Teaching a Child How to Ride

Teaching A Child How to Ride Children love bikes. It's almost a given that no doll, no candy nor puppy will bring as much ongoing joy to a child as a bike. They almost beat out video games. Almost. There are many approaches to teaching children to ride bikes. Our method, while tried and true, may not work for every child. The most important thing to remember is that every child is different and should proceed at his or her own pace. A note on diction: We will use the male gender not because boys are more likely to take to bike riding, but because it beats a confused sentence structure. When Do I Start Teaching My Child to Ride? Children who can barely even walk can learn how to steer. Toys, such as small tricycles or ride-ons (Little Tikes Car, for example), which cost from $30 to $50, are an excellent way to introduce children to the art of point and go. These toys are great for a child from 18 months to 3 years old. By the time children reach 4, however, they can get a trike going fast enough to cause some harm—tricycles have an inherently unstable design at speed. If you are introducing your child to the concept of wheels and pedals at a later age, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2, a trike may still be the best way to go. A bike with training wheels can be less stable than a trike and could scare your child. The important thing is that he feels comfortable and is having fun. Another alternative is a trike with a low center of gravity—such as a Big Wheel. They can be useful up to the age of 4. When children are anywhere from ages 3 to 6, they can begin to learn how to ride a bike. Some children take naturally to it, some don't. One champion mountain bike racer didn't start riding bikes until he was 12. You just never really know. Again, it really depends on your child's mental and physical development (girls tend to develop faster than boys do), and his or her comfort level. REI offers a few bikes just for the young, beginning rider, such as the Novara Dirt Riders. REI also offers a couple different models of the Adams Trail-A-Bike. This is essentially a trailer in the shape of a small bicycle that attaches to your bike. It's perfect for building confidence and familiarity with bicycles. It's also a great parent/child activity. Still another option is to get extension cranks for a tandem bike. This device puts the pedals of a normal tandem in reach of a child's Lilliputian legs. No matter which bike you choose, make sure that your child can stand over the top tube with both feet planted on the floor. That he feels comfortable with and in control of the bike factors big when he's learning how to ride. It's also the best way to ensure his safety. When riding a large, unwieldy bike, children will often lose control of the bike and crash. What Do I Teach First? If you haven't already, it's time to introduce your child to a helmet. You may have one for him on hand from when you toted the little one around in a trailer or on a child carrier. If it still fits he can use that for learning. A pair of cycling gloves is also a good investment. Have your child wear long pants, as well, when first starting out. While making sure his helmet is good and snug, it's a good time to go over the rules of the road. Make sure he: Looks both ways before going onto the sidewalk (from the driveway). Wears bright clothes. Rides safely and in control of his speed and braking. Is alert at driveways, gateways and intersections. Rides a safe distance from other bikes. Keeps to the right. Lets pedestrians know if he's coming up behind them. Lets a parent know when he's riding his bike. These are a few basic rules. Add and subtract where appropriate. Important Note on Helmet Safety A recent study found that only four percent of children wear bicycle helmets properly. When a helmet is not worn in the correct fashion, its effect on safety is reduced. A helmet should rest on the middle of the forehead (often it is worn too high), and the strap should fit around the ears in a "V" shape. The helmet should be snug so that it does not slide forward or backward too easily on the head. Teaching Balance Most children can do amazing physical acts before they can even walk. Who hasn't heard of the baby who escaped her crib or the toddler who climbed up kitchen drawers before he could walk? But balance is a tricky art, requiring a subtle play between many muscle groups. To help your child learn to balance on the bike, take a 3-step approach. Find an area for the child to ride. Try to find a place that is: Large Flat Even Fairly firm to hard surface This can be a dirt infield, a running track, a football field, a driveway, a park path or pavilion area, or an empty parking lot. Empty tennis or basketball courts also work well. Now, get some crackers. Not to eat, but as a teaching device. Using a cracker—placed on the ground—gives your child a target to ride to. It will also take his mind off the scary endeavor he's about to undertake and make it fun. Step 1: With the training wheels set so that they are barely off the floor, have your child pedal his bike to a cracker you've placed 10 feet away. Tell your child to run over it. This teaches him to scan ahead and to direct the bike to a specific target. Move the cracker to 15 feet, then 20 feet. Slowly raise the training wheels. Do this on various days over the course of a week or 2 without letting your child know that you're doing it. Practice and raised training wheels—a little bit each day—will help your child learn to balance. Note: In this scenario, training wheels are a tool, used briefly and quickly abandoned. Prolonged training wheel use can actually slow down the learning process—the wheels can become too much of a crutch. Step 2: When it becomes obvious that your child is able to ride the bike without relying too much on the training wheels, it's time to remove them altogether. You also want to remove the training wheels if your child is using them almost exclusively and he is riding the bike with a serious lean. Your child may feel some trepidation, but this is normal. As your child sits on the bike, hold him by the shoulders and ask him to balance the bike. Without forward motion it will be harder to balance. Tell your child that when he starts pedaling, he will be able to balance more easily. Step 3: Here comes the test. With the now familiar cracker about 15 feet away, have him pedal and try to run over the cracker. To help him balance there are 2 basic options: Hold him by the shoulders and run beside him—This ensures that he's the one doing the balancing and not you. Hold the saddle of the bike and run beside him—This is the easiest way to keep him upright. As you're helping him keep his balance, reassure him, and tell him to keep pedaling and to keep a loose grip on the handlebar. Kids tend to want to oversteer and this can actually be counter productive to balancing. It's not important, now, that he runs over the cracker, but that he has a goal to reach. You can help him get up to speed, but try to let him balance on his own. Teaching Skills As your child demonstrates better control and the ability to recover from the "wobbles" you can give him more freedom. But first, have him practice braking. By now, assuming he's got some trike and training wheel experience, he can stop by using his feet or, preferably, with a coaster brake. Let him practice with the coaster brake until he can press on it without too much wobble. Place a cracker about 20 feet ahead and have him try to stop before he hits the cracker. Now, place a cracker about 15 feet ahead and then another one about 10 feet ahead but at a 20-degree angle from a straight line. Do this with a third cracker forming a small arc. It's time to teach him how to turn.First, let him "walk" the course by using his feet to propel himself. Once he can come near or hit the 3 crackers have him do large circles and figure 8's. Again, let him walk the course first to get comfortable with the steering. After he has walked the course, ask him if he wants to ride the course. If he does, have him practice circles and figure 8's. Hold him by the shoulders or the bike by the saddle if need be. If he doesn't want to ride the course, have him walk the course until he feels comfortable. Ready. Set. Go. It's time for the moment of truth. Your child has got the wobbles down to a minimum, you rarely have to help him with balance and he's biting at the bit and wants to ride! This next exercise is best done on a flat area with just a hint of a slope. A park path with grass on each side of the path is great; a good, grassy football field is best. It makes pedaling harder but hard pedaling aids balance. Step 1: Talk to your child about what he's learned. He's learned balancing, steering and braking. Tell him that he's now going to ride without help but that you'll be right there with him. Remind him to pedal and after he gets going to apply the brake. Step 2: Holding your child by the shoulders or the bike by the saddle, get him up to speed and make sure he is pedaling. Reinforce this. Tell him: Keep pedaling, keep pedaling! Now let go. Drop off your pace—don't run beside him, but a few yards behind him—and tell him again to keep pedaling. At this point, he will likely forget how to brake. Such is the rush of riding by yourself for the first time. Don't let him panic; tell him to ride onto the grass (if he's not already on it) and push lightly on the coaster brake. If he falls over, run to him quickly and make sure he's ok. But praise him up and down for the great job he just did. And tell him, "If you fall off a bike, the best thing to do is to get right back on and ride." It may take a few falls, but after a couple hundred yards of practice, your child will likely be riding his bicycle. "Follow Me" Once your child can ride fairly easily on his own, it's time to play follow the leader. Get on your bike and have him follow you. Go slow and easy and make big turns every now and then. Set up a course with crackers and ride it with him. See who can hit the most. (Make sure he does.) Remember to reinforce success, rather than focus on what your child does wrong. One of the most important parts of cycling with the very young is to know when to quit.