tips on teaching dd to ride a bike?

[luvmyfam444]

We can not get my dd to ride a bike for the life of us....we have tired & tried but she just can't get the feel of it - its the balancing that gets her. She can pedal as long as your holding on but you take your hand off & she starts to feel like she's gonna tip then she's gonna jump off!! I'm afreaid she's gonna get hurt jumping off so of course I was trying to teach her to put her foot down to stop her from falling...but nothing is helping...
I'm thinking maybe I should go get training wheels but I'm afriad they would hinder her more than help her----BTW she's OLD!!! (almost 8!) and yep - she had a bike when she was about 5 & it was the same scenario she was scared being that far off the ground & the way the bike would tilt on her...

WHAT can we do??!?!?!

 

[In a hurry]

Have you tried riding on the grass? That was what worked for my daughter! Good luck!

 

[Beth76]

It sounds like she's afraid, so you shouldn't push her. She'll figure it out when she's ready. I was around 10 when I finally learned to ride a bike. My son was 4. People just learn skills at different times.

ETA: They these things called a "tandem" bike (I think) that attaches a kids bike onto the back of an adult bike. Something like this could give her a bit of confidence. I'll try to find a link to what I'm talking about, but can't do it this minute.....

Something like this or like this

 

[stevenpensacola]

What I did with all three of my kids was take an old broom handle and stick down through frame behind the seat...you'll have to come up with a way to secure it...I think I used large wire ties....this allowed me to run along side of them without bending over....so I was able to stay with them for a lot longer time because my back was not aching....after a couple of trips up and down the road, they were on their own. I'd run beside them, they thought I was still holding on the stick...but my hand was close enough to grab the stick if they began to fall.

 

[golfgal]

We used a long beach towel wrapped around their waist so you are holding them but they are still balancing the bike. It took about 3 trips up and down the street for them to get it.

 

[kristen821]

Take her to a big empty parking lot, tennis courts or basketball courts. My ds was 4 when he learned and was only able to ride where he didn't have to concentrate on staying on a little sidewalk. My neighbor laughed at me when I told her we were walking to the school that was 2 blocks away to teach him to ride. About a half hour later she saw us and he was riding his bike home! It took him two tries and he was fine.

 

[momsully]

With DS6 we used a slight hill with grass on it to keep him going to fast. With DS4 we went to a dirt bike trail and let him ride. It was wide and did not hurt as much when he fell.

 

[luvmyfam444]

that's wild - only 2- 3times- That's whaty I thought we'd get it by now - we've tried many mnay times thinking she's get in after being out riding just a few minutes & 45 minutes later we're all walking back frustrated @ her & with aching backs & got nowhere w/her...

Been trying in the road so she doesn't have to worry about steering the bike or anything but it's really the balance thing

Do you thinkI should try training wheels ?

Thanks Beth 76 for those links - I've never seen those thingys before so that's something maybe we should look into - especially since we've got another one to train in a few years....

 

[salmoneous]

You've noticed the real problem - learning balance. And trainging wheels would probably hurt more than help...

This may sound a bit goofy, bit it's perhaps the best way to teach a child to ride a bike Take the pedals off and lower her seat. Basically, turn her bike into a scooter. Let play on the scooter for a while as she learns and gets comfortable with balancing and turns.

 

[Michie]

We have something similar to the Alley Cat that Beth posted; I believe it is called a Co-Pilot. W bought ours from Target I believe. It really did help my DD, she had a terrible time learning. She can ride without training wheels, but we still use it from time to time, they are fun.

 

[mamacatnv]

Get her a scooter - this is a great way to learn the balance thing without the fear of the wipe out . When she can balance on the scooter move to the bike, I kid you not it took my DD 2 tries last summer and she was 6.

MamaCatNV

 

[horseshowmom]

We had the same thing. We thought DD never would learn to ride her bike. She was 8 before she finally did (she'd had a bike with training wheels since she was 4 but just never could get it when we took them off to try). She did finally get it though.

P.S. She can ride any horse you want to put her on, but we laugh and say that she's wheel challenged - after the bike, she didn't learn to drive until past 16.

 

[disneylizzy]

Honestly, start out with a smaller bike - the next size down. See if you can borrow one. I think they go from 12" to 16", maybe. Use the small one.

 

[clh2]

This may sound a bit goofy, bit it's perhaps the best way to teach a child to ride a bike Take the pedals off and lower her seat. Basically, turn her bike into a scooter. Let play on the scooter for a while as she learns and gets comfortable with balancing and turns.

Several of my nieces learned this way. My BIL swears this is the only way to teach them.

We got really, really lucky with my DD. We were at a different BIL's house for a weekend. DD saw her cousin (1.5 years older) riding a bike, so she asked Uncle Jim to teach her. So, we always joke that we sent our DD to "Uncle Jim's Bike Riding School." After that particular weekend visit, she "got it." It was very painless for my DH and me

 

[swanmom]

I've heard that Salmoneous' idea really works. Lets them get the balance part down while still having the option of just putting their feet down if they need to. In fact, someone is actually marketing that idea..... there was an article in the NY Times a couple of weeks ago about this company.

http://www.rollirider.com/

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

You know what we did?

Granted, we lived on a quiet cul-de-sac, but we let our girls go down the gentle slope of our driveway. It was much easier for them to get going, if the bike was already going for them. We just had to run beside it!

It doesn't always work though; my neighbor tried it and her little boy ran into the curb and when he did, he slid off of the seat and hit a really bad spot on the bar that holds up the handlebars.

 

[kristen821]

that's wild - only 2- 3times- That's whaty I thought we'd get it by now - we've tried many mnay times thinking she's get in after being out riding just a few minutes & 45 minutes later we're all walking back frustrated @ her & with aching backs & got nowhere w/her...

Been trying in the road so she doesn't have to worry about steering the bike or anything but it's really the balance thing

Do you thinkI should try training wheels ?

Thanks Beth 76 for those links - I've never seen those thingys before so that's something maybe we should look into - especially since we've got another one to train in a few years....

My son couldn't do it in the street either. I think he may have been afraid of hitting a park car or being hit by a car. Also we did use a small bike that he was able to put his feet down. Since your dd is older I wouldn't recommend a real small bike but one that she can at least put her feet down if needed. If you go to small it would be hard to steer.

 

[Tinijocaro]

All four of my kids rode begfore they were five. My youngest was three, her 7 year old sister helped her. Seven year old completely taught herself- ZERO help from me, when she was four.

1.Use a VERY small bike. Be sure her feet can touch the ground firmly.

2. Have her scoot up and down the sidewalk- without you helping. When she can do that, tell her to try to pick up her feet for 1 second, then 2 seconds, and so on- don't worry about peddling yet. When she feels ready, she'll try to put her feet on the pedals and just cruise. Maybe you can make a game of seeing how many seconds she can cruise with her feet just off the ground.

I think the small bike makes a big difference. Godd Luck!

Jackie

ETA: after reading the rsponses, yes- a parking lot is MUCH better than a tiny sidewalk, and I like the idea of removing the pedals- takes some of the pressure off.

 

[Daisy Duck 5]

I just read something earlier today that said don't hold on to the bike just her shoulders. Also I agree use a very small bike where her feet can touch flat on the ground.

 

[laurie31]

DD1 had a very hard time learning to ride. DD2 learned first (and BOY did that tick DD1 off!) We used the tips in Parenting which I just searched for online and can't find.

This is pretty similar to what we did... http://www.sheldonbrown.com/teachride.html

http://parenting.ivillage.com/gs/gssports/0,,6wr7,00.html

Interestingly,despite all our efforts, it was dd's friend who taught her to ride. She went to play at her house one afternoon and came home riding. Apparently she wasn't happy being the only one there who couldn't ride and just became determined to do it.

Laurie