Monday, May 7, 2012

a boy and his bike (or lack of)

Hi friends!

I come to you, (readers) today with a dilemma.

My eight year old does not know how to ride his bike without training wheels yet.

See, we lived out in the country and bumpy dirt roads didn't exactly make for a great place to practice. That, coupled with no neighborhood friends, meant Mason just never learned how to ride a bike.

At 7 years old, we moved into our current neighborhood. We have sidewalks again! And friends! Lots and LOTS of neighborhood friends, who can all ride their bikes without training wheels. He quickly learned how to ride a bike with his training wheels on, yet he scares easily and is afraid to ride one without training wheels.

I want my son to be able to ride his bike with his friends outside and feel comfortable. ( I know right now, he does not.) I want to be able to go for family bike rides. Daphne and Jack both know how to ride without training wheels very comfortably (Jack learned at his mom's). Once Mason knows how, the babies can go in our bike trailer and our family can hit the road for some adventure!

It is time for Mason to learn however he is starting out with little confidence.

Any tips?

This is the first time I have ever done this!


Thanks friends!

3 comments:

ck said...

Try watching this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7HsWf8cbI I had NO idea how to teach Cali - after watching this and trying the technique, she was riding without training wheels after about 2 hours. He will be able to go at his own pace while learning how to get his balance. And, (BIG plus), it won't require hours of you bending over and running alongside while holding on to the back of the bike :-)

Unknown said...

If he's nervous about learning to ride in front of his neighborhood friends maybe take him to an empty parking lot like a church or school where there is no traffic after hours and help him learn there. He can fall, wobble, and learn with lots of space and only his family to help and support him. Once he gets how to do it safely all you can do it encourage him to keep trying and practice to gain confidence. He'll be zipping around the sidewalks in no time.

Mot Juste said...

hold the seat... hold the seat... then let go!