6.5 year old WILL NOT ATTEMPT to ride a 2 wheeler!!

[wanderinggypsy]

I'm having a frustrating time trying to get my 6 and a half year old to ride his bike with no training wheels. We have an older child, and so we've been through this before, but my present 6 year old is just reallllly hesitant to try much at all. He wants to be able to ride, he just doesn't really want to take the 'risk' of learning.

Any magic suggestions on getting him to ride? The training wheels are off his bike but he keeps swiping his little sisters little Thomas the Train bike (that still has training wheels on it), and riding that around.

Help!!

[Daffodil]

Take the training wheels off his little sister's bike and encourage him to try coasting down a hill on it. If it's small enough, he won't have to worry about falling, because he can just put his feet down if he starts to lose his balance. Once he can balance on that, encourage him to try pedaling instead of just coasting. Once he can do that, have him try it on his own bike.

[MusicianDad]

Maybe just put the training wheels back on his bike and wait for him to be ready to try without them?

[prothyraia]

Would he be interested in a balance bike?

[leavemealone]

My DD was the same way. She's now 9.5 and just recently learned how to ride a two wheel bike. She is not a very adventurous child and is hesitant to try new things, especially at a younger age. She's recently become more willing to try stuff (like the water slide at the Y) and once she was ready, she learned to ride a two wheeler.

[mamazee]

Originally Posted by MusicianDad

Maybe just put the training wheels back on his bike and wait for him to be ready to try without them?

Yeah, that. I have a naturally cautious child who wasn't ready to ride without training wheels till she was 7. And not "barely 7" or anything like that. She was approaching 8. And now she rides great.

[velochic]

I'm trying to understand why it's so important that kids ride a two-wheeler at a certain age. If he wants training wheels, let him have training wheels.

[dbsam]

My son wanted to learn on his fifth birthday - and he did. His twin sister has no desire to ride w/out the training wheels and that is alright. She told me recently she wants to keep the training wheels until she is ten. She is normally the more adventurous of the two; she's content riding slowly w/training wheels. She says she can look down at the flowers while she rides and not fall.

My neighbors have a 'rule' that their children must ride w/out training wheels prior to their fourth birthday. I've seen them go through their 'training' with several of their children. Not a pleasant experience for their children or those of us that had to see/hear the process. They are thinking of teaching their youngest (2.5yo) this summer.

[lafemmedesfemmes]

eh-- i'd drop it until he was ready. i didn't learn to ride until i was 8 or 9, and am no worse off. and really, what's the worst that could happen if he ended up never learning?

christina

[LynnS6]

Does he have a 2 wheel scooter? If not, that's a good way for him to learn to balance on something he can have more control over.

This is the method we used with both our kids and it worked really well:
http://www.ibike.org/education/teaching-kids.htm

Take the pedals off, let them learn to coast and balance, just as others have suggested. Then you can build up to pedaling and turning.

FWIW, ds was 7 before he learned to ride and one of the neighbors was 9. Some kids need longer to learn. (Dd learned at 4. She's one persistent kid!)

[BellinghamCrunchie]

Maybe he has some gravitational insecurity going on. I really don't think you should worry about this at all. He'll ride when he's ready.

Maybe he'd like a scooter, which is closer to the ground, or maybe he'd feel safe riding behind you on one of those copilot bikes that attach to the adult bike?

[NiteNicole]

I really don't see the point of forcing it. It's a bike. It's supposed to be fun.

[One_Girl]

Will he ride if you hold onto the front and back to steady the bike? If not then I think you should let him develop at his own pace. It is hard to be compared to your sibling and come up short and it doesn't create a loving sibling relationship. He may be scared of heights, he may not like the out of control feeling, or he may not like the high pressure and stressful feelings that come with each session of bike riding. I don't think it is odd that he doesn't want to ride before he feels ready. Scraping yourself hurts a lot and I try to avoid losing skin and bleeding also. Maybe he would like some lower intensity sports or riding while still feeling safe.

[leighi123]

I didnt ride without training wheels until I was 12.

What difference does it make if he has training wheels or not?

[Katie T]

Originally Posted by MusicianDad

Maybe just put the training wheels back on his bike and wait for him to be ready to try without them?

[Emzachsmama]

I don't see the big deal either. I vote for putting the training wheels back on and letting him enjoy riding a bike. He'll learn to ride with them when he's ready.

[GoBecGo]

Put the training wheels back on - sooner or later a peer will make a comment and/or his fears will decrease and he'll want to be rid of them. It's supposed to be a fun activity, not a trial, for any of you.

[hipumpkins]

Put the training wheels back on. I did not learn how to ride a bike until I was in 4th grade. It has not affected my life one bit. even at that age it was never a big deal.
My daughter started riding when we told her that her training wheels were not even touching the ground anymore so in fact she was riding. My son started riding when a friend came over and he tried her bike.
Have fun!

[Autumn Breeze]

Don't worry, he'll do it when he's ready. My 8.5 yr old has no interest in learning to ride w/o his training wheels. And I just can't worry about it anymore. If he really wants to learn, he will. It's that simple. He hates that he gets left out because he's the only kid in the neighborhood that can't ride a 2 wheeler. He'll work up the courage on his own one day.

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by MusicianDad

Maybe just put the training wheels back on his bike and wait for him to be ready to try without them?

My 8 1/2 yo still has the training wheels on. He can balance just fine (the training wheels bend up after a while) but he likes them. I don't get why people think extra wheels are bad. Most adults go around on 4 wheels, too .