Tips on teaching a kid to ride a bike?

It's a little harder for kids who had training wheels, because they think they know how to ride. But make a big deal about taking them off and staring over.

Then you just put them on and hold them up until they get their balance. Learning to start and (even harder) stop takes a little extra time.

All kids learn and yours will, too.

If you think this is rough, wait until you're their passenger in a car.

We started ours on the grass. Hold the back of the seat as they get moving, then let go but stay running behind them. The grass keeps them slow enough. If they start to wobble, you can support again, but as long as they keep pedaling they will get there!

Good luck.

I still remember the way my parents taught me. Worked pretty well!

Lower the seat so that she's not only flat footed, but has her knees comfortably bent. This way, she doesn't have far to fall, which adds some comfort for both of you! You can always adjust this for comfort later.

The hardest part is getting moving without falling over, which is taught in 2 parts: comfort with falling (because she will), and comfort with going from stopped to moving, where she will be the most unbalanced. First, hold onto the back of her the seat so the bike is upright and her feet on the peddles, and just hold it there. Then surprise her and tip it a little to either side so she starts to fall (slowly!). She'll catch herself with her feet, which is the point of the exercise. Let her prove to herself that she can catch herself in a fall safely. My parents made this part a joke like they were going to let me fall, but it served a dual purpose (of course, I found this out MUCH later ). When she's convinced she can catch herself, hold her up again by the back of the seat, then go on the count of 3: you push, she peddles out of your hand simultaneously. Then tell her to stop after 20-30ft. You know, far enough that she can get moving, but not far enough to gain a lot of speed and scare herself.

Then have her stop peddling and coast so she's not overwhelmed by trying to multitask, have her apply the rear brake.

Consider disabling the front brake for the initial lessons so she doesn't go over the bars. When she gets comfortable stopping, explain how to use the front brake safely.

Hope that helps!

just hold the seat and run behind her and tell her to pedal slow and keep going and when she gets her balance you can let go, she will be riding in no time.

My son learned to ride a bike just fine with training wheels, When they start, the training wheels should be at the same level as the bike wheels. Then you gradually raise them so they get higher and higher and they will naturally learn the balance. When you notice that the child is not longer relying on them, you take them off. This happened pretty quickly with my son. In about a week, we was riding without the training wheels. I found it to be a pretty painless process, at least for me. We used a local bike path so we could go some distance without worry about cars and traffic.

Earlier I tried steadying the bike while he rode. This was the advice I was given. It turned out to be a disaster. I could not keep up with him and it was very painful for both of us. Training wheels work like a charm if you use them correctly and don't use them to long.

This! This is how I learned to ride and there was no falling over, skinned knees and tears. Just bend the wheels up a little so she's learning to balance but they'll catch if she falls. Eventually, they won't be touching the ground at all. Taught my son the same way... at four. He's never had a bike wreck. (Knock on wood)

I told my daughter to keep pedaling no matter what and she would end up going whatever direction she was looking. If she looked down, she would fall. If she looked up she would go straight and if she looked to the side she would turn. I only had to push her a few times before she could start on her own but I taught her before she thought she couldn't do it.

Get the to watch the other kids ride their ones. My son could not learn it at all, he has a learning problem to begin with. He would fall off the moment I let go. 5 mins after watching the other kid in the area on their bikes & he was out riding his own easily. Try that.

EDIT: I should mention he went from no training wheels to riding right off. So from falling off to just going. I think in some cases training wheels develop some kind of dependence. I know it took me till the age of about 8 before I could ride a bike cause of them.