My son turned four recently and got his first bicycle.  He’s never been really good at pedaling his tricycle, so he’s having a hard time getting the hang of things.  Here are some ideas for helping your child learn to ride a bicycle.

First off, do what we didn’t and start with a good tricycle. My son is having a hard time with pedaling and steering, two things best learned with a tricycle. A tricycle is more stable than a bike with training wheels and therefore can be less scary to ride.  It’s okay if the child ignores the pedals to begin with and just scoots along with his feet because steering is just as important.  Once the steering is mastered, work on the pedaling. 

Once the child has a pretty good grasp of steering and pedaling, introduce a small bike with training wheels.  A bike is the right fit for your child if, when straddling the center bar with feet flat on the ground, there is one inch between the bar and your child’s crotch.  The training wheels should allow for the bike to lean a little bit – both training wheels shouldn’t touch the ground at the same time.  Keep in mind that, because the training wheels are narrow and the child sits high above the ground, if the bike goes too fast, it is more likely to tip over when the child tries to turn.  Stick with the sidewalk and keep away from sloping driveways for this reason.  If your child is like my son, one fall will set him back quite a bit.

When you feel your child is ready, start teaching balance.  Gradually raise the training wheels (and it’s probably best to do this when your child isn’t looking.  Don’t use just one training wheel.  It’s possible that just by simply raising the training wheels every so often your child will learn to ride the bike without them. 

If the previous technique isn’t working, remove the training wheels completely and head for an open grassy area.  Try and find a hill and let your child coast down without pedaling at first.  Once he is comfortable with this, add in the pedaling, and finally focus on  steering.  REI’s Expert Advice page suggests placing a cracker on the ground about 10 feet in front of your child and having him run over it. 

There’s always the hold the back of the seat method, but if you do that, don’t tell your child you are holding on if you aren’t.  If the child falls, trust will be broken and you don’t want that.

Have fun and don’t forget the helmet!

Read more by Alison at This Wasn’t In The Plan