Any tips for teaching DD 10 to bike ride?

[disneysteve]

HELP!

DD is 10 and apparently is balance-impaired. I've tried periodically over the past few years to teach her to ride a bike and she just can't get the hang of it. She just can't balance and stay upright. She tends to lean/fall to the right. When I point it out, she overcompensates and falls to the left.

Any secret tips or things that worked for you when you taught your own kids?

TIA

 

[j's m]

Is it a New Jersey thing?

My DS11 is the same way, but all of us have given up. Our problem is that we don't live in a development and don't have sidewalks.

I'd love to hear any ideas too for teaching older kids to ride.

 

[lindalinda]

One of the best tips I have is to make sure the bike is short enough. Make sure her feet can sit flat on the ground on both sides when she is learning, you can raise it back up after she learns. Also do your test rides in the grass with a slight slope. If she knows she can just put her feet down and wont get hurt it should give her confidence.

 

[Evil Queen]

Glad to see this thread, my DS10 has never really had an opportunity to learn and is now showing an interest in getting a bike.

 

[disneysteve]

Is it a New Jersey thing?

My DS11 is the same way, but all of us have given up. Our problem is that we don't live in a development and don't have sidewalks.

Maybe if I drive her over to Philly that would help - LOL!

We have sidewalks, but I've actually been working with her in the street. I figured that was flat and smooth with plenty of space. The sidewalks are narrow and irregular. I thought that would make it harder.

As for grass, I've thought about that but it seems that would be harder since it isn't smooth. But I'm willing to give that a try next time we go out. We have a big enough back yard that we could try it there.

 

[DawnCt1]

Have you tried training wheels. Everyone one of my kids learned with training wheels, one as young as 3 years old. You put the training wheels low so the bike stands comfortably by itself. As she gets more confident raise them and within a week or two you will be able to take them off.

 

[BabySimba]

When I was about 6 my parents had tried everything for me to get on the bike but one day I just jumped on it and I did it all by myself!
Nicole

 

[Jillpie]

Learning on slightly sloped grass is an excellent idea. We did this with all three boys and with great success. If you don't have some near your house, just look around town, maybe at the park. It takes some real perseverance and lots and lots of patience. Good luck!

 

[2infinity&B-ond]

My three kids (7, 6, and 5) all ride without training wheels. They learned on bikes that were actually too small for them. When they started to lean, the bike was so small that they were able to put their feet down to prevent themselves from falling.

I have also read that a grassy hill can be a great place to learn. However, a 10 year old is probably learning on a fairly big bike...so the fall could still be painful.

Good luck!! It will come with time and practice!

 

[Jillpie]

Grass is still the best. If they have to fall, it is far better to fall on grass than road. Good luck.

 

[laurajetter]

A slightly sloped grassy area would be my suggestion as well. Although it may be a little bumpier than pavement, I found that having a soft cushion of grass around me gave me more confidence to keep trying to ride without the fear of getting scraped up if I fell.

The slight downhill slope will help to give her enough momentum to keep going. You can hold on to the bike and run along with her, and once she is riding, let go for a bit. You can then let go for longer and longer periods of time, as she realizes that she is doing it on her own.

ETA: In terms of her balance problem, how fast is she going? If she is going very slowly, then it will be difficult to balance no matter what she does. I know it is probably a bit scary to go a little faster in the beginning, but it truly is easier to balance once you have some momentum going. I'm not talking breakneck speeds, but she can't be going at a snail's pace either.

Good luck!

Laura

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We've worked with our 6yo, the youngest of our 4 children. I think I'd rather potty train a child than teach them to ride a bike! Our next step is to try the grassy slope. His bike seat is low and we've tried teaching him on the slope of our street. So far he isn't close. One of my other boys learned at 6 and the 2 other kids at 4 1/2. My 12yo, who learned at 4 1/2 did it in a day. By the end of that day he was all over on his bike. The strange thing is that my 6yo doesn't seem real uncoordinated.

 

[CraftyMouse]

I had the same problem with my DD and this method worked like a charm...

Have your daughter start at the top of a slightly sloped area. Have her coast down the slope with her feet not on the pedals, but down near the ground, raised just high enough to allow the bike to move without her feet stopping it. This will help her with the balance part, which seems to be what she needs. Have her do this over and over until she feels comfortable and able to balanc. Then, when she has the hang of the balance part, have her start to do it while pedaling.

For my DD it was important to separate the two parts (balance and pedaling) because she just couldn't manage them together at first. Now she rides very well and has no problems.

Good luck!

 

[grlpwrd]

I gave our 3 oldest dds a mini-lecture on physics before learning how to ride a bike. lol We tried to get them to understand the process and goal of balancing and moving forward. I thought conceptualizing it might help.

They also started on small grassy slopes and/or also my dh would hold their bike seat as they rode which was tiring on him, but they got it.

At one point when I was holding my 11 yo dd's bike seat as she pedaled I let her go so she could do it on her own. I thought she'd got it by then, but she said "mommy, you're fired." I guess humor, a good attitude, and patience are good, too, when learning how to ride a bike.

GL to you all!

 

[CajunDixie]

When she's trying to ride watch where her eyes are looking. When I was learning our neighbor walked out of his house and told me to stop looking down.....you look down, you go down. I caught on after that. Have her look forward and maybe even up a little.

 

[Disney Ella]

I have 10 year olds in New Jersey who can't ride either! DH and I spent several summers crouched over them running up and down the driveway, but they never got the hang of it. They don't seem to care much about learning but I have it etched in my head that all children must know how to ride bikes and keep bringing it up. If I do get them interested, I plan to use your tips.

Hope it goes well, Steve!

 

[LuvN~Travel]

The slightly sloped drive worked well for us too with our son. It let him get the feel of coasting and being able to stop before he began the actual pedaling. I don't know how well he would have done on grass, but the sloped drive worked well for him.
Now our daughter is another thing. By the time she got big enough to learn we'd discovered her scoliosis and then she had surgery by age 8. Nothing physical for a year! And now she wouldn't be interested. OH well.
Kim

 

[Tigger&Belle]

When she's trying to ride watch where her eyes are looking. When I was learning our neighbor walked out of his house and told me to stop looking down.....you look down, you go down. I caught on after that. Have her look forward and maybe even up a little.

Won't she then fly into the air like ET?

 

[crazyme5kids]

I think sometimes the best thing to do is just let them figure it out themselves. We did the basics with our kids, but that was what seemed to work best. I found that it was best for them to get the feel for balancing without too much input from us. We are going through this with our 8 year old now. We do the hold onto the seat and run thing, but let go. He is starting to get the hang of it and going a little further each time. Also we go to a big parking lot so there is plenty of open space to wobble in different directions.

 

[CEDmom]

I just saw an article in a magazine (maybe Parents) about teaching a child to ride. Here's what it said:

Step 1: lower seat so the child's feet are flat on the ground.
Step 2: remove the pedals and have child use feet to push bike and lift feet off ground to get used to balancing. This step could take a while

Step3: Once they've mastered balancing put pedals on and have child ride on grassy area with slight slope. Gradually picking up speed will help with balancing. Don't hold onto the back on the seat bike.

DD(6 1/2) is using training wheels but once we're in our new house in a few weeks we're going to give this a try.