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Conference moira::parenting_v3

Title:Parenting
Notice:READ 1.27 BEFORE WRITING
Moderator:CSC32::DUBOIS
Created:Wed May 30 1990
Last Modified:Tue May 27 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1364
Total number of notes:23848

214.0. "Tricycle to Bike Transition" by MAJORS::MANDALINCI () Fri Aug 03 1990 09:10

    When do most kids graduate up to a real bike (actually the smaller
    version with training wheels)?
    
    My son, about 2.5 and very tall, does an excellent job riding a
    tricyle, not the Big Wheel, and a good sized tricycle (maybe 24 inches
    high). He maneuvors very well. We have been debating whether to get
    him a bike for next spring (he'll either get it for Christmas, his
    birthday in Febraury or possible for Easter). 
    
    Are there any drawbacks to going with a small bike and then needing to
    graduate to a larger on? With the way my son grows, I expect him to be
    on a full-sized 10-speed by 6 years old!!! 
       
    Thanks,
    Andrea 
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214.1depends on the kidTLE::RANDALLliving on another planetFri Aug 03 1990 12:3217
    If he's coordinated enough to be ready for a bike, there shouldn't
    be any problem with graduating to a larger bike later.  
    
    A child should always have a bike that's the right size for them,
    if there's any way the parents can afford it.  A bike that's too
    large increases the chance they'll get hurt or that they'll become
    discouraged by the experience and give it up.  A bike that's too
    small also increases the chance of accidents. 
    
    As for "when is the usual age" -- that varies incredibly.  Kat and
    Steven graduated to bike-with-training-wheels at around 5, but two
    of the neighbor girls are biking all over the neighborhood without
    training wheels, and they both just turned 5 a couple of months
    ago.  Brittany's father says Brittany was 3 when she started
    riding the bike.  Apparently she never needed training wheels. 
    
    --bonnie
214.2my experienceRDVAX::COLLIERBruce CollierFri Aug 03 1990 15:4931
    Riding a small sized bike with low training wheels is almost
    exactly like riding a trike with respect to balancing and steering. 
    But it has little in common with riding a bike without training wheels,
    and the coordinated balancing and steering required for the latter is
    much more difficult, and may be impossible until a later age.
    
    The easiest approach is to raise the training wheels very gradually, in
    increments too small to notice.  Aaron got a 16" bike for his 4th
    birthday (or was it his 5th???), and took a little over a year to get
    rid of the wheels, though he didn't ride very often.
    
    Experience with Eric was quite different.  He inherited Aaron's 16"
    bike at his 4th birthday, and started with the training wheels all the
    way down.  He also latched onto a training-wheel-less 12" bike at
    pre-school, one where he could keep both feet flat on the ground while
    sitting on the bike.  Before I even knew about it, he had taught
    himself to ride.  He wanted to get rid of the training wheels at home,
    even though the bike is bigger.  He pretty much mastered it by the
    second weekend, though he still had a bit of trouble getting
    "launched."  So, he learned to ride a "big" bike without wheels
    slightly past age 4.  Now the boys and I go off as a three-some; great
    fun.
    
       DO make sure any biker wears a helmet, both for current safety and
    to develop a valuable long-term habit.  There is a very attractive deal
    being offered now by Troxel through pediatricians to get helmets
    mail-order at a very reasonable price.  I found it easy to get the
    right sizes for the boys, and prices were half those in a local bike
    store for the same helmet.  Ask for a pamphlet at pediatrician offices.
    
    		- Bruce