How to teach my 4 yr old to cycle?

Question

Advice for teaching a kid to cycle?

Hi my 4 1/2 yr old has now decided that she doesn't want her stabilisers (training wheels) on her bike. I'm looking for tips to make the transition to two wheels easier.

Any tips greatly appreciated.

Thanks xx

Answer 1

I have heard the best thing to do is to take off the stabilisers AND the pedals. She will then get used to balancing the bike, and push it along with her feet. The sense of balance is developed best this way: she is in control, but will get to go faster when she is balanced.

There are a couple of potential problems: apparently it works best if she has never used stabilisers, and secondly, it can be difficult to take off the pedals on some bikes. But give it a go, if you can!

Answer 2

As she's had stabilizers at least she's used to a little bit of wobble!  The best thing is the old idea of running along holding her seat, you take take away her need to balance and she can concentrate on pedalling.  the balance will come and you'll be able to tell from your hold on the seat when she's getting it but its important not to let go too soon!  If she falls off it might shock her and she won't get back on!  You can always have a lighter grip on the saddle so she gets used to using her own balance without realising then when you think she's ready let go.  

Also, you could try what my family did with me, told me that once the stabilisers came off they were broken and could NEVER go back on!  I believed that right up until a couple of years ago!

Answer 3

get her to sit on her bike without the stablisers and tell her to use her feet on the ground to push herself forwards. then let her glide using momentum and repeat. this gets her more used to balancing and when she feels happy she can start pedalling. hope this helps!

Answer 4

theirs no much you can do except make sure she has her helmet and etc

also in the beginning you might need to keep the bike steady for her into she learns to keep in balance in the bike, it doesn't take that long ( what i mean is that you are going to have to walk or run besides her while holding the bike) also when she falls down, if she not seriously hurt don't go running to her to pick her up, let her pick herself up and get back on the bike

the truth is that they don't really need us to teach them how to learn to ride a bike they just need us for support

Answer 5

If she wants the stabilisers off then she's ready to do it. Let her. Just make sure that the saddle is low enough at first so that she can get both feet comfortably on the ground (kids use their feet to brake at first!) and they also act as stabilisers. Once she has her sense of balance you can raise the saddle to the right height.

Answer 6

I just taught my two year old brother to ride his bike without training wheels. :D. What I would first do is take her training wheels and adjust them up all of the way. This will leave the training wheels an inch or so from the ground. If she  can ride in a straight line without dragging the training wheels then I would say that she is ready. Remove her training wheels and run beside her to catch her if she falls.

Here is a link to my little brother 2 years old riding his bike show her this video and tell her that he is 2 and she is 4 so she can do it when she gets discouraged.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVRRH8sg4...

Answer 7

The above advice is good: you can also keep running having let go later on.

The main thing is confidence. Hers, not yours! If she worries at all (when aware she's going free) then she may panic a little. The sense of knowing you've done it without realising is a major boost.

Is there someone else who can be there to do little back and forth with (like with learning to walk)?

I think the main thing here though is she WANTS to shed the stabilisers - that's mission accomplished already.