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

[CJ's Mommy]

with training wheels!!!!! DH and I are just shaking our heads in disbelief. Does anyone else out there have this problem? We've shown him so many times how to work the pedals and he just doesn't get it. He is practically a genius in all other areas. He knew all the colors before he could even talk at 15 months! He would point to the color when asked, where's blue? or whatever color.

I am at my wits end with this. He is a perfectly adjusted, well rounded child but just can not seem to understand how to push bike pedals around and around.

How big of a deal is it if he never learns? Does this signal some type of problem? HELP!

 

[annagirl]

First, have you had his vision checked? My daughter would resist some physical activities and we realized when she was almost 5 that she had 20/20 vision in one eye but 20/300 in the other. She had a problem with depth perception because of it.

Second, does he do well with other large, physical activities? Can he swim? Climb? Does he jump from a height? Can he sommersalt? My daughter had trouble with these as well, because of her vision problem, and it took time to develop these gross motor skill. We did 6 months of occupational therapy after she got glasses and she greatly improved.

 

[FigmentFinder]

The wobbliness of a bike might make him nervous. Maybe you can try a tricycle? They're very stable. My son was fine on a trike but refused to pedal on a bicycle. He's prefectly fine, but a scaredy cat about trying things that might get him hurt.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

The wobbliness of a bike might make him nervous.

I was wondering about this. DD tried riding her bike with training wheels right after she got it for her 4th birthday. She somehow managed to tip it over, and refused to try again for a year. She really didn't start riding the training wheel bike until this summer and she'll be 6 in September. But now she's a pro on training wheels and wants to try to learn to ride without them. We're going to attempt that next week when I'm off work.

 

[dizneechic]

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.

 

[nmmom95]

I had the same problem with my 11 year old when he was that age. He was so good at other things-he walked at 9 months, spoke in complete sentences at 16 months, could read by 4, but could not get the bike right. It actually took until he was about 7. He has no problems with it now, he just was a slow learner on that one thing. I wouldn't worry, sometimes it is just a coordination issue. They get it eventually.

 

[jakoky]

HI there, i have 3 kids ( all teenagers now )...My oldest dd was painful to teach to ride a bike...we finally pulled the training wheels off for good around her 6th birthday...we thought it was time as her 3 1/2 yr old brother was pulling wheelies on his 2 wheeler ...my younger dd had her wheels off at 4...they are definately all different, my oldest dd was almost running at 10 months, but the bike thing got her

 

[maddiesmom0116]

Does your DS like riding the idea of riding the bike. I never had any interest in bike riding myself. My parents tell me that they tried and tried to get me too, but I wouldn't stay on long enough to try I just always said I can't. I am 36 and could ride a bike as soon as I got on one like at age 17 or 18, but that was just because a boy I liked wanted to go for a bike ride. I rode the bike fine after a few minutes to get used to the balancing, then I have not rode one since, doesn't appeal to me at all. Your DS may just not want to ride a bike, it may not hold enough interest for him to try.

 

[mom2val]

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.

 

[Leajess99]

with training wheels!!!!! DH and I are just shaking our heads in disbelief. Does anyone else out there have this problem? We've shown him so many times how to work the pedals and he just doesn't get it. He is practically a genius in all other areas. He knew all the colors before he could even talk at 15 months! He would point to the color when asked, where's blue? or whatever color.

I am at my wits end with this. He is a perfectly adjusted, well rounded child but just can not seem to understand how to push bike pedals around and around.

How big of a deal is it if he never learns? Does this signal some type of problem? HELP!

My daughter has a friend (11 year olds) who has never learned to ride a bike and the girl's almost 6 year old brother cannot ride it either. If he is not interested than I would not push him. There is nothing wrong with not knowing how to ride a bike. There are many other activities he can do to keep active.

 

[surfergirl602]

with training wheels!!!!! DH and I are just shaking our heads in disbelief. Does anyone else out there have this problem? We've shown him so many times how to work the pedals and he just doesn't get it. He is practically a genius in all other areas. He knew all the colors before he could even talk at 15 months! He would point to the color when asked, where's blue? or whatever color.

I am at my wits end with this. He is a perfectly adjusted, well rounded child but just can not seem to understand how to push bike pedals around and around.

How big of a deal is it if he never learns? Does this signal some type of problem? HELP!

So? What's the big deal if he can't? It's not like there's some rule out there that kids must know how to ride their bike by the age of 5. My 8 year old just learned how to ride her bike this past weekend. My 6 year old still rides her bike with training wheels. It's really no big deal if he can't ride without training wheels. You're worrying over nothing, really.

 

[NHdisneylover]

DS10 just finally learned to ride a bike this Fenruary. We tried every summer up until two years ago to teach him before realizing that really why should we push it? Riding a bike is not an essential skill and it was just frustrating him and probably making him dislike the bike idea even more. In his case pedaling was not the issue--he just didn't like the unnstable feeling of a bike and would manage to fall even with training wheels (we swore he was purposely throwing his wieght hard to one side as it was the only way to tip the darn thing) Now we live somewhere with lots of cool pike paths and we weren't pushing him and he decided suddenly he wanted to ride. He borrowed a bike from a neighbor (the others the family owns are all too big) and tooled around in the driveway on his own for an hour and had it down pat. We bought him his own bike that week and he has been biking man ever since! Yesterday evening he and I went on a 40 km ride (amn it is good for my wasitline that the kid likes to bike now).

Your son will probably get it too--in his own time, if you don't push. And if he doesn't ever learn to ride--well it is not likely to really affect his life in the long run.

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

I know this seems counter intuitive, but IMO, the training wheels are part of the problem. They force the bike to stay straight up, even in a turn. If they take the turn fast enough, it's too easy to tip over. Bikes naturally stay up as long as they are moving due to the gyroscope effect. We took off DS and DD training wheels this year. DD (7) took to it right away. Within three days she was riding down the hill in our backyard. DS (8) is a little more nervous. His bike is just a wee bit too big, and he has a hard time standing with the seat all the way down.

Your son has to feel comfortable to ride. Give it time, and it'll happen.

 

[kacaju]

my dd13 can't ride a bike.

 

[NJFabFour]

Just wanted to add my DS's comment to the chorus of those who say it's no big deal not to be able to ride . . . he had great visual perception and achieved motor milestones at early ages. However he had a weakness in his central core muscles (got physical therapy in preschool for it) that made balancing a bike (and even pedaling one w/ training wheels) quite effortful for him. I also used to try to encourage him to practice riding when he looked at me one day and said matter-of-factly:
"You know, Mom, it's perfectly okay to go through life and never be able to ride a bicycle."
How can one argue with that?! Haven't asked him to get on one since!

Lots of good suggestions here, he's still pretty young so I'd maybe just put it aside for awhile and try again next year? Good luck!

 

[WantToGoNow]

I say don't sweat it - most kids learn to ride a bike. My dd was like your son - she could not make that thing move. Near the end of last summer (she was 4), she finally figured out how to pedal it. This spring, she had no problem (now she was 5). One day she crashed it in the street and really tore herself up. I didn't even check the bike for damage. The next day my older dd and myself were coming back from somewhere and she was riding the bike down the street - we were following her - the training wheels were completely bent upward and were not even near the street so we took them off. She didn't even realize at that point that she was riding it without the wheels. My ds8 didn't ride his bike without training wheels until the day before his 6th birthday party (and we had gotten him a new bike for his birthday).

 

[sherabby]

My son just turned 9 and he finally took off his training wheels. It takes time for some kids and others just pick up so quickly. What if you took him to a large grassy area where if he would fall he wouldn't be quite so afraid of being hurt on concrete? My son had no problems with his training wheels but he just would not take them off. Finally at age 9 my dad just took them off of his bike! He's going great now!

 

[twob4him]

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.

I was mystified myself. My other DD was plopped on a bike and she pedaled off no problem. All kids are different and I am sure yours will eventually get it...don't worry about the age...just make it a fun activity and focus on what he can do on a bike...like steer or get on and off by himself...etc. Good luck!!!

 

[mjkacmom]

How did he do on a tricycle? All of my kids started the trike by age 3, and had training wheels off between 3 - 5. My sister's kids can't ride a bike with training wheels (ages 3, 5, and 6), but they didn't use a tricycle.

 

[NotUrsula]

DS has Asperger's, and along with that comes a fair degree of klutziness. He also has vision issues and wears a fairly strong prescription, which he did not get until after 2nd grade. He has owned 4 trikes/bikes in his lifetime, and right now his 2 yo sister has more "wheel time" under her belt than he has at 12.

He CAN ride; we made a big campaign out of learning the summer that he was 8. What he cannot reliably do is stop -- for some reason he feels compelled to jump OFF the bike while it is still in motion, rather than just braking and putting his feet down. He's as tall as I am now, and I'm going to be giving him my old 10-speed; I'm hoping that he'll be better able to stop on it because he won't have to coordinate working the coaster brake with then putting his feet on the ground to keep upright once the bike actually stops. It also has an adult crossbar, so jumping off will not be as simple as it was on his old small bike.

What I remember about trying to get DS to ride as a preschooler was that he decided that the presence of the helmet meant that bike riding must be awfully dangerous, and he's kept that perception. He really is very wary of bikes and only half-jokingly calls them death machines. I know this is heresy, but if I had it to do all over again with him, I would have skipped the helmet until he was riding unaided and enjoying himself a bit.

One thing that did work for us was buying some of those led lights to put on the wheel caps. They only flash when the bike moves, and at 7 he thought the effect was worth working for. (Now of course, he's too cool for that.)