Conference moira::parenting_v3

    
    Yes, this is one of those things that he'll just pick up. You 
    might check out the GOOFOF::BICYCLE notes conference (dir/title=learn)
    for some pointers. You should try to find a shallow
    downhill where he can coast and learn how to balance without worrying 
    too much about pedaling or braking. The shallow downhill should NOT 
    run into something that requires a quick stop (such as a parking lot
    with cars). Once he can balance and coast, all he has to do is to 
    learn to pedal and to use the coaster brake. 
    
    doug
     

    
    
    	I remember when my parents were teaching me to ride a bike
    	sans training wheels...
    
    	They'd hold on to the handle bars and the back of the bike,
    	eventually let go of the handle bars, holding on to the
    	back and then without my knowing, let go and vooooooom...
    	I was off.
    
    	The security was in knowing (ha!) that they were holding
    	on to the bike... gave me a bit more confidence.
    	
    	/Kim

    We've taught our two oldest how to ride "two wheelers" by simply
    raising the training wheels up a bit at a time.  When the training
    wheels are up, they will still stop them from falling however when 
    they attain even minimal forward speed, the balance only on the two
    large bicycle wheels with both the training wheels in the air.  When
    the forward speed slows, they tip back onto one training wheel or the
    other.  The only drawback is at slow speeds they tend to rock from side
    to side .....
    
    Best of luck,
    Wes Vinecombe

     See also Parenting-V2, notes 61.* and 2052.*.

     I'm an advocate of the method, mentioned in one of the V2
notes, of teaching the child which way to turn the handlebars when
s/he starts to lose balance, before they move at all.
     
     We also had more success working on a grassy surface than on
the street.  The street is smoother, but grass is much nicer to
fall on.  Also, we had more success on a hill, letting gravity do
the work.

     And also remember that the age at which a child can learn to ride
a bike varies greatly from child to child.  There are a lot of factors, 
like balance, coordination, willingness to take risks, ability to 
recover from falls, and the like.  

Clay
     

    My son found it easier to start with a scooter to learn how to balance.
    Once he had mastered it, we took him to the local school parking lot on
    a week-end day and let him loose.  It took him a couple of hours and he
    still had trouble getting off.  But balancing was no problem.  Now he
    is trying to convince his little sister to learn the same way!

    Please, please, please people!!  Before letting your child ride a bike,
    no matter what size or speed, spend the Twenty-odd dollars on a good
    youth bike helmet! (Toys R Us is my reference point)
    
    AJ rode just once before we bought his helmet, and almost went over the
    handlebars twice on his first attempt (just barely 4 at the time), at
    one point he was coming down our driveway, a good 45 degree angle, and
    I was about to literally throw myself in front of the bike so to
    prevent him from plowing into the back of my parked car at the bottom. 
    He hadn't quite gotten the concept of how to stop his bicycle using the
    foot brakes yet.  He now has the habit of when the bike comes out, so
    does the helmet.  Same principal as "this car won't move without your
    seatbelt buckled"!
    
    .....and now I'll jump OFF my soapbox!
    Lyn
    (the EMT and mom and safety-nut!)
    

Re: .6

I agree 100%.  It's now an ingrained habit with Tom.  Parents who ride
should also get a helmet to show the kids it's "the right thing to do".
Today's helmets are lightweight and comfortable.

				Steve

    Chris taught himself how to ride at 4 years old.  We had gone through
    trying to teach him, put the training wheels on, take them off, put
    them on take them off etc.  Well, we'd finally had ENOUGH, took them
    off at his INSISTENCE, TRIED to help him learn, but he was too afraid.
    So, we left it that way.  He still DESPARATELY wanted to ride, so he
    just got on his bike, and pushed himself around with his feet instead
    of peddling.  He'd push himself a little faster and pick his feet up a
    little longer, until one day he was CONFIDENT (and that's all there was
    for him to learn - was that he COULD do it!), he stuck his feet on the
    peddles, and there's been no looking back ever since.
    
    I'd say it took about 1-2 weeks from when the wheels came off to when
    his feet when on his pedals.
    
    The biggest thing to remember is that it's VERY different riding w/
    training wheels - you need to learn to ride all over again.  If you
    notice, when your child turns now, they probably lean 'out' - because
    the training wheels let them.  When Chris was pushing around on his
    feet, he figured out he had to lean IN because he could really FEEL
    what the bike wanted to do.  He grasped the concept of recovering from
    a near-spill all by himself.
    
    Take off the wheels, lower the seat so he can touch the ground with his
    knees pretty bent, and let him have at it!!  I'd stay away from hills
    though!
    
    Good luck! 
    Patty

    
    I just wanted to clarify that when I said "shallow hill" in
    .1, I meant "barely enough hill to keep going.... not enough hill
    to pick up speed". Shallow grassy hills tend to be automatic brakes....
    they provide enough resistence to prevent going really fast. I 
    agree with -.1, take the training wheels off and lower the seat so 
    that the child can touch the ground (After he can ride, raise the 
    seat up to a point where he can almost fully extend his leg with 
    the balls of his feet on the axle of the pedal).
    
    doug
     

    This note sure is timely, my husband took Jason (4 1/2) out on Sunday.
    They went over to the school while I cooked so I didn't see any of it.
    Boy did my husband come home tired and sweaty from running holding on
    to that bicycle!!
    
    As for Lyn's comments, I agree.  My kids started the helmets when they 
    rode in the kiddie seats on our bicycles.  It's just second nature to
    them.  As a matter of fact when the boys are using their fisher price 
    roller skates they wear the helmets also becase they tend to fall alot,
    and they fall hard from that upright position when their little feet go
    out from under them.
    
    Donna

   Gee... I learned the "old-fashioned" way - I fell so much that I
   didn't want to fall any more! :-)  Really, though, I remember
   learning and it was only through running into enough shrubs and
   fences and knocking over enough of the neighbor's trash cans that I
   learned to stay up.
   
   I never did use a helmet - they weren't as widely recommended back
   then... hmmm...  I wonder if that's why I like computers so much..
   
   :-)  :-)
   
   - Tom
   

     Not to be contrary, but a short, steep, hill, with a long flat grassy
area at the end may work very well, at least it did for us.
     Maintaining balance on a bicycle is actually EASIER the faster a bicycle
is moving.  With our son, we started him downhill, and he went fast enough
that he was able to maintain his balance quite easily, until he lost
momentum.  Once he got the hang of maintaining his balance, he started to get
the hang of starting to pedal when he slowed down.  
     Of course you could tell by the way he tensed up that he was somewhat
afraid of the speed at first, but you could also see that the tenseness
diminished quite rapidly, as he discovered "Hey! I'm keeping my balance."
     From then on he was all set.

Clay

    re -1: I agree.... increased speed makes it EASIER to balance. 
    I'd hate for someone to take the child to a steep hill on my
    recommendation, though, and have him(her) wreck. I , too, learned 
    from a short steep hill with a long flat grassy area. The 
    point is get going fast enough to learn to balance, but make 
    sure that there are no obstacles in the bike's path. Once you've
    learned to balance, the rest is a piece of cake.  
    
    
    doug
    

    
      I learned on my mom's old bike and she had me sit on the back fender
    instead of the seat and I had no trouble reaching the pedals or
    handlebars and being it was my mom's it was a pretty big bike.  It was
    sitting that high on the seat that scared me so being at fender level
    made it much much easier for me.  I was about 6yrs old and not that big
    a kid.  It might be worth a try.
    
    
                                                         Kim S.

    If your child doesn't readily learn how to ride, don't push the issue.
    
    I say this because as a kid I couldn't learn.  I really worked at it,
    with my father's help.  But I neither learned to ride nor skate,
    despite all efforts.  Both were quite a chore, and no fun.
    
    When I was 10, my friends rode together all over town, visiting each
    other's houses, playing records, and surreptitiously trying out their
    mothers' lipsticks.  I couldn't bear to miss out on such fun, and taught
    myself to ride in a few days.  I became quite adept very quickly.
    
    I never did learn how to ice skate.
    
    There's no point in turning a pleasurable activity into a chore.  If a
    child is ready, he/she will learn, but not until then.
    
    Laura

. . . they will learn from your grandchildren

>    I say this because as a kid I couldn't learn.  I really worked at it,
>    with my father's help.  But I neither learned to ride nor skate,
>    despite all efforts.  Both were quite a chore, and no fun.
    
				.  .  .
    
>    There's no point in turning a pleasurable activity into a chore.  If a
>    child is ready, he/she will learn, but not until then.
    
Same story for me, except I learned how to ride a bike at 40! I guess it took 
a while for me to be "ready"   :^)

Clay

    I also didn't learn how to ride a bike until I was 12.  My father tried
    teaching me when I was much younger, but couldn't figure out how to
    coordinate the steering and the pedaling and I ended up running into a
    parked car and falling off the bike and hurting myself.  I guess it
    scared me enough not to try it again for a while.
    
    Lori B.

    After one outing with my six year old he told me he won't be ready
    until he's nine.
    
    I just feel bad that he wants to ride where the big kids go, but I
    won't let him because I don't feel he has enough control and speed to
    keep out himself safe.
    
    -sandy