Okay, so does every kid have to have a bike? - Page 2

[LittleBlessings]

Yes, every child should have a bike. DC started riding a tricycle at 2 and by 3 was riding with training wheels. I think riding a bike is a good skill to have

[HarperRose]

I have a brother who was riding a 2-wheeler w/o training wheels at 3 yrs old. We have a pic of him whizzing by w/ his hair flying and a HUGE smile on his face!

That said, I think 3 is exceptionally young for no training wheels. My ds1 was 5 when he learned to go w/o training wheels, my dd was 7, and I taught the neighbor girl last month (she's 5). I was 7 when I learned. My 17 mo old has a big 3-wheeler, but it's a little too tall for him at the moment.

We live in an apt complex, btw, and they ride on the sidewalk between our building and the one across from us. My 7 & 9 yr old are old enough, I think, to ride around the complex, but they are to check in w/ me every 3rd lap.

[Shaki]

DD is 3 1/2 and ride's a trike. She LOVES it! I want to get her a balance bike soon. Some of her other little friends have balance bikes and really love them. We are a car free family living in a big city so for us bike riding is an essential skill, plus it's a pleasure.

OP it sounds a bit like you feel your mother maybe is being overly pushy on this issue and it's not really the bike thing that bugs you but how fired up your Mom seems to be about it. Is that accurate? My Mom can work my last nerve by getting a bee in her bonnet about something and I'll find myself resisting it (even if I actually don't disagree with whatever her point is) just because I feel like she's being controlling. I don't know, just a thought...maybe the bike isn't the real issue here...

But if it is simply a bike question: I'm pro-bike!

[LuxPerpetua]

Lots of great thoughts here! Thanks so much for your input. I think I'm going to go with the suggestion to wait until dd shows an interest. She's seen other children riding bikes around the apartments (which, to be honest, I don't like because there really is heavy traffic here and lots of curves that you can't see around, but I'm not their parents . . . ) but she has just never shown an ounce of interest. We were even at a toy store the other day and I tried to get her on a small bike and she didn't really like it. I think I'll wait until she's a year or two older and then ask and see. I like the idea of keeping it in our car trunk (small car, but if it's a small bike it may work) and then finding a parking lot or some place for her to ride at a park. Thanks for the ideas!

[confustication]

I think it's a great skill to work on developmentally (learning to pedal) however, I'd start with a trike, then move to a balance bike.

I have a 7 yo (with Asperger's and some gross motor delay) who I really regret not pushing harder to learn to ride and balance. She did really well ith a trike until about age three, then she began to lose some of that skill. At 7 she's very dependant on training wheels because she can't stand feeling 'off balance' but she needs to learn how to manage her body to maintain balance and for her boke riding and those skills carry over into other gross motor function.

The easter buny delivered a trainng wheel-less bike this morning, and she's nervous, but excited as she is finally old enough to understand why she needs to practice (also she is getting teased by kids for having training wheels and not being comfortable on her bike.)

Anyway- I know that was an odd tangent, but yes, I think it's an important skill.

[Lisa1970]

It would be silly to have one now. We never ever bought ones when we lived in an appartment. What a nightmare that would be as far as storing and trying to follow her all over the place, in to the parking lot where she could get run over and so on. Wait until you move and then get it for the next birthday or Christmas present.

[zoebugsmom]

I can't imagine growing up and never having a bike. It was how we got around as kids, you know? We start our kids off with scooters for their 3rd birthday. They don't take up much room and are mastered pretty quickly so they can ride them when we go for walks. They get their first bike at age 5 from their Nana.

[lolar2]

I've seen a lot of MDC-ers mention getting balance bikes rather than training wheels, when they do get a first bike.

[trini]

Sounds like you've come to a decision, which sounds good.

I didn't have a bike until I was 8. My brother was 10 when he got his first bike. We skipped the training wheels. I did have some trouble learning to ride, but it wasn't traumatic or anything!

DS is 3. He got a little trike for his first birthday, uses a bigger trike now, and I just got him a balance bike. We live in on a cul-de-sac in a neighborhood with sidewalks, though. If he didn't have anywhere safe to ride then I wouldn't have gotten any of those for him.

[LittleBlessings]

Originally Posted by lolar2

I've seen a lot of MDC-ers mention getting balance bikes rather than training wheels, when they do get a first bike.

what is a balance bike?

[Quickbeam]

Here's a fun video of a child on a balance bike:

http://blip.tv/file/110126

My 27 month old DS has one and he rides it every day. But we own a bicycle business and we ride together as a family almost every day. From my perspective after reading your post, it seems like you are annoyed with your mom's insistence that DD have something that you and DD aren't too interested in. I love bikes but that doesn't mean everyone has to.

I have two close friends who can't ride a bicycle, and they both have fun-filled lives, I promise.

[sunnmama]

I think every child should have an oppotunity to learn to ride a bike.

But...

3 is way young to be worked up about it (not too young for a bike, but too young to worry that they haven't had the opportunity to learn.....I think they should have the opportunity to learn before age 10 or so).

and

they don't nec need their own bike to learn. A child growing up in an area with lots of kids could learn on a friends bike. If they want/need their own bike when they are older, they can earn their own money (bikes can be bought used very cheaply).

That said, my dd has had a bike since at 3 or so, and ds will probably get a balance bike when he turns 3. Dh and I love to ride bikes, and it is a big family activity for us. Our small apt patio is 1/2 filled with bikes!

[paquerette]

I prefer starting with a balance bike then graduating to a 2 wheeler with pedals. You can actually just get a regular bike and remove the pedals and lower the seat, and then put them back once balance is mastered.

My DD started out with this: http://www.amazon.com/Razor-Scuttle-.../dp/B000BXJ0FC It's very small, foldable, portable. I don't like that it's 3 wheels instead of 2; she did tend to tip because of that. But she had lots of fun with it. She rode it inside mostly. We lived in an apt and used to carry it in the car in the summer and she could ride at other people's yards, parks, etc.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/teachride.html talks about different approaches to teaching kids to ride, pros and cons, etc.

[Materfamilias]

On the balance bike, I wouldn't pay to get one, then another two-wheeled bike later; we did that with DS, and it worked great, but we got the balance bike very cheap on eBay (we gave it away, not thinking we were going to get pregnant, durn it!). I would just get the right sized bike and remove the pedals, as the pp said.
And Sheldon Brown is an awesome site for anything bike!
We will skip the whole tricycle thing for DD, I think.
I am one of those people who thinks bikes are a must for kids, but that's only 'cause I love 'em.
Shay -- check out the League of American Bicyclists to see if anyone is teaching a Road course near you. Or contact your local bike club. I am positive some people would jump at teaching you to ride.

[harmonyhobbit]

3 is very early. My 6 yr old just got a scooter with bike tires. He loves it. he's not very coordinated, and pedalling is very hard for him. He has enough trouble on the scooter that I can't imagine he could ride a bike yet, even with training wheels, it would be difficult.
My 3 yr old has been asking for a bike, but he has 2 tricycles that he doesn't ride, so I'm thinking it's too early for him as well.

[crittersmom]

Didn't get to read everyone else's but I gotta say yes get some kind of bike when she turns 4 ( think thats about the right age that they can manuever better).
I am 32 years old ( days away from 33) and I still haven't learned to ride a bike and most likely never will.I wanted one very badly but because we lived in an apt. and didn't have alot of money and I was the only kid in the neighborhood I didn't get one until I was 11.It had no t raining wheels and it was sort of just given to me without any help.I felt so goofy then and now and am still upset but at least that is one of the few things I have to complain about.
My oldest was given a 3 wheeler for his 1 st birthday ( that Roll,rock and ride one) and when he was 3 he figured out how to pedal it so when he was four we got him a 2 wheeler with the training wheels.He was zooming without then in 6 months and we can hand it down to each of our kids.

[mamazee]

I think it would be nice if every child had a bike, but then I'm aware of how classist or something that is. I mean some people in the world have no chance of ever doing that. It certainly isn't a necessity. But still, it's a nice thing for kids to have.

Anyway, 3 is way too young to worry about it. Maybe at 6 it would be nice. At 3 it is really not necessary at all.

[snoopy5386]

haven't yet read the thread, but my answer is no. I remember getting my first bike at age 6 or 7. Honestly, until coming on this website I thought that was normal. I had never heard of or seen a 3 year old riding a bike. Our neighbor kids just got bikes last summer, they were 7 and 9 at the time. We live on an insanely steep hill, a little dead end street off of a main road so there is no "block" for my DD to ride her bike around, only our driveway. She would seriously injure herself if I let her ride her trike in the street (like careening down the hill until she had a major, major fall or riding it at top speed directly into a busy street and then smashing into a curb) so there will be no "real" bikes here for a long time.

[Green Eyes]

Our daughter just turned 11 last week, and she does not know how to ride a bike. She had a tricycle when she was 2 1/2 and didn't really care for it. Got a scooter (a Kettler children's one) when she was 4 and rode it twice. Her grandmother gave her a bicycle (with training wheels) for her 5th birthday and she rode it one time. Her daddy had tried over two summers to get her on it and she turned him down every time.

She is adamant that she does not want to ride a bike!

She swims, runs track, and skates, and she's fit and healthy so we decided it's her choice. If she ever wants to learn, we'll probably get an old bike and take the pedals off so it will be like a balance bike.

So my answer is no, not every kid has to have a bike!

[nextcommercial]

Most of the kids on this block are riding two wheelers w/o training wheels by their fourth birthday.

But, they..

#1. Have each other..there are 15 kids all close in age.

#2. Have a street where nobody drives down here unless you live here, and chances are if the kids are outside, all the parents are all home and in the street too, so cars rarely come down here.

#3. They have a lot of outside time, and all the kids play in the street because we don't really have yards.

But, if I lived in an apartment with no easy place to ride, I doubt I'd have a bike for my child either. Especially since even on a short bike ride, kids tend to get tired easily, and you are bent over pushing the bike home after a half block anyway. Then, you have to carry it up three flights of stairs??? I wouldn't do it.

If you do look for a bike. I got a bunch of little plastic trikes from Wal Mart for 19.99 each. My daycare kids ride them in the backyard on the long sidewalk. The pedals are easy to master, even at 18-24 months.
http://www.allaboardtoys.com/fisher-...oduct%20search Like this, only without the Dora. Or this one, but you don't have to put the stickers on it. Ours are all yellow, red and black. They are light enough that they'd be easy to carry up stairs.