How do you teach a kid to ride a bike?

My daughter learned last spring on a 16" bike, practicing in the grass. (We had several failed attempts on the sidewalk.) The bike was low enough for her to touch both feet to the ground, and she wasn't afraid of falling in the grass. Once the fear of falling was gone, she took off, and is now riding her big bike everywhere.

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My parents separated and we moved states when I was almost 6. It was right during the time my siblings were trying to teach me how to ride a bike, so needless to say, that got put on hold for a while.
As soon as I got my bike again, I started teaching myself - I hadn't cared much for someone esle pushing me from behind.
I would push myself along with my feet and when I was going fast enough, and was confident enough, I would hold my feet up off the ground and try to balance as I coasted along. That way, when I tipped over I could catch myself. I did this for a couple days until I felt ready to try putting my feet on the pedals. I started off the same, by pushing with my feet, but instead of just hold my feet up when I got going, I would try to start peddling. It took a few tries to actually get peddling, but once I started it was easy because I already knew how to balance if the bike was moving. I hope that makes sense.
I liked learning this way because I learned how to start and stop riding not just how to keep peddling. Also, I felt like I was in control so I wasn't as scared. It would have been nice to have a parent coach me, as long as I felt like I was still in control and wasn't forced or pushed to go past my comfort level.

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My Kylie was 9 this past summer, and she had been riding her scooter like crazy for a whiel, and had steadfastly refused to ride a bike without training wheels for the last couple years. Her little bike sat neglected and rusting in the corner...she just went to it, her dad raised the seat and handlebars, put more air in the tires, and it was amazing. She just got on it, and went. I cried. Really. I was so proud she did it. This Christmas she got a gorgeous new bike, and proudly rides it. Maybe that's the ticket, waiting until she is set. Kylie rode that sad little bike for a few months until Christmas, but it was worth the wait for the new one!Just put the option out there, and encourage her by reminding her that you can ride together if she learns!! good luck!

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Put the seat down in the lowest position and raise the handlebars and she can steady herself more easily by herself. Try starting on a very gentle downslope or even on grass.

Also, there are seat extensions or vest-type handholds made to make the "pushing" job easier on the back.

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Balance bikes are great. I'm not sure how common they are in the US, but they are very popular here. They are basically just bikes without pedals that the child can scoot around on and they naturally learn to balance. They usually do not need training wheels then.

My son has this one: http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/rothan.html which is quite small, but I have seen a bigger wooden one in the US made by radio flyer which said it was for ages 3-6. Hopefully there are other companies out there who do them too. They do tend to be wooden, my son's metal one seems to be the exception to the rule.

Everyone we know who has one says they made teaching their kids to ride a bike really easy - in fact they didn't have to teach them.

Anyway. hope that can help someone out there. :)

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HERE IS THE FOOLPROOF METHOD. My husband taught our kids - and many others - to ride this way: 1) Take the pedals and the cranks (the things that hold the pedals) off the bike. 2) Put the seat down to the lowest possible position so feet can be flat on the ground. 3) Take child and de-pedaled bike to a paved area with a gentle downward slope and let child sit on the bike and learn to balance with NO pedals. 4) As child gets more comfortable with balancing, put pedals back on the bike, and repeat step 3 with pedals on. During step 4, your child will start pedaling and Voila! you have a bike-rider. It works. Try it.

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I just waited until my son decided he was ready to take off his training wheels. Once we did, he rode his bike like an old pro. I could tell that he was riding on only the bike wheels anyway and the training wheels were getting in his way. My dd who is 5, has no interest in taking off her training wheels yet. I'll leave that decision up to her. Once she sees the 4 year old boy accross the street without his training wheels, I bet she'll cave. :)

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I taught my 4YO son in a day using Pedal Magic. It's an incredible teaching method. I think it's $20 or so, but worth every penny to teach kids quickly with virtually no falling down. You can watch online at: http://www.pedalmagic.com

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http://www.sheldonbrown.com/teachride.html

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I inherited my brother's 16-inch bike (sans training wheels) when I was four, and my brothers and neighbor kids helped me get used to it. I was very motivated to get off my "baby" tricycle and be able to ride with the big kids, so I am pretty sure I learned in a day. My younger sister also learned quickly on the same bike. My baby sister was five when she got her 16-inch bike and did rely on the training wheels at first, but with her older siblings and neighbor kids encouraging her, she put courage ahead of fear and began riding on her own after about a month. I think getting the child to learn in the presence of other kids who are already riding their bikes is a good motivator.

My niece lives in the country with no same-age kids around. She never rode bikes with other kids, and didn't give up her training wheels (on a 20-inch bike) until she was nine years old. I think that may be a record, especially for a gifted, healthy child . . . .

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We used Amy's (#8) method and it worked like a charm. When the training wheels were on, my son would sit on his bike and barely pedal. I thought he'd never get up enough speed to keep the bike upright.

He spent a week or so without the pedals on his bike -- it taught him how to balance and since the seat was low, he knew that all he had to do was put his feet down if he felt like he was going to fall--that gave him confidence. We didn't have him do this on an incline, though. He would have been too anxious for that.

Good Luck!

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