OT: My almost 5 year old can't ride a bike...

[jennifer293]

DD will be 9 in October and still cannot ride even with training wheels. She will not keep the peddles going- screams and cries. Our attitude- so what-- if she wanted to ride she would --why force her. She's a great basketball player and swimmer so it's not a physical issue.

Sounds just like my DD...she can ride with training wheels, but the thought of taking them off and riding..she is not interested at all!! She is a cheerleader and swimmer and to be honest I think riding a bike is too much like work to her..haha

 

[fluffycow333]

I'm a teenager and I don't know how to ride a bike. Never really had any interist in it.

 

[squirrel]

I can remember being outside with my parents, two sisters and my uncle and they were trying to get me to ride the bicycle without training wheels-I have no idea how old I was. I kept telling them there's something wrong or something and they didn't believe me. Eventually, my uncle tried the bicycle and found out there was something wrong with it.

I never really liked riding a bike. I don't have any desire to go on one.

 

[aspcamhreditor2]

I didn't get my first two-wheel bicycle until I was seven. Riding at the early age of 5 is sooooo much more common today that we sometimes forget it is not a requirement.

My older dd couldn't get the hang of riding her bike until after she turned 8. She was scared and didn't like to try. We're way tooooo busy to force her to do something she didn't want to do.

Then, 2 things happened... first, she got a scooter for her b-day. She wasn't scared and it was AMAZING how much riding the scooter improved her balance.

Then, my husband stumbled across a tool in a local store. For about $15, he bought a long handle for the backs of the seats. Think about the curved back piece to our old banana seat bicycles .... only longer. Allowed him to run along behind the girls at a normal upright position and yet keep their balance.

After a summer of scootering and two BRIEF evenings w/ her dad and the long-handle, our older dd become a champion bike-rider in just a couple of hours!

 

[whitneyNC]

I think it's a huge deal if your 10 year old or teenager can't ride a bike. Yes, where we live, and the social circle/activities my boys are involved with, it is crucial. It would be like not knowing how to swim. I don't ask their friends if they can ride a bike, or swim, it's a given. There is a 14 year old at church who can't swim. The other kids simply can't grasp it and he has missed out on camp, swim parties, white water rafting, water parks, etc. The Boy Scouts don't organize a bike ride on 14 miles of trails IF you can ride a bike! There's no IF in bike riding!

Anyway to the op- Try a balance bike. They are sometimes called Glide Bikes. They have no training wheels AND no pedals. The kid pushes the bike around with their feet and "glides." It is amazing. We have seen 3 and 4 year olds moving on to a two wheeler with the pedals. Don't give up. EVERYONE needs to learn to ride a bike!

 

[Luv2DressEmUp]

If you child WANTS to ride a bike and just can't get it, there's an awesome program out there called Lose the Training Wheels www.losethetrainingwheels.org It is a program for children with disabilities (and for many children, FEAR is a disabililty as far as riding is concerned) which provides a week long bike camp on specially designed bikes. It's an amazing program if you happen to be near one. They do recommend the riders be at least 8 years old and have the desire to want to ride.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

The other posters had some great suggestions. I just wanted to add something since my neighbor just had this with her 5 y/o dd. She could ride a trike just fine but obviously was way too big to do so and she couldn't for the life of her "figure out" the big girl bike. It turns out her chain was mis adjusted and a little too tight so it was really difficult for her to pedal, yet with "adult strength" it wasn't hard at all. After weeks of them trying and pushing her to "just do it" they finally checked over the bike and as soon as that was fixed she took off like a bat outta he!!. So if physically he can ride other smaller bikes, check over the big boy version, it could be something similar.

Well, now I am going to wonder if that could have been our problem! My oldest couldn't ride a bike with training wheels at four either. So, we sold the Walmart character bike and got him a good Trek bike. It was so much easier for him to pedal!

Biking is still not his favorite thing, and he didn't go to two wheels until after first grade when his four year old sister was learning to bike without training wheels! But, if need be, he can bike.

 

[Cinderella94]

I'm 15 and can't ride a bike. Never really cared to. In less than 9 months I'll be driving anyway, so I figure what's the point to learn now? I walk and swim competitively for exercise.

 

[disneycruising]

Thia brought back such memories of teaching my 4 kids to ride rides...some good some bad.

My oldest DD have no problem learning to ride a bike. But my two DS's gave us a little more trouble. One is sort of a 'perfectionist' and only wants to do something if he can get it right the first time. We took his training wheels off at 5 and he tried once and wouldn't try again. We told him the training wheel where not going back on. The bike sat in the garage for a couple of years before he pulled it out again. He got on and rode the bike.....with NO help. My other son was the same way. He just got on the bike one day and started riding around the drive way. Our youngest DD wanted her training wheels off at 4.5 and after a few days she way riding on her own.

I think were we lived also had a lot to do with it. When my oldest DD was learning to ride a bike we lived in Washington State & there were other girls in the neighborhood riding bikes, too. With my DS's we lived on the east coast, on a couple of acres... where you didn't see alot of the neighbors. So the boys didn't need to ride their bikes. Then we moved to California, where all the neighborhood kids where hanging out in the street riding bikes and playing...so they wanted to be like everyone else.

 

[Court3502]

This is so familiar to me... my son is now 7 1/2 and he can ride fine with training wheels but he can not figure out how to balance and ride without training wheels. He is super smart, like your son and recognized the letters of the alphabet by his second birthday. What I have noticed from him, is that he struggles with physical tasks and I wonder if this will be the case for your son. He is just not an athletic child so he gets very frustrated with physical stuff. I do want him to learn to ride a bike but at this point I decided to let him figure it out when he is ready. He also struggled to figure out the pedals when he was 4 or 5 years old.

I hope this helps.

Courtney
Mom to Nolan (7) and Sophie (4)

 

[Court3502]

This is so familiar to me... my son is now 7 1/2 and he can ride fine with training wheels but he can not figure out how to balance and ride without training wheels. He is super smart, like your son and recognized the letters of the alphabet by his second birthday. What I have noticed from him, is that he struggles with physical tasks and I wonder if this will be the case for your son. He is just not an athletic child so he gets very frustrated with physical stuff. I do want him to learn to ride a bike but at this point I decided to let him figure it out when he is ready. He also struggled to figure out the pedals when he was 4 or 5 years old.

I hope this helps.

Courtney
Mom to Nolan (7) and Sophie (4)

 

[patchchild]

Ditch the training wheels and the pedals. Put the seat down to it's lowest setting so that the kids can put both feet flat on the ground. Push bikes are the way most Europeans learn to ride. You learn to balance and take corners well before you add in the complexity of pedaling.

 

[CJ's Mommy]

Thank you all for your help! I've been sick for the past few days, and just came on here to check for responses....

One is sort of a 'perfectionist' and only wants to do something if he can get it right the first time.

DS definitely has some of this in him, gets it from me!

Anyway to the op- Try a balance bike. They are sometimes called Glide Bikes. They have no training wheels AND no pedals. The kid pushes the bike around with their feet and "glides."

Thanks for the suggestion! I will look into this, it sounds very interesting. This is what he tries to do on the bike now!

First, have you had his vision checked?

Yes, we have his vision checked once a year. Expecting future problems there, as DH and I both wear contacts. No problems yet though.

Does your DS like riding the idea of riding the bike. I never had any interest in bike riding myself. Your DS may just not want to ride a bike, it may not hold enough interest for him to try.

You may be right about that. I'm not sure he even cares about the bike at all.

Awwww I remember my youngest DD couldnt get the "pedaling thing" for the life of her. She could sort of push them backwards but of course that stops the bike. And when she pushed the pedal down she couldnt get "over the hump" to get the pedal to come back up.

I simply pushed her on the bike with the training wheels for hours. I would take my hands and "pedal" her feet so she got the idea of going around not just down. It took weeks and hours. I just patiently told her she would get it some day...she would get upset and we would try again the next week. One time she actually started to get around and felt what it was like. That was the "turning point"...pun intended. After that I was encouraging her get the pedal to go all the way around. She eventually got it.

This is EXACTLY what he does! You put it into words much better than I! And I was trying to teach him using the same method, but my back can't take the bending over!!!

How did he do on a tricycle?

Did the same thing on a tricycle. Wouldn't pedal, just pushed along with his feet.

 

[MusiqChic99]

My DH didn't learn to ride a bike until he was 18 years old. He is still wabbley when he firsts gets on now!!!!

No one ever taught him how and he didn't care much to learn. He did just fine in life without learning.

However I'm sure your son will catch on eventually. Don't push it.

 

[barnaby1]

Put the bike away in the shed and forget about it for a year. Being able to ride a bike is not the definition of a great human being. Seriously don't worry about it.

 

[brergnat]

Well, just to add another dimension to this whole debate:

At my 5y/o's recent checkup (when he turned 5), the pediatrician asked SPECIFICALLY:

"Can he pedal a tricycle or bicycle?"

It's considered a developmental milestone, at least by 5 years old.

SO, just from that perspective, even if your child doesn't have the INTEREST to ride a bike, I think, developmentally, by 5 years old, he/she SHOULD BE ABLE to pedal successfully. Same as being able to throw/catch a ball. Kick a ball. Climb up/down stairs, etc. These are basic gross motor skills. By a certain age, these milestones *should* be reached. If a child fails to reach them by a specific age, it *could* signal a gross motor delay, which really should be investigated further by an OT evaluation.

So, not to go too far into the deep end, but keep that in mind. Could be an issue with the large muscles, coordination, core muscles, etc. It's not something you should just push aside as "nothing", because if that is the case, it will affect more than just the ability/interest in riding a bike, and it will come into play EVENTUALLY when he goes off to school and is expected to participate in activities requiring strength and/or coordination that he may not have, and you don't want to put him in that position.

 

[CindyCharming]

Have you tried a smaller bike? This may sound obvious, but we were having the same problem with our 4 year old. It was driving me nuts, I could not believe she couldn't get the hang of pedaling. (She could never pedal a tricycle either) We tried her on her brother's old bike, that was the recommended size for her, and told her she could get the Barbie bike she wanted if she could figure out it out. Couldn't do it.

Fast forward to a trip to Walmart where we were buying a bike for her brother. She tried a bike the same size as the bike at home, no go. She happens to hop on a bike the next size down, which we thought was too small from reading the recommendations, and away she went pedaling down the aisle. She got her Barbie bike that trip.

 

[SalandJeff]

My dd also cannot ride a bike (she is 5 1/2). Her issue also seems to be the pedaling. She cannot ride a tricycle either. She will put her feet down and push herself around. She is fearless, so I know she is not afraid to go on her 2-wheeler with the training wheels. If physical things are too difficult (like the pedaling) and she can't do them right away, she just doesn't want to do them. I think it is important for kids to be able to ride a bike, at least in our area. So I will wait a bit a try again.

 

[littlbugmom]

My ds is a little over 5 and can't really ride a bike with training wheels. Just this summer, he's made some progress but gets frustrated very easily when he can't keep it going. When he gets it going, he'll often crash because he is so focused on the darn peddles, he doesn't look where he's going.

Our ped asked us at his 5yr check up, too. Ds has a mild sensory delay and motor planning difficulties go along with that. He's had OT sessions for the last 2 years to address motor skills (mostly fine motor). Is it a huge deal? No. We work on things and he'll eventually ride better. We don't pressure him.