Teaching 6 Year old How to Ride A Bike...

polar5554
polar5554 Posts: 576 Member
edited September 26 in Chit-Chat
Can anyone give me some tips here...

My 6 year old daughter is just NOT getting how to ride a bike yet..

She did the whole training wheel thing for a few years and last summer we took them off and started to teaching her...She didn't get it last year (no big deal)...Brought the bike out this year, and she tried quite a few times and still NOT getting it...She doesn't get frustrated or anything like that which is good...But I see other kids her age riding bikes and just don't understand what her deal is.

Any opinions or suggestions??

Replies

  • Tzavush
    Tzavush Posts: 389 Member
    I tried and tried and tried with my son and he didn't seem to be able to figure out the whole balance thing.
    I left him to his own devices and lo and behold without my help he had it figured out and was off and biking.

    I think sometimes we make things worse when we are trying so hard for them.
  • shakemybooty
    shakemybooty Posts: 681 Member
    I would never have done this myself because I fear for their lives, but my husband put my kids on a small hill out in the grass and taught them that way. It was too hard for them to pedal fast enough to hold the bike upright right from the start and the grass was a good crash pad.
  • skinnymenow84
    skinnymenow84 Posts: 7 Member
    Alex wants nothing to do with two wheels.
  • qtpiesmom
    qtpiesmom Posts: 394 Member
    It takes a lot of work to ride a bike to get the balance and legs working at the same time. Some kids just dont have the coordination that others do. Just keep her getting on the bike, be positive that shes trying, hold the back of the bike as long as she needs you to. she will get it it just takes time.
  • Froggy1976
    Froggy1976 Posts: 472
    I also tried with both of my boys for a while but eventually they just did it on their own. They really wanted to learn so they could ride with their friends and they figured it out with a few scrapes and bruises along the way. That comes with the territory though. All kids are different, my boys also did the same thing with potty training. I would bribe and fuss and they just wouldn't go until I gave up and then one day they just figured out that the feeling of the diaper was yucky and they started using the potty.
    Its good shes not getting discouraged and she has all summer to practice!
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    How I taught myself, and the best way to do it I think, is a set of adjustable training wheels. Start out with all 4 wheels on the ground and let them ride a while. Over time, move the wheels up a little bit so that the training wheels will still catch them should the lose their balance, but they'll learn to ride correctly upright instead of leaning to the side. Over time you can adjust the wheels higher to get them out of the way. Soon they won't use the training wheels at all.
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
    I did this with all 3 of my kids...trust me this is the easiest way.

    Ditch the training wheels. Lower the seat to the point where your kids feet touch the ground and they can walk/ride while on the seat. Then...remove the pedals.
    Walk around the block for a while. After a bit, you will notice that they start to get it, then instead of step...step...step, they start to coast longer. Once they feel comfortable, I took mine on a slight decline and had them coast down the hill. Then I put the pedals back on. It is amazing how quick they ride. Then them getting started by themselves is the only new thing to learn.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
    I did this with all 3 of my kids...trust me this is the easiest way.

    Ditch the training wheels. Lower the seat to the point where your kids feet touch the ground and they can walk/ride while on the seat. Then...remove the pedals.
    Walk around the block for a while. After a bit, you will notice that they start to get it, then instead of step...step...step, they start to coast longer. Once they feel comfortable, I took mine on a slight decline and had them coast down the hill. Then I put the pedals back on. It is amazing how quick they ride. Then them getting started by themselves is the only new thing to learn.

    I think this is a great idea. Much better than pushing them down a hill and hoping for the best.
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
    Can anyone give me some tips here...

    My 6 year old daughter is just NOT getting how to ride a bike yet..

    She did the whole training wheel thing for a few years and last summer we took them off and started to teaching her...She didn't get it last year (no big deal)...Brought the bike out this year, and she tried quite a few times and still NOT getting it...She doesn't get frustrated or anything like that which is good...But I see other kids her age riding bikes and just don't understand what her deal is.

    Any opinions or suggestions??


    Teaching my kid how to ride a bike was the most traumatizing experience of my life. He screamed his fool head off, so I kept walking, ignoring him, to bad he was screaming my name. He ate pavement more times than I can count, refused to put his feet on the peddles...yeah it was an aweful summer...but that was two years ago. He's still scared poopless to do anything daring on his bike, but at least he peddles! Good luck, there's no right way to do it...
  • AllyS7
    AllyS7 Posts: 480 Member
    I'm not a parent (yet), so I can't offer advice in the department. But I was that 6 year-old that didn't get it. I actually didn't get how to ride a bike til about 8. Now I LOVE it.

    My parents did the no training wheels and lowered my seat so I could touch the ground. It helped a lot.
  • getfitdiva
    getfitdiva Posts: 1,148 Member
    My husband is working with my 5 yr old son now. His bike currently has no training wheels but my husband was thinking of putting some on. Would like to hear some tips.
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    My husband is working with my 5 yr old son now. His bike currently has no training wheels but my husband was thinking of putting some on. Would like to hear some tips.

    Read the thread :smile: .
  • WinKitty
    WinKitty Posts: 119
    I did this with all 3 of my kids...trust me this is the easiest way.

    Ditch the training wheels. Lower the seat to the point where your kids feet touch the ground and they can walk/ride while on the seat. Then...remove the pedals.
    Walk around the block for a while. After a bit, you will notice that they start to get it, then instead of step...step...step, they start to coast longer. Once they feel comfortable, I took mine on a slight decline and had them coast down the hill. Then I put the pedals back on. It is amazing how quick they ride. Then them getting started by themselves is the only new thing to learn.

    This is exactly what I did with my eldest. He got it in a day, but then, he was a year or two older. I tried to teach him when he was 6 but he ate it one too many times, and refused to get back on until he was 7.5 or 8. My younger son had training wheels and after he had a good day of riding, we'd raise them. Eventually we raised them enough that he wasn't even using them, so we took them off. He panicked. But he rode. He will only ride in the parking lot behind our house now. He only ever crashed once and he never got all banged up! But he's scared. :( My daughter is 7 and she still uses training wheels. It's hard to teach kids to ride bikes where I live sometimes because it rains so much. So we're waiting until this summer to make a big push of it.
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    I was riding with my method before I was 6, but I loved to ride my bike.
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