Is trike-riding developmental? Can it be skipped?

[JudiAU]

DS is 3y 3m and nowhere near riding a trike. We live in a aprtment with no outdoor space and although we go to the park a lot he never had a lot of experience with push toys/ride ons although we had them. We've worked on the trike for over a year and it just does click. I was thinking a balance bike might be helpful instead and easier to master.

THoughts? Is trike riding developmental the way crawling is?

[sunnmama]

My 3y9m son can't pedal yet.  A trike would be a waste of money for him.  He loves his balance bike, though!

My 9 yo had a trike, but never managed to pedal it.  She did fine on a small bike with training wheels around age 3-4, and was on a two-wheeler (no training wheels) at age 5. 

Considering that trikes are human inventions (unlike crawling), I am absolutely certain it can be skipped. 

[carmel23]

It seems like most people here go for the balancing bike instead of the trike, anyways. 

[EdnaMarie]

I know a lot of boys and girls around this age (maybe 20 I see on a regular basis), and we take our trike to the park often with these kids.  A fascinating thing that I thought was a coincidence was that NONE of the boys would pedal it.  NONE of them.  The girls all did from age 2.5 on, but the boys would be up to about 4.5 before they would put their feet on the pedals.  Probably that extreme divide was a coincidence, but I think that if the average is three or four, that might be heavily weighted because of girls.  Trikes teach steering and pedaling, balance bikes teach balance and steering.  Either way you have one skill left when you get to the real bicycle--I think you're fine and can skip whichever one you want, LOL!

 And I agree... it's not like something you NEED, to learn to pedal. It's just for fun. Some people never learn to ski, and that is okay!

Oh, and also... not all children crawl. DD2 didn't crawl. She walked on hands and feet for seven months!

[KempsMama]

Originally Posted by JudiAU 

DS is 3y 3m and nowhere near riding a trike. We live in a aprtment with no outdoor space and although we go to the park a lot he never had a lot of experience with push toys/ride ons although we had them. We've worked on the trike for over a year and it just does click. I was thinking a balance bike might be helpful instead and easier to master.

THoughts? Is trike riding developmental the way crawling is?

I believe crawling being a necessity is a myth.  And I don't think being able to ride a trike is a necessary skill.  My little guy doesn't get it either. 

[colsxjack]

I dont think it's necessary.

But if you want him to ride a trike or push toy, can you do it in the hallway of your building? I grew up in a building and that's what I did during the winter as a toddler.

[Abraisme]

I think this must depend on how motivated a kid is to ride a bike.  My DS was peddling his tricycle well by 18mo, was riding a bike with training wheels at 2 and we took the training wheels off at 4.  He just wanted to do it, I didn't do anything special to encourage him.  I let him ride his bike a lot at the park (we also lived in an apartment) and that was about it.   I don't think there's any reason that a kid NEEDS to learn how to peddle at a certain age.  They all get it eventually.

ETA:  I think that it's totally coincodence that the other woman didn't know any boys that would peddle until 4.5.  I've know many boys that had their training wheels off before they were that old.  It's all about exposure and desire. 

[sapphire_chan]

I suspect that a lot of kids who go trike to bike still have to learn how to pedal while balancing and with their legs at the new angle.