HELP. 2.5YO won't ride her balance bike

Jdsk
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Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: HELP. 2.5YO won't ride her balance bike

Post by Jdsk »

prestavalve wrote:... but, obviously, I am worried that if I let her start on training wheels, she'll never develop the bike handling skills she'll need to win Paris-Roubaix.

I wouldn't give it another thought. Lots move on just fine.

Jonathan
Tangled Metal
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Joined: 13 Feb 2015, 8:32pm

Re: HELP. 2.5YO won't ride her balance bike

Post by Tangled Metal »

Our son never got on with balance bike. He simply ran with it between his legs so it never helped develop balance anyway. He got a pedal bike with stabilisers and soon had it balancing on two wheels. Took the stabilisers off and tried to get him to ride and he simply gave up. Wouldn't do it and even refused ty ride the bike with them put back on.

We didn't force it and then a few months later he asked to go cycling then asked for the stabilisers to come off. He wanted to do it so few simply did it. Only 20 minutes and it was 50:50 success rate. There next weekend we tried again and he had it.

After that he went from strength to strength. By his first year at school during cycling lessons he was on his own cycling freely. So freely he was standing on his crossbar and doing tricks. His class mates couldn't ride at all until the third week iirc. Then at the end of the lessons they had a two lap race of the school grounds with the year above them. Our son won that race. Since then there's a few who have caught up but none really into cycling.

My opinion that I have said before is to let your child dictate how and at what pace to learn. You're not there to make them learn just support them in a way that they want to and can learn. You get nowhere fast dictating with an activity like cycling. You might put them off. Kids are not the same so you cannot use the same training style for all. Do not fall into the latest fashion for training style if that's not working for your kid.
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pjclinch
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Re: HELP. 2.5YO won't ride her balance bike

Post by pjclinch »

I'd echo what Tangled Metal and Jonathan say: don't worry and take it at the child's rate.

The current Thing in cycle training is that balance bikes are the better way to go in general, but there will be exceptions to this, and another Thing in cycle training is that different pupils learn in different ways, so have a stock of alternatives when your best-working strategies don't work on everyone (even getting a whole class to tell reliably tell right from left can mean a few different approaches).

For the ski jumping thing, just get them started before they've developed fully functioning fear glands, but otherwise it might work out... (also, check out this...)

[youtube]ebtGRvP3ILg[/youtube]

Pete.
Often seen riding a bike around Dundee...
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cycleruk
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Joined: 17 Jan 2009, 9:30pm
Location: Lancashire

Re: HELP. 2.5YO won't ride her balance bike

Post by cycleruk »

Has Santa brought the bike after all?
Our 2.5YO grandson won't do things at home but will at nursery when he sees other children doing it.
You'll never know if you don't try it.
gerry84
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Joined: 8 Jun 2020, 11:34am

Re: HELP. 2.5YO won't ride her balance bike

Post by gerry84 »

One of my grandchildren asked me to teach her how to ride without stabilisers. So we went to the park by car, with the bike without the stabilisers. Off she went, and after a few feet she fell off. Did it again. And again. After a while tears were running down her face, and when I suggested that we should go home, I got a very emphatic "NO!". Things went on, and after another five minutes.... off she went. We then had to rush home to show Grandma...
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