How To Teach A Child To Ride A Two-wheeled Bike + Video And Photos

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Long live summer: teaching your child to ride a two-wheeled bike

Summer is the best time to play, especially if you have the opportunity to take your kid out of town, to the country. Why not take this opportunity? In this article, we will tell you how to teach your child to ride a two-wheeled bike. Our goal is to avoid injury and to captivate the kid with this activity so that the bike becomes his companion and friend.

Content

• 1 How to keep your child busy with the idea of learning to ride a bike
• 2 Learning to keep balance
• 3 We pedal and master the skill of driving
• 4 Features of learning to ride a two-wheeled bike
• 5 Video on how to teach a child to ride a bike

How to keep your child busy with the idea of learning to ride a bike

At what age can a child ride a bike? Yes, in almost any, the main thing is that the baby is already confidently standing on his legs. But first, it is better to teach him how to ride a tricycle, and when he has already learned to walk, you can change to a two-wheeled one.

The most important condition for learning is the child's desire. Don't force him to ride the bike if he doesn't want to. Otherwise, the kid will take this event as a duty, and will not enjoy riding either a two-wheeled or a tricycle.

We will look at a two-wheeled bike teaching method that is suitable for children from 5 years old. It is aimed at solving the following tasks:

• overcome uncertainty and a sense of fear;
• gain a sense of balance in order to confidently hold on to the saddle;
• learn to pedal;
• learn to control the steering wheel.

Why do adults need it? First, your child is learning something new, and, moreover, useful. The ability to ride a bicycle will strengthen the muscles and bones of the child, give the necessary load on the body, and teach you to breathe correctly. In general, there is a healing effect. Secondly, you will become much freer, especially if your child really enjoys cycling.

Be sure to be with your child to help if needed.

Before your child gets on the bike, help him overcome the fear of falling. You can give your little one confidence by showing by your own example that riding a bicycle is easy. Try to ride the bike on your own, pushing off the floor with your feet. After that, seat the child, and holding him, offer to put your feet on the pedals. When the fear of falling is gone, move on to the next step - start teaching your baby to keep balance.

Learning to keep balance

The baby can learn this in two ways:

1. Start right away with a two-wheeled bike. This method works well for terrain with a lot of unevenness.

2. Teach your child to ride a runbike. This is a mini-replica of the bike, which has no pedals. Runbikes are of two types:

   • small, toy, which can be driven around the yard or apartment;
   • large, similar to a real bike, suitable for driving around the yard and street, they can be rented in various parks.

Small ranbike

Such bicycles look bright and funny, so the child will certainly be carried away by the idea of riding such a vehicle. There is another significant plus - the muscles of the legs will be prepared for the tension that occurs when the bicycle pedals.

If you want to teach your child to keep balance on a simple bike, then follow this plan.

1. When the child is already confidently sitting on the bike, teach him how to get on and off the bike correctly. Then tilt the bike in different directions so that the child puts his foot on the ground from the side of the slope, focusing on it and keeping it from falling.
2. Encourage your child to balance themselves. Let go of the bike and have your toddler pedal. When tilting the bike, the child must orientate himself and rest his foot on the ground. Support if needed.
3. Now start learning how to use the brake. This can be difficult because it may be easier for a child to brake with their feet or jump off the seat than to use the pedal. The brake must be foot brake, not hand brake, so that the child does not accidentally press the hand brake at the wrong moment.
4. While learning how to brake, carry the bike with the child, and ask him to apply the brake and immediately rest his foot on the ground. Let go of the bike as soon as the baby presses the brake pedal.

We pedal and master the skill of driving

After the child has learned how to balance and apply the brake, start teaching him how to pedal. First, support him during the process, and at the same time repeat the lessons of braking while driving.

Now you can smoothly move on to learning how to drive yourself. First, push the baby over short distances, controlling timely braking, and then further and faster. The main thing is to be there in case the child has any difficulties.

When the child feels confident while manipulating the bike, offer him a short exam. Find a small hillock, and let the baby independently perform the entire sequence of actions: sit on the bike, spin the pedals, slow down at the bottom of the slide and rest his foot on the ground.

Big runbike

The learning process can be significantly reduced if you buy a run bike for your child. Such a vehicle is an improved version of what we remember from Soviet times, for example, rocking horses. On a runbike, the kid will very quickly learn to keep balance and control the steering wheel. And when you transfer him to a two-wheeled bicycle, all that remains is to teach him how to pedal. To do this, do the following.

1. Unscrew one pedal, do not put additional wheels, and lower the seat so that the baby reaches the floor with his feet. With the remaining pedal, the child will quickly learn to ride and brake.
2. Screw the pedal back on, leaving the seat unchanged. Invite your child to go down a small hillock. He will immediately, reflexively, put his feet on the pedals and begin to twist them.
3. When the baby learns to pedal confidently, raise the seat to the desired level, but gradually, otherwise the child may get scared and fall.

After a very short time, the child will learn to ride on his own.

Features of learning to ride a two-wheeled bike

To make things easier for yourself and your child, buy a two-wheeled bicycle with additional wheels on the sides. The main thing is that they are not installed on the same level with the main wheels - this will help to avoid injuries while driving.

Explain to your child how such a bike differs from a two-wheeled one. Show that it is impossible to make a sharp turn, otherwise you can fall and hurt yourself. Be sure to mention the brakes.

Two-wheeled bike with paddle wheels

Now start learning. The method is very similar to the one we considered above, with the difference that you need to constantly adjust the wheels. When the baby is just starting to learn to ride, the suspension wheels should alternately touch the ground. Later they can be lifted up unnoticed by the child. When he learns to drive straight, the wheels can be completely removed.

If you buy a simple two-wheeled bike, the teaching method is more complicated. Constantly stay with the child while riding, holding him by the shoulders. Do not touch the steering wheel: let the baby choose where to turn.

Two-wheeled bicycle

Be sure to check the seat height level. It should be so low that the child can immediately put his feet on the ground in any case. Over time, the seat can be raised higher.

A great incentive for the child will be parents who themselves like to ride a bike. Babies tend to imitate their parents, so they will gladly master the bike in order to keep up with mom and dad.

Video on how to teach a child to ride a bike

Our techniques will surely help teach your little one to ride a bike confidently and boldly. Now you can go on long cycling trips with the whole family and fully enjoy summer days, and thanks to a bicycle, your baby will always find a lot of new and exciting things for himself. Good luck and good sunny weather!