Won't Ride Bicycle.

My oldest daughter finally learned to ride a bike at age 9 (she is now 13). My middle daughter was 5 (she's now 9). Why? Because it is just the way they are. My eldest has never been athletic and has always been a bit uncoordinated, while my middle has demonstrated athletic ability from the time she could walk.

Don't push it too much, and don't compare him to his younger brother. He has to be mentally ready for it. With my daughter, she finally was prepared because she really wanted to ride her bike but felt awkward with training wheels at her age (we were very careful not to compare her to other kids), so she approached me and my husband. Funny thing is, her cousin who is the same age was the exact same way.

Try a run bike/ balance bike. They teach balance first, then pedaling. You can read up online about using one of these instead of training wheels. Many people swear by them. Skutt makes one that fairly reasonably priced.

Hi K.,

My sister had this problem too...my parents got her a scooter (2 wheel) and it really helped her learned to balance. And if you notice when kids are just learning how to ride a bike they keep looking down...at their feet. But with a scooter they mainly just look ahead. And "get" what it feels like to be balancing.

Best wishes...D.

How a person moves is a major way to have a "snapshot" into neurological development. When children struggle in this area, there are specific programs that help improve their brain development. This looks at the root cause of what is going on, so can be very effective.

www.parentswithpurpose.com

My daughter didn't learn to ride a bike until last fall when she was 10. Don't worry, not all kids like bikes. She still does not really like it, only rides to go backa nd forth between one friends house. She walks everywhere else.

Don't feel bad; my 8 year old won't even try. Just be patient and encouraging...he'll do it when he's ready! With my older son, we took him to a big park and let him practice on the grass so he wouldn't worry about falling. THat worked pretty well.

Good luck!

M.
"My son eats all his veggies now. Even the green ones."
See my Mamsource profile to find out how we did it

I don't know if this will help or hurt but I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 10!

I'm 45 and I still can't ride a bike unless it's stationary. I can skip, run, jog, swim, play baseball, tennis and all kinds of other stuff. I continued to try to ride a bike until I was 17. I had an accident where I could feel the exhaust of a car on my leg. I decided then, maybe I just wasn't meant to ride a bike. I've not gotten on one since, except the kind tnat has 3 wheels :) I have also successfully taught both my children to ride bikes....

All that to say he can still lead a balanced good life if he never masters riding a bike.

Blessings!
L.

Don't worry about it. Someday he will surprise you. It may take a friend his age to encourage him. He may just get mad enough some day to take off on his own. That is what did it for my grandson. He was 11. Fear of falling and a slight uphill grade had practically paralized him from trying. A neighbor boy rode past doing fancy tricks on his bike, saw Mike sitting outside beside his own bike, and encouraged him to keep trying .(We had been trying to help him that morning.) Mike now rides his bike to school everyday and most Saturdays. Just let his coordination, determination and frustration get to the optimum levels and he'll figure it out. You just keep stocked up with patience, antibiotic ointment, and bandages.
My oldest son at age 6 borrowed a cousins' bike and taught himself in a matter of an hour or so, then came inside and proudly proclaimed that he could ride a bike. Each child is different.

Try to find some motorskills exerises that you can do with him. A 4x4 post to practice walking on for balance. Crawling exercises, etc. I wish I could remember what these are called but the name eludes me today. Talk to a physical therapist.

I didn't have time to read through all the responses you got so if someone has already said this, then just disregard. But I understand you wondering why you can't teach your child to ride his bike at 6 years old. I felt frustrated by that when my daughter was 4 and all the neighbor kids her age and younger were riding circles around her while she sat there still on her bike and watched them. She wanted to, and I believe in her head she knew what she needed to do, but she couldn't make herself do it.

My daugher has gross motor skill delays that are caused by a motor planning problem. It affects her speech as well. She knows how to do alot of things that she can't make her body act on. Somewhere along the line, from the brain to the limbs, the signals get lost and their legs (or whatever) don't move like they want them to. I'm suggesting your son may really not be able to do this physically, like he says, even though he has the head knowledge. It's just a thought to consider.

Repitition is what helps this. Just exposing him to the things he has a hard time with and getting him to try over and over and over again... Eventally he'll get it. My daugher was 4.5 before she pushed the pedials (finally) but even today at 5.5 she pushes back on the brake as much as she goes forward and I don't think she means to. She's still figuring out how to make herself do this. I say give him time, encouragement and keep him on the bike and I bet he'll get it. Don't let him quit.

Good luck.

If your son enjoys riding the tricycle, I would encourage him to ride it as often as he will. The exercise is good for him, physically and mentally, and he will get an emotional kick out of being able to do something well. After lots of practice on the tricycle, and when he is ready, he will naturally want to move on to the next thing, which will probably be a bike with training wheels. Then the training wheels can come off when he is ready for that. Your sons trouble with learning to ride the bike (and the other motor skill problems you mentioned) may be an indication that he has some brain-based differences which will require him to learn things on a different time-table than kids typically follow. Your job, I think (as the mom of a kiddo who, at the age of 15, STILL hasn't learned to ride a bike), is to help him be okay with that.

Your question reminded me of a bike in the One Step Ahead catalog we just go a few days ago --
It's a wooden training bike (#14123) for $79.95 - it's a balance bike, so instead of using training wheels, little ones' feet touch the ground. Perhaps someone makes a balance bike for taller kiddos like your son?

this is just another thought,
do you know if he is dyslexic or not?

Let him just scoot around on the bike and learn to balance first, he'll get it.
then to put his feet on the pedals when he gets going.
then to push the pedals.
then stopping.

He may just need to learn each thing one at a time. Telling him everything at once wouldn't help. let him master each step. He needs to just do it at his own pace.

Hi K.,
My son could not ride a bike until he was 9. He has low muscle tone and sensory integration issues. He would try periodically to ride, but it was very frustrating for him. He didn't give up and practiced for a few minutes every so often and now he rides well! Your son will get the hang of it, too in time.
All the best,

Just FYI for the future, I have found that kids who have trouble riding a bike, often have trouble learning to drive a car. I taught drivers ed. and noticed this phenomenon. No scientific data to back it up. B.

We have tried everything, or so it seems. I took him out one summer with his training wheels and made him ride all the time to build up the leg muscles. Then we took them off. We have yet to be successful, but I can give you the tips I go from others that may help you. One way is to put him on a grassy area with a slight incline, have him slowly coast downhill, the dirt gives more support than concrete and it helps teach balance. Another way is to take off the pedals. Then have him ride the bike around the neighborhood on the bike pushing with his feet similar to on a scooter. This also teaches balance. Once he balances better, you put the pedals back on. Another one(that I never tried) is most bike shops you can purchase a handle that attaches to the bike so you can hold on(like the ones you see on tricycles sometimes) this would help if it was more of a confidence issue I guess. They recommended it at a bike shop. I would also recommend that you take him in to a bike shop to make sure his bike is the right size. You mentioned he does have some motor skill issues, it is twice as important for the bike to be the right size for kids that have any struggles with motor skills.

Good luck.

K.,
Playing/riding on a scooter (like those Razor scooters) helps children create excellent balance, try that and then hopefully it will help when he wants to learn to ride his bike.

There is a book called the coolest dad on the block and it talks about teaching your child how to ride a bike by taking all the pedals off the bike and lowering the seat so they can learn to balance first then put the pedals back on after they can balance on two wheels with out pedaling... I would google teaching a child how to ride a bike...

as fas as not pedaling he may have a stregnth or motar skill problem with his legs and needs some physcial therapy to correct it.

HTH
A. J

Your son may do well with a balance bike, like a Strider Bike (http://stridersports.com/) or a similar bike called a Skuut (pronounced Scoot). It's basically a bike without pedals. It teaches kids to balance a bike and supposedly is better than a bike with training wheels. They have confidence riding it because they use their feet to balance and push off. Kids can really get going with those types of bikes!

Balancing a bike is supposed to be harder than learning to pedal (which your son is doing on the tricycle), so once he gets that skill down, you could transition him to a regular bike (hopefully!) with no problems. He's probably having a hard time balancing and pedaling right now.

I believe the Strider has a 50 lbs. limit and I'm not sure on the Skuut. It might be something you want to explore. Others have suggested just taking the pedals off a bike (or maybe get an old bike just for that purpose) to have a similar effect. Good luck!

Hi K.,
I have read all the responses so far, and I agree with those who suggested having him evaluated by a physical therapist, starting with your pediatrician. I also agree with others that say "back off a bit" and let him do it in his own time. I am now 68 years old and his difficulties sound like deja vu. I didn't get a bike until I was 8 and it took 6-8 months for me to learn, despite my poor dad running behind me holding onto the back fender for hours and hours. Historically, everything I've ever done that involved body movement and balance, took much longer to learn than everyone else; repetition, repetition, repetition; that included dance movements, skating, gave up on ice skating, standing yoga postures, tai chi, water skiing; wouldn't even try snow skiing until age 53, failed, didn't try again till age 62, and again I repeated the beginning classes several times (about some things I am pretty determined) and now have finally graduated from bunny to green slopes. The point of all this is that I think (although I can never be certain) that if physical therapy had been an option 60+ years ago, some of my frustration, embarrassment, shame, sense of failure, lack of self-confidence, possibly could have either been eliminated or at least lessened. If lack of insurance or financial means is not an obstacle to checking out the physical therapy avenue, I encourage you to look into it. If that is not something you want or can do at this time, I REALLY encourage you to allow him to let you know when he wants to practice. If he begins to see how important it is to you for him to ride the bike, that puts pressure on him to learn quickly to please you. When he indicates he wants to practice, do so very matter-of-factly, staying away from focusing on the outcome. And, of course, you don't compare him with his brother, I know, but you can bet he compares himself with bro. Try to downplay his difficulty by telling him stories, e.g. "I know about this old lady who didn't learn to ride a bike till she was 8, and she is still learning new things today, like skiing, etc."--you know, "The Little Engine That Could" type of stories.

I really empathize with your son and you. I am praying and sending him (and you) postive energy.

Hi--I have the same problem with my 6 year old, but he will not even try because he thinks he cannot do it--I am looking forward to seeing your responses. Thank you!

Let him go about this at his speed. Set the bike out for him to climb aboard... He'll master the technique at some point... then you will probably will not be able to remove him from the bike! Good luck.

I would keep him on the tricycle for a while until he really gets the pedaling motion down. That reciprocal action is really very complex and difficult for children to master. Just be patient and give him time. good luck. hd

Hi K.. Don't sweat it. My 7yo is JUST now interested in learning to ride a 2 wheeler. My oldest now 15 learned to ride a 2 wheeler at 2 (YES TWO!!!). While the days are nice, take 10-15 minutes a day to practice but don't push it on him.
K.
Mansfield, TX
Mom of 3 boys & a princess.

Maybe he just isn't interested in it. I would just forget about it for a while. You can always try again later.

maybe it is not the riding of the bike that he has a hard time with but maybe it could be he is afraid of falling. so if he doesn't learn to ride then he doesn't have to fall. relax and he'll learn when he is ready. as he gets older and friends are around etc... for now address the underlying issue whatever that may be, falling...etc.

My son has some motor skills and learning disorders and couldn't ride a bike no matter how hard I tried to teach him. When he was 16, a friend told him he could teach him, and he learned in just a few minutes. I don't know if I pushed him too hard, or if he just didn't want to ride when he was younger. My daughter didn't care to learn, either. She only learned because other kids teased her since she didn't know how. She was 10 or 11 at the time. Maybe your son doesn't really want to ride, either.

Regardless, I agree with the moms who advised you to talk to his pedi about it. If he hasn't been evaluated for disabilities yet, you definitely should have him evaluated. The school system can get him so much help to get him a step up in life. I wish I had my son evaluated when he was little, but I didn't know what was available to me at the time.

If you know he has motor skills problems I'm assuming it has been diagnosed by a Dr. If so, I would consult with him what is appropriate for your son. Riding a bike while adding in the balancing act (that's why he can do the trike, no balancing required) can be difficult for anyone. If you know for certain he has motor skills problems you need to get with a professional to find out what he/you need to be doing to help him. Pushing him or allowing him to push himself at something that just isn't feasible right now will only cause him to get really discouraged and give up on everything.

My middle child was nearly 11 yrs old before he learned to ride a bike. It was just not something he could figure out. Finally his little sister learned and he followed suit. Now he's 15 and is everywhere on that bike!

I'd just let him work on it on his own time. Get him training wheels and give him some space. He'll work it out.

I do agree with the first advice.
I have an 11 yr old that did not ride until he was 9. He also had some slow motor skills as far as writing, tying shoes, did not really care for anything as far as small lego building and puzzles. It was not anything obvious to others and actually not even to me until I could see that my 5 yr old is doing things a lot more quicker than he did. My 11 year old is the sweetest kid in the world and does not have a defiant bone in his body, but trying to get him to ride his bike would bring him to tears and lots of frustration. I think all kids develop on different levels; it is sad because we live in a world that expects every kid to learn the same in the same way at the same age. I think if it is not something that is affecting his life or causing other problems, just let him learn at his own pace.
For us there were other issues especially when he started the 3rd grade and he was having problems in school. so we are going through lots of teating to find out what the exact problem is; it is turning out to also be some disgraffia issues (he has all of the information in his brain but delivering it to motor skills is difficult)
The scary thing is listening to school counselors, teachers and even pediatricians; they seem to always go for the easy route and want to medicate or label and cover up the problem instead of finding the issue.