How to teach my daughter to ride a bike?
I'm a divorced mum for 3 years now to a 6 and 8 yo. They have both had bikes since very little but unfortunately where we live there is no where to ride at home or in the community and over the past few years I have done my best to try and take their bikes to the park to ride. My youngest is still on training wheels and although very agile seems to have no balance when I take off training wheels while my oldest finally was learning without training wheels but then grew to tall for her old bike and now can't seem to ride her new bike and just crys. She's also very tall and it is now a struggle for me to support her on her bike.
How can I teach my kids to ride a bike? I feel like they are the only kids that don't know how to ride a bike and I feel like I have let them down by not having taught them earlier. I have no support so it's just me and my girls. Please be supportive but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Bike riding
Bike riding
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Health & Wellbeing
6 Replies
I would just take the training wheels off and go to the park every day until they get the hang of it. The way I taught my kids was waiting until they could ride the bike fast with training wheels, that means they probably aren't using them. Then take them off find a big grassy area to practice on and literally just give them a push and they pedal fast enough to have balance. If they're too slow it's harder to find balance. Yes they fall but it's all part of learning.
This is why lots of kids don’t ride now, or at least until much later. I wouldn’t push the 6 year old, but may as well let them both learn together I spose. Take the 8 year old to grass, push her, let her feel the balance, teach her the break. Practise the break. Break, slow, then foot down. Then teach steering. Front wheel straight, looking down the road. Then explain that fast helps to keep you up so she has to pedal pedal pedal. Then I give a running push off and shout pedal pedal pedal and when they’re going to stop shout to remind them to use the brake.
I didn't learn until I was much older than your kids (around 10) despite having plenty of places to ride. My 10 year old cannot ride a bike. She is, and this is said with complete honesty and total affection, too flaky and distractible to be able to focus on pedalling, maintaining enough speed to balance, and steering safely. She can, however, ride a scooter like a demon and swim like a fish. I don't think riding a bike is an essential life skill like, say, swimming is.
I say don't give yourself a hard time over it. Not everyone is cut out to be able to ride.
Don’t stress my son didn’t do it unti br was 9 and got confident. That’s ok there is no race or rush. Take the training wheels off and let them push along for a while, they will pick it up.
Don't feel like you've let them down. Nowadays most mums work too and don't have a lot of spare time. Back in the day only dad worked so mum could stay home and take the kids out or they went by themselves (something that we would never do today!) do you have a yard? I'd just let your kids ride around in the yard without training wheels. They'll get it eventually.
Just try every day for 10 minutes and they will get it. Cheap target bikes unfortunately make it difficult to ride.
Also my kids 11, 9 & 8 only got their first bikes last year, before that they only rode scooters. I live inner Sydney city and it is common for kids to start ridding later.