Teaching child to cycle

Lucy21

Hi - has anyone got any tips for teaching a 6 year old to cycle without stabilisers !!! Having difficulty with my child and losing patience !!! HELP !!!!

sconhome

Lower the saddle and remove the pedals. Let them scoot along and find their balance with confidence without stabilisers.

My daughter used stabilisers and her younger brother a balance bike, he was cycling solo quicker than her.

Lucy21

AKW wrote: »

Lower the saddle and remove the pedals. Let them scoot along and find their balance with confidence without stabilisers.

My daughter used stabilisers and her younger brother a balance bike, he was cycling solo quicker than her.

Thanks - I'll give that a go :-)

3102derek

Lucy21 wrote: »

Thanks - I'll give that a go :-)

I was days trying to teach my little one, she couldn't get it.

Then her friend came over and had her cycling in about 20 mins.

The wife and I were stunned

Oryx

Balance bikes seem to work brilliantly. My daughter borrowed one for a few spins and was straight on to a regular bike after it.

Beasty

Oryx wrote: »

Balance bikes seem to work brilliantly. My daughter borrowed one for a few spins and was straight on to a regular bike after it.

A lot of regulars only have positive things to say about balance bikes

One suggestion, which can be tried with as balance bike or normal bike without having to pedal, is to find a gentle slope and give the child a bit of a push off. They will hopefully steer straight and realise staying upright is....


...just like riding a bike

Once they have tried that a few times pedalling to maintain momentum may come quite naturally.

Rua_ri

My son went from a balance bike to a pedal bike. Took to cycling the pedal bike in about 10 minutes.
He gained the control and balance from the balance bike.
He learned to pedal on his tractor , so the transition to pedalling on a bike was seemless.

As suggested above taking the pedals off should help.
If you are near a beach with sand suitable for cycling on , then that can give extra confidence , as if they fall its a softer landing. If not then short grass and a gentle slope.

Lots and lots of encouragement also helps.

cart man

+ 1 for peddles of and then gentle slope.

Also if you can run about 7m in front of them and get them to look at you and not down at their feet it will help too.

Lucy21

Thanks everyone. Progress has been made today - she managed to cycle a few yards by herself, so now its just a matter of gaining confidence and practise practise !!!

crosstownk

Here's my experience with both my children.

My eldest was on stabilisers for ages with no progress. While cycling behind her I could see that she was always leaning on the left stabiliser. She kept at it for ages with no difference. Then one day she said to my wife that she wanted the stabilisers removed - probably because her friends were now on two wheels. I removed the stabilisers and she got it instantly and hasn't looked back.

My youngest was similar. He was also leaning to the left. The left stabiliser was wearing away rapidly as he'd inherited his sister's bike to learn. He made little progress over the course of that summer. I decided to remove the stabilisers and hold the saddle to keep him upright. I was letting go of the saddle without him knowing and grabbing it again as I saw him about to lean to much to one side. I did this in the garden on the grass in case he fell, then, within an hour I had him in the car park of the school up the road and he mastered it.

With both of them I was insistent on teaching them to put their left foot down as they came to a stop to avoid a tumble and it seems to have worked - a tumble or an injury can cause a major setback in confidence. I also used the car park markings to teach them stop at a particular point as learning to stop in the right place is as important as learning to get going.

Raise the stabilisers to allow the bike to lean a bit more and it can help them keep upright.

I wasn't aware of balance bikes at the time otherwise I'd have bought one - they seem like a no brainer way to teach kids balance.

ted1

Another advocate of balance bikes. A small bike is good for getting them going. They then have the confidence to ride one that is the right size

Seweryn

This way I learned how to cycle when I was about two years young:



Obviously I had a smaller and lighter bike and did not wear a helmet, but the idea was exactly the same.

killalanerr

I have been asked to help out a few times with parents that were having problems similar to the op.First you might consider asking a trusted adult to stand in for you for a seassion or 2 the change personnel can make the difference sometimes
Also I always use a down hill slope to get them going trotting along side the aim is to instil confidence you can walk them up the hill until they feel more confidant,my hill is also on grass incase they do take a wee tumble

aFlabbyPanda

I have 2 boys, the first was cycling with stabilisers and one day his friend got a new bike which had no stabilisers on it and he just jumped on it and off he went, no bother.

My other lads was much harder, just just lacked confidence so we started with raising the stabilisers so he rocked from side to side and eventually he got the hang of it.

In hindsight I wish I had known about the balance bikes when they were starting, much better option.

wuzziwig

My two boys learned how to cycle by us taking off the stabilisers and running around behind them holding the saddle. My little girl had a balance bike for over a year. I took off her stabilisers at the start of this summer and she just sat up on it and cycled off. Every kid should have a balance bike from a young age. They are the best invention!!