was a critical step in order to teach her 1) self-confidence; some small children get scared (of the bike) if you start them on a bicycle first--the bike is more wobbly. Tricycle is definitely more stable. My daughter has a friend who was started out on a 12" bike and she is too scared to ride it. She asks to ride the tricycle when she comes over to play; 2) how to control the pedals in order to control speed; pedaling & steering backwards 3) how to steer and react to unexpected bumps; 4) building up the leg muscles (tricycle positions you differently so pedaling is not so h*** o* the legs).

So, it kinda of depends on your child's personality. If she's a bit timid of a bicycle, you might want to go for a tricycle. Take her to a toy store (we went to toys-r-us) just to let her try out the different bikes and trikes and see what she is most comfortable on.

Has she showed interest? If so, has she ever tried a friends or an older siblings trike/bike? And if this is so take her on a bike shop outing where she could try many different bikes/trikes to see which one fits her needs best. While there you can discuss with a staff member( at a bike shoppe) about helmets, training wheels, baskets, bells and more. They will have some insight because they deal with this situation on a weekly basis. Now remember this is just a window shopping session and should be done two months or so before her birthday. Because if she has any inkling towards one bike or trike then you can make a note but if done early enough she will have forgotten about it before the actually event. And you can figure out your budget at the same time. Good luck and Happy early birthday to her!!

I would skip the tricycle and get a strider. My 3 year old is now riding bike without training wheels. She used the strider for a year and 2 weeks before her 3rd birthday she rode a bike.

P.