Riding a Bike

I was teaching my 4 yo how. The 8 yo neighbor girl didn't know how and she would hang around and try too. She basically taught herself by gliding on the bike. Watching her helped me teach my dd. Have you seen those glide bike? Its the same idea. Lower bike so her feet are on the ground and walk, not pedal, just glide. A slight down hill helps. This will teach the balance. Once she has the balance then bring in the pedaling that she already knows how to do. One thing that is hard for kids and parents is the fast go the easier it is to balance. Good luck!!!

A friend of my SIL went through this with her 9yo. They tried another method. They took off the training wheels AND the pedals. For one week or so (I think they read that you were supposed to do it for a shorter amount of time, but they were afraid of panic and hysterics) she simply pushed herself around. They had "scheduled" practice times to make sure she did it. Then they put the pedals on and she had mastered bike riding in like 20 minutes. May be worth a shot. Apparently it also helps to learn on a bike that is just a little short for the rider, so they can easily reach the ground. GL!

How's her walking?
How's her drawing, writing?
Can she dance?
I don't think you should keep holding her up.
Possibly, get training wheels and see how she does with that.
However, I think the larger question isn't about riding the bike.
The question is whether she's coordinated enough to do various things that require balance and focus. Consider getting her assessed by . . . .
I don't know the name, probably someone here will know . . .
a person who assesses children's balance, coordination, etc.
You're a good mom for trying so hard
to help your daughter learn to ride a bike.
But, in this situation, you may have enabled her to NOT learn
but holding her up for such a long time.

I do not know if they have this program in your area, but we did "Kids on Two Wheels". You can google it. They will have your kid riding in a week or money back! It worked with our oldest. With my youngest, we used a device called "the Balance Buddy". Goggle it. It is very inexspensive and my youngest was going in less than a week as well. Both of our children have HUGE balance issues....

I'll second the idea of taking off both pedals and training wheels. It forces a child to balance themselves just using their feet to scoot around.
1. Show her how you can balance the bike by going down a slight incline on your own bike with your feet up off the ground.
2. Put her on her own bike and make her scoot down the incline too.

Both my kids (age 4 and 6) learned using this method with 3 days of taking off the pedals. It's astonishing how fast it works!!

We taught my little brother (now 5) to ride a 2 wheeler by raising the training wheels a little bit each week... He has been riding 2 wheels for about a year now. :)

My nephew had a hard time learning to ride a bike and my dad read that using a scooter would help and so he switched to a scooter for a while. Now he rides a bike fine. We got my son ( a year younger than my nephew) a scooter and he had that for a year or so, we were in no hurry to get him a bike. Then the week after he started cub scouts, they were having a bike hike! AHHHH! Tuesday afternoon he went over to a friend's house where there were plenty of bikes and boys his size/age. He learned in about 20 mins and the next day was biking in the bike hike. I really really think it was because of his time on the scooter more than anything else, he is not especially coordinated or physically gifted!

Try that. Have her use a scooter for a while, at least a week or so, until she gets the hang of balancing on 2 wheels.

With the scooter, she is not going to fall far, and there is nothing for you to hold on to, and she will learn the feel of going on her own power and hopefully enjoy it and build confidence as well, learning how to balance on 2 wheels and steer and coast, etc.

Take her to an ENT or Eye Ears Nose and Throat doc and tell him about the equilibrium issues. He may be able to fix it. it may something as simple as a build up of fluid behind the ear drums.

This summer we didn't do much bike riding so my youngest who is 6 still doesn't know how to ride a bike. Next year we will work with her again she will be 7, my oldest learned when she was 7ish and she learned by teaching herself. My middle doesn't know how to ride, she is 8 has Autism and major balance issues.

It sounds to me like your daughter isn't learning becasue she is relying on you, let her teach herself. She will fall, get up brush herself off and try again and again and again. She will be proud of herself when she does learn.

Wow, 10 and just learning? I think it's probably harder to teach an older kid because they KNOW what it feels like to crash and burn so she is probably more scared than a 5 year old.
I would do some other balancing things with her too, just so she get's used to the feel of balancing.... like have her stand on one leg, etc. Once she becomes "in touch" with her balance she will better incorporate it on the bike as well.

My seven yo grandson has been trying to ride a bike since he was 4. He's just plain unable to ride a bike. He also is not well coordinated, physically. He's awkward, running into walls, falling down easily etc. While he was being tested for various learning disorders we learned why he can't ride a bike. He has a sensory processing disorder and a part of the evaluation showed that he has weak core strength.

If your child also has learning and/or other sensory difficulties, I urge you to have her evaluated. Talk with her pediatrician about the situation. He will recommend a person to do the evaluation. It is an occupational therapist that is working with my grandson.