How to teach a child to ride a two-wheeled bicycle

Averyanova Sveta

Perhaps no other type of transport gives as much pleasure and benefit as a bicycle.

Therefore, many parents strive to teach their child to ride as early as possible. Whether your child will love this type of transport and whether it will be easy to learn depends on many factors.

At what age to start

Early learning to ride an iron horse promotes the development of coordination of movements, improves the condition of the vestibular apparatus, and has a general strengthening effect on the baby’s entire body. If you choose the right vehicle, you can start as early as a year. The main thing is to teach in stages, starting with simple techniques and gradually mastering complex ones.

Of course, you don’t need to immediately buy a real two-wheeled bike for your little one. For children from one to three years old, three-wheeled models and bicycles without pedals - velocatas, or bicycle races - have been developed.

Choosing the right place to ride

To master this difficult task, parents must choose a suitable place. Some moms and dads try to choose a playground with a soft surface, such as grass or sand. Of course, falling on such a surface will not be so painful, but it will also be much more difficult to learn, because the grass and sand are quite viscous.

The ideal option is a children's playground covered with a special rubberized surface. On such a track, the dynamics of movement will be perfectly felt by the child. It is best if the playground is quite large, so the baby can turn and roll freely. And, of course, there should be no highway nearby.

Which bike to choose

Successful learning depends on the choice of means of transportation. The baby is unable to maintain balance on heavy or age-inappropriate vehicles. Much depends on the condition of the child’s muscle corset. By observing certain conditions, difficulties can be avoided:

• Before teaching your child to ride a classic bicycle, start early with a balance bike. This is the same two-wheeled horse without pedals. They move on it, pushing off the ground with their feet.
  Having mastered it, the baby can easily switch to the classic two-wheeled model. You can put a little athlete on a balance bike or run bike at two years. Using this tool, you can learn to maintain balance, control the steering wheel, turn in the right direction, that is, safely master all complex actions.

  After riding a balance bike, the only skill your child will have to learn is how to pedal. The undoubted advantage of a balance bike is its lightness ( 3 - 5 kilograms ). To ensure a safe ride on a runbike, equip your child with protective equipment: a helmet, knee pads.

• For a toddler from one and a half years old, you can buy a three-wheeled bike or scooter .
• Choose the lightest sample . It will be easier for a little cyclist to make friends with an iron horse using a lightweight and maneuverable model. There is no point in buying a 12-15 kg unit: it will be difficult for children’s hands to hold it. It will be difficult for a child with low weight to simply move such a bicycle.
• The diameter of the wheels also matters. For two to three-year-old babies, the optimal option with a diameter 12 - 14 inches (30 - 35 centimeters). A good choice if the weight of the bike does not exceed 7 - 8 kilograms. Before ordering a children's bike online, look for a similar model in specialized stores that you would like to visit with your daughter or son. There you can also get competent advice from a specialist.

• Don't take a bike to grow . Adults often do this because they want to save money. As a result, it will be difficult for the child to move around on an uncomfortable bicycle, and parents will spend much more time and effort on training. A bike that is not the right size is a direct path to injury.
• The main requirement for the purchase will be the following parameter: the distance from the saddle to the surface of the ground must be such that the child can brake with his feet in an emergency . You also need to look at how you sit on the bike: a tiny cyclist should not slouch.

Design requirements. The materials of the product must be of high quality, the model must be easy to move and maneuverable. It is necessary to have reflective elements, no sharp parts, or parts made of thin plastic. Spin the wheel - its movement should be smooth.

Advice . There is nothing reprehensible in buying a balance bike or other children's transport from your own hands. Typically, such items do not have time to fully exhaust their service life and are in good condition.

First trips: preparing equipment

Theoretically, a child can sit behind the wheel of a bicycle at 2.5-3 years old. However, at this age the child learns to move actively: run, jump, tumble. Let's let him finish the job he started, and then we'll start introducing him to the bike. The optimal period for starting training is from 4 years. The gender of the child does not matter. Both boys and girls are equally ready for cycling.

To get your child interested in how to ride a bike, it’s good to show them a living example - yourself riding a bike. As a last resort, you can periodically play videos of quiet rides, preferably for children. There is no need to force your child to ride. He must want it himself. The likelihood that he won’t want to is insignificant - a bike always attracts a child’s eye, and everyone wants to catch the feeling of flight and speed!

It is unlikely that the child will realize that riding is associated with falls and injuries, so it is the responsibility of adults to take care of the safety of the child’s ride. To protect vulnerable parts of the body: head, arms and legs, you need to purchase appropriate equipment. Safety for the head is ensured by a bicycle helmet - a special device that is put on the head and fixed according to its size. A helmet should not only provide protection, but also be comfortable. Basic criteria for choosing a helmet:

• Strength and lightness.
• Clear fixation on the head.
• No pressure on temples, forehead and backside.
• Good ventilation.

A children's helmet must be carefully tried on; it must meet all of the above requirements.

Children's helmet: reliable, comfortable and beautiful

When you teach your child to ride, remember that at first he will most likely fall off the bike. To mitigate the negative effects of a fall, protect your arms and legs with elbow and knee pads. Children's options are freely sold in any sports department or specialized bike shop. When trying on, the main thing is to determine that they do not put pressure, do not restrict the movements of the arms and legs, and also completely cover the areas of the elbow and knee joints. And, of course, shoes: they should be closed and comfortable. Sneakers are ideal for this.

Safety precautions

Almost any sport increases the risk of injury. To avoid bruises, abrasions and other troubles, it is advisable to take the following safety measures:

• Protect vulnerable areas with special safety equipment: put on a helmet, elbow pads on your arms, and knee pads on your legs. Be sure to select the right size for all equipment. Teach your child to use protective equipment during training every time.
• Invest in athletic clothing and shoes, or wear long pants and a sweater with stretchy, breathable sleeves. It is advisable that the legs are closed: during a fall, the limbs are most often affected . Shoes should also be closed, tightly hugging the foot, with grooved non-slip soles.
• Check the technical condition of the bike . Adjust the steering wheel and seat, check the degree of elasticity of the tires, and align the structural parts if necessary.

Does your child use protection while riding a bike?

• No 78%, 18 votes
  18 votes 78%

  18 votes - 78% of all votes

• Yes, helmet only 17%, 4 votes

  4 votes 17%

  4 votes - 17% of all votes

• Yes: helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and gloves 4%, 1 vote

  1 vote 4%

  1 vote - 4% of all votes

Total votes: 23

06.06.2018

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Possible difficulties

When teaching a child a new skill - riding a bicycle - some parents make a number of mistakes. First of all, they overprotect the baby, not allowing him to independently drive his first vehicle. As a result, training is delayed, time passes, the child loses interest in training, but there is no result. You need to trust your child, be close, always keep him under supervision, but give him the opportunity to ride on his own.

The opposite situation is also possible - parents explain to the child what and how to do, then offering him complete freedom of action. In this case, children may fall, get injured and be afraid of bicycles for the rest of their lives. That is why you should choose the golden mean - to help, but not dictate your will, to be nearby, but not to interfere .

If you follow these simple recommendations, you will be able to quickly teach your child the intricacies of cycling without nerves and whims. The main thing is that both adults and children enjoy the activities, then the results will not be long in coming.

How to master a two-wheeled bicycle. Memo to parents

Two-wheeled children's bikes are not much different from their adult counterparts. They usually sit on them from the age of four. Here are a few tricks that will make it easy and quick to learn how to ride.

• If the child has no experience at all, it is better to leave additional side wheels . Without them, learning will be easier, but parents will have to put a lot of effort into helping their child maintain balance.
• By temporarily removing one pedal , turn the bicycle into something like a scooter. With one foot, the baby will start and brake, accelerate, and with the other, turn the pedal. If necessary, you can do the same with another pedal.
• It is better to hold the student by the shoulders , and not by the seat or steering wheel. This way, the baby will quickly develop a sense of control when driving, and the adult will not have back pain during long lessons.
• Before learning, be sure to show your child how to get off a bicycle correctly , teach how to brake, and consolidate the skill while cycling.

Advice . You can arouse interest in cycling by traveling on a bike with your child sitting in a special chair.

This is what training in 3 days might look like.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Introduce your child to pedals

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Pedaling and balancing at the same time is difficult. So again, break the big task down into small ones. To start, put the pedal in a comfortable position, and then ask your child to press it and just roll as before.

YouTube channel "VeloDrive"

Gradually make the task more difficult. Ask to press one and the second pedal alternately, and then ride as long as possible. Most likely, at this stage the baby will be able to drive independently.

YouTube channel "VeloDrive"

Learning to keep balance

It is better to learn to balance on a safe road, lying on a gentle slope, with a flat surface without holes, depressions and cracks, approximately 50 meters long. It’s better to start on a balance bike or bicycle with the pedals removed and additional wheels. Have your child sit down and make sure his feet touch the ground. Use protective equipment.

Go up the path. Let the little cyclist ride smoothly down the hill. If necessary, he will regulate the movement, pushing off with his feet, and learn to keep the steering wheel straight.

You need to teach it gradually: repeat several times, let the baby avoid touching the ground with his feet. The training can be considered complete when you can ride down the slope several times without your feet touching the ground.

Braking training

It is better to teach the skill first on a flat road under the command of an adult. Explain that it is advisable to brake smoothly but confidently; the pressure should be short-lived. Alternate between hand and foot brakes.

Once your student has mastered it, practice on a gentle slope until you are confident that he is able to brake on his own.

Important ! It is advisable to carry out cycling trips away from the roadway. Inspired by success, a tiny athlete can suddenly turn into the wrong place. Teach basic traffic rules and explain that there is a danger of hitting a pedestrian.

Watch the video, which describes in detail and shows with an example how to teach a child to ride a bicycle in just 1-2 days.