Riding Bike W/out Training Wheels

I, too, read the same article that Julie mentions. It was in Better Homes & Gardens a few years ago. If you go to bhg.com and search for "how to ride a bike in 15 minutes" you'll find the article and they will have a printer-friendly version. Basically, it is as Julie described. You just want a smooth, gentle downward slope so that they can get the hang of balancing without worring about pedaling or anything else. Good luck!

I read about a great way to teach your child to ride a bike without having to run behind them. I used this for my daughter...and it worked.

Find a gentle, grassy hill at a park or something. First have your son glide down the hill. Don't even put his feet on the pedals. Just have him focus on steering and balance. Once he has mastered that, have him put his feet on the pedals and do the same thing, but don't pedal, just glide. Once he has master that, have him use the brakes once he gets to the bottom (instead of gliding to a stop). One he has mastered all that, then have him start pedaling. Once he's comfortable with all that, then try it on flat ground.

If he's having trouble balancing, try some type of a balancing beam. You can just put a 2x4 on the ground and have him walk on it.

Good luck!

I just wanted to add that when I taught my son to ride without training wheels, we had to also talk with him about rules and etiquette for bike riding once he learned how to ride. For example, he learned to slow down when riding with other kids, that he shares the sidewalk/bikepath with people who are walking and needs to slow down by them and let them know he is going past them, he needed to learn to stop well before a crosswalk or driveway, wear a helmut, etc.

As far as learning to ride, I agree that they have to be able to touch the ground with both feet. We lowered his seat all the way down event though it seemed to short, but it helped him feel confidant that he would be safe, and we had him ride on the sidewalk next to the grass - we told him that if he lost his balance to either put his feet down or let himself fall onto the grass. In retrospect, I would have invested in knee pads for the first few weeks because he did fall on his knees a lot, even though he was riding his bike beautifully in one day.

One of the biggest things with my kids was.....telling them NOT to watch what is immediately in front of them, but look ahead - it helps with balance.

Of course, you could make the training wheels less even and you could even take one training wheel off, but actually - you just need to give confidence and my "trick" from above.

I have 3 kids - the first we were very "careful" and tried to transistion her to a 2 wheeler - she was almost 6...my other two are boys, and they were both riding 2 wheelers before they were 4 - we just took the training wheels off and let them go.

Good luck.

Hi G.. I had a very short two wheeler with training wheels. The trick seems to be that both of the toddlers feet need to be able to touch the ground. Then let them practice on the grass. They will fall over and over but will not mind because they are falling on a soft surface. That way the fear goes away and they practice more. In a short period of time, you will see them going a little distance without falling and that distance gets longer and longer. Then they are off! I have had my two kids learn that way and it worked so well, all my nieces, nephews and neighbors trained the same way.

I agree with using the smaller bikes to train on. My twin girls learned on the smaller bikes and then we bought them new bigger ones. One of my girls learned the first day we tried, and it took my other daughter 2 days.

Once they take off on the bike they have to pedal faster to keep the bike upright. One of my girls would start then slow down and then she would fall off the bike.

You will be surprised how quickly they learn. Quicker then I imagined.

Good luck.

My son has been riding without training wheels since he was 3. This summer he taught almost every kid on our block between 4-6 how to ride a bike. The trick is to have them start on a small bike so their feet touch the ground.It's the fear of falling that holds them back. Once they realized they could just put their feet down and touch the ground they weren't so scared. My neighbors bought tiny bikes at garage sales for about $5, and some borrowed my son's old bike. See if you can find or borrow one. Within about an hour every child he showed could ride the bike. By the next day they were all riding their 16 - 20" bikes. Once they had the confidence that they could hold the bike up without falling they were good to go.

G.,
just a suggestion that I am going to try with my 5 1/2 yr. old this weekend or next weekend. Taking off training wheels off the bike & bringing him to an empty parking lot. He should balance & practice as much as possible. Good luck K.

G.,
I am sorry that I don't have advice- yet- We have promised my daughter that we would try no training wheels tonight- so I will let you know how it goes- It couldn't have been more timely for the other ladies to give such great information- thanks so much for the great tips!!!

K.

My son started riding about a month after his 3rd b-day. It was a little crazy, but someone saw him riding his 2-wheeled scooter that he got for his 3rd B-day, and said he could balance so well, that I should try him on a bike. Sure enough-- he could balance it almost right away. It was a bit silly though, because it has taken him almost a year to learn how to get on by himself because he is so small. I also spent a lot of time running next to his bike before he figured out how to jump off!

I agree about the smaller bike advice. If you have a scooter, or could borrow one, they are great for practicing balance and there isn't far to fall!