Hi all,
Came across this link when trying to find for tips on teaching my kid to ride a scooter:
Teaching Kids To Ride
It's a link to Sheldon Brown's site, and if I read it correctly I think the article is suggesting you can perhaps skip balance bikes and training wheels when teaching a kid to ride a bike.
The thought actually crossed my mind before when I was having issues in getting my kid to ride on the balance bike. My kid wanted to ride a bike because he'd always try to climb onto bigger bikes and try to pedal them. But it was kind of hard to get him to grasp the concept of balance bikes.
Since we already have the balance bike, I'm going to stick with the current plan but am keeping an eye out for a decent used 12 inch bike to give this a method a try. The original plan was to start him off with a balance bike then to a 16" bike once he got big enough. And originally planned to skip a 12" bike.
I still see the value and point in a balance bike. The biggest thing is how low the seat can go to the ground on a balance bike compared to a 12" bike with pedals. So do plan to go the balance bike route again because want to start earlier. But if a kid is the right height, a 12" bike using something like holding the shoulder method may be worth a try.
Anyways just wanted to pass thing along for those that might be considering balance bikes. Prior to reading this article, I thought the only two options in teaching a kid to ride a bike were training wheels or a balance bike.
Came across this link when trying to find for tips on teaching my kid to ride a scooter:
Teaching Kids To Ride
It's a link to Sheldon Brown's site, and if I read it correctly I think the article is suggesting you can perhaps skip balance bikes and training wheels when teaching a kid to ride a bike.
The thought actually crossed my mind before when I was having issues in getting my kid to ride on the balance bike. My kid wanted to ride a bike because he'd always try to climb onto bigger bikes and try to pedal them. But it was kind of hard to get him to grasp the concept of balance bikes.
Since we already have the balance bike, I'm going to stick with the current plan but am keeping an eye out for a decent used 12 inch bike to give this a method a try. The original plan was to start him off with a balance bike then to a 16" bike once he got big enough. And originally planned to skip a 12" bike.
I still see the value and point in a balance bike. The biggest thing is how low the seat can go to the ground on a balance bike compared to a 12" bike with pedals. So do plan to go the balance bike route again because want to start earlier. But if a kid is the right height, a 12" bike using something like holding the shoulder method may be worth a try.
Anyways just wanted to pass thing along for those that might be considering balance bikes. Prior to reading this article, I thought the only two options in teaching a kid to ride a bike were training wheels or a balance bike.