Family Forum / Parenting / Parenting / July 2004

toto <scarecrow@wicked.witch> wrote in message

I'm thinking of those little ride on bikes. I know I started those at two,
then moved on to a very small tricycle.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

We had two sizes of trikes.  I do not remember at what age they had
those, but at least one of them was riding by the time we went to
California and I guess that would have been the 2.5 yo as the other
one was under a year.  In California (age 3 and 1 to age 5+ and 3+),
they both rode trikes, and also rode on pedal cars (like a little
locomotive that they sat in and pushed pedals).  I have movies of them
riding their vehicles in both places.

I gave my dd#1 a real bike (regular size) when she was 5 IIRC.  She
had training wheels on it until she was 7 or 8.  But she was a
cautious child.  We had a short paved street that we lived on which
was pretty much dead end, and all the other kids in the neighborhood
rode their bikes there.  The little boy next door had a much smaller
bike at a couple of years younger.  

My dd#2 learned to ride on her own without training wheels when she
was in kindergarten by borrowing her sister's bike without permission.
She would have been about 5.  But she was a much more competitive
child (not necessarily less fearful, but more driven). At that point,
we had an alley that backed up to a marsh and she learned in the
alley.

I don't remember when the younger two learned.  I know my ds knows
because he rode his bike a lot before he got a driver's license.  I
just don't know when he learned or how.  I don't know if dd#3 can even
ride a bike.  She may have learned to ride a horse before she learned
to ride a bike.

 
grandma Rosalie

*On Tue, 22 Jun 2004 20:46:18 -0400, "Sue"
*<sburke9368@wideopenwest.com> wrote:
*
*>Hmm, I'm thinking that the girls started riding their bikes around 2ish.
*
*Are you sure?  Most two year olds can't peddle at all.  The earliest I
*have seen kids peddle is around 3.   And usually that's on tricycles
*not on bicycles.  Do they even make bikes small enough for 2 year olds
*to reach the peddles?

My petite 20-month-old pedals fine on the tricycle her big brother outgrew
this year! She couldn't reach the pedals when she first tried but just
recently she's been making a half-decent job of it :)

Hi,

My daughter has a little Fisher Price bike with trainers that we got
at Target.  She got it at 1 1/2.  No, she can't peddle although she
can pretty much reach them, but she can sit on the seat and push
herself around.

oj

My girls were peddling their trikes quite well at two.  At three and a
quarter they are on bikes with training wheels and can manage perfectly
well.  

We mostly go to a playground that is fenced in; trying to keep both
kids safe on a sidewalk right next to a street makes me crazy.

 - marty
   (mom to alex & andie)

My MIL and FIL got my daughter a small bike for her birthday she is now 27
months old and at 10% for hight and she can reach the peddles but can not
peddle it.  It has training wheels on it and she loves to "ride" it but we
keep it in our tiny kitchen  since she has never gotten it to go more then 1
push forward and then back the same distance;)

Tori

Maybe it would be best to not even think about getting the kid
a bicycle until he expresses an interest.  He would likely
become interested when he finds that several of his friends
and associates ride.  Kids' peer networks can be an invaluable
source of cycling education for the youngsters, because they
disseminate among themselves what they've learned from their
older cycling mentors.  And they also learn what's cool (and
what isn't), which is part of the fun.  That's how I remember
it, anyway.

Introducing children to cycling as a solitary experience sounds
rather bleak and lonely.  I think they'd derive much more value,
satisfaction and fun when they electively join the ranks of
their cycling friends.

Rather than using a child's age as an indicator of when they
should or could start riding a bicycle, I'd suggest a better
indicator might be when the child is expanding his or her
social horizons among the other neighbourhood kids.  That also
gives them places to ride to, as well as others to ride with.

Of course, all this still leaves Jeanne Clelland's concerns
about her local hill and traffic unaddressed.  Off the top
of my head, the only suggestion I can think of is moving to
a more bicycle-friendly (and thereby, child-friendly) area.
Or, just hope the kid doesn't want to ride.

cheers,
    Tom

I thought so too, but in retrospect, it was one of the best purchases I ever
made. 4 1/2 is about the right starting age. If you do a lot of family riding,
the trailer-bike (or tandem) is the only way I know of to let everyone ride
together. My daughter loved ours, rode with me for 5 years, 1,000's of miles,
and wouldn't let me sell it after she outgrew it last year. A child should
have their own bike too (I know, more expense), they're really 2 separate
issues. Used kids bikes are easy to come by, trailer-bikes are much harder, I
had many people offer to buy mine while we were still riding it, so a lot of
people seem to be looking to reduce the costs. Looking back at it now, it was
a very worthwhile investment, if I resold it, it would only be more so.

Training wheels are for the parents - they need them to feel safe.  Kids
don't need them.  If they have the balance to walk & run then they have the
balance to ride a bike.

The real question is do they have the perception, comprehension and
reasoning to understand braking and when to use it.  I hear coaster brakes
(or any brakes controled by the feet) are easier to use by the youngest.
Anyone have info on this?

Bruce