Best age to teach a child to ride a bike

salemsaberhagen
salemsaberhagen Posts: 54 Member
in Chit-Chat
My son is about 5 and a half and currently rides a bike with training wheels. I would like him to start riding without them, but I don't want to push him too far too soon. Any advice as to what is a good age to start w/o training wheels? What is a good method to use (taking pedals off, taking training wheels off, having him scoot around, etc)?

Replies

  • HawkeyeTy
    HawkeyeTy Posts: 681 Member
    Now.

    Take the the training wheels off.
    Have him pedal, you hold on to the back of the seat.
    After a few yards, let go...Watch as he hilariously falls.

    Help him get up..Keep trying.

    My bet is he has it down in an hour...or less.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,942 Member
    5 is a good age. And agree about the training wheels.....take them off. Kids learn a lot faster than we think.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Bounce4
    Bounce4 Posts: 288 Member
    Now.

    Take the the training wheels off.
    Have him pedal, you hold on to the back of the seat.
    After a few yards, let go...Watch as he hilariously falls.

    Help him get up..Keep trying.

    My bet is he has it down in an hour...or less.

    Yep. My more afraid kids did it in the grass (which is actually harder but the fall is softer). One of them took most of the summer to learn. I ran next to him a ton. My back and feet were killing me, lol. He was physically the smallest but also just not as motivated. The other's learned in just a couple of days.
  • jlynnm70
    jlynnm70 Posts: 460 Member
    My daughter had no desire to take the trainers off - but figured it out by age 6 - my son decided that since we wouldn't take them off he would just ride his sisters bike - and figured it out at 5 on his own. I just looked out the window and he was riding across the front yard. (He decided the grass would be softer to land on than the sidewalk I guess) - and NO he did not have a helmet on.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I taught both my daughters last summer. The oldest was almost 7 and the younger was barely 5. We're going to start the boy at 4 this summer just because it'd be nice to have them all riding.
  • Frank_Just_Frank
    Frank_Just_Frank Posts: 454 Member
    You could have started last year, take those wheels off and throw them out. Congrats, this is gonna be fun!
  • will2lose72
    will2lose72 Posts: 128 Member
    Have you seen bikes with no pedals? http://www.striderbikes.com/ is an example. Recently there was a lady on Shark Tank with one and got an offer. Don't think that is her but looks like there are several options out there. Supposed to teach the balance feel early on. Have fun...I think it just depends on the kid. I didn't learn til I was 11 because I was stubborn!
  • ChristinaOrtiz23
    ChristinaOrtiz23 Posts: 1,546 Member
    my son was a little over 4 when we took his off!!! took him just 1 day! Proud mama !!! :bigsmile:
  • ShibaEars
    ShibaEars Posts: 3,928 Member
    I don't have kids, but 4 or 5 is the age I started learning. I still remember it was because some neighbourhood friends didn't use training wheels so I didn't want to either. I went right home and asked my dad to take them off.
  • soundtrack
    soundtrack Posts: 57 Member
    Our 5YO "got it" in a few minutes once we took the pedals off, training wheels on. She got the balance fairly quick without the pedals (kind of wild how they encumber the kids). Then we took off the training wheels. Such a proud proud moment ;) GOOD LUCK!!
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Best age is when they are ready.

    My son was very precocious in co-ordination (and strength, and determination - a destructive tester of any product that claimed to be "child-proof") and found a bike his Gran had got for him and hidden away in her garage. He mastered it within 15 minutes and was only 3 at the time. No trainer wheels required.

    My daughter was the opposite and had to be coaxed and encouraged all the way and only learned aged 8.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    when they want to learn to ride a bike



    I totally remember the first time I learned to ride a bike without stabiliser wheels.... I was so proud. And I was 6. And I was quite a clumsy kid too. Took me a while to learn to ride a bike without stabilisers and to swim without arm bands but it was totally worth it.

    if they need encouragement then seeing other kids around their age who can ride a bike (or swim, whatever) will usually make them want to learn as well.
  • RozayJones
    RozayJones Posts: 409 Member
    Every kid is different - I say it's always worth a try. My youngest was not even 4 by the time he mastered it. My oldest still had a problem at 7....

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