Teaching How to Ride a Bike
Learning to ride a bike is a major milestone for kids, providing them a sense of freedom and an overall increased level of independence. While the goal of self-propelled locomotion is thrilling, developing the skills for riding a bike can be tedious and at times frustrating. Here are some tips and tricks on how to help your kiddo progress through the learning curve of bike riding!
Sizing and Safety
The first thing your child needs is the appropriate equipment – both for sizing and for safety! Staff at a local bike shop can help you with choosing for appropriate bike size in relation to your child's age and size, but here are some basic adjustments you can make for size as your child grows. Your child should be able to stand over their bike with both feet planted flat on the ground with 1-2 inches of clearance. Their seat height should allow a small bend in the knee when the pedals are at their lowest position. Their handlebars should be at an appropriate distance to where there is a slight bend in their elbow to allow them to turn the wheel fully side to side without being overstretched. For safety, a well-fitted helmet which sits across the middle of their forehead is required.
Tip: children will fall and that is okay. If they have proper safety equipment, they will be okay. Always wear a helmet! Your reaction to the fall will set the tone, being over-reactive can cause unnecessary fear in your child.
Skills and Balance
Now that we have the equipment, let's look at the skills required to ride a bike! Bike riding requires a combination of balance, strength, power, and coordination. For most, the first big obstacle is balance! It can be much easier for one to learn to start their bike once they have the balance to keep it upright! A good place to start working on balance is to start by getting on and off the bike safely. With this practice, the child is stabilizing the bike with both hands safely, maintaining single leg balance while lifting the other leg up and over the bike seat. NOTE: make sure the bike seat is set low while practicing this. Next, either with the pedals on, or removed, have your child practice pushing the bike with their feet and coasting. When they first start, they may want to keep one foot on the ground practicing a back-and-forth motion. As your child becomes more comfortable, they may start lifting both feet up for periods of time, and progress to completing wide turns with feet up.
Tip: this should be a fun experience for you and your child. If you are feeling frustrated, chances are they are too. Take a break and come back with excitement!
Steering
Next, it’s time to practice steering, turning, and awareness. Start with wide turns and slowly progress to smaller, tighter turns. Give them lots of space to practice! You can create an obstacle course with cones for your kid. Giving a target encourages them to look ahead and be aware of their surroundings for safety while biking! Feel free to practice near or on grass to give them a sense of safety in case they lose their balance.
Tip: while words of encouragement are important, sometimes the words ‘pedal faster’ are helpful for your child! It may seem counterintuitive to say, but the faster a child pedals, the more proprioceptive input they get, allowing for quick motor learning. This also allows them to put more energy and awareness into the actual task rather than letting fear and uncertainty take over.
Start and Stop
Starting and stopping their bike independently is often the last hurdle for your child, which may take practice! Be there to steady your child with a hand on the back of their seat or at the side of a handlebar but allow them to feel the balance and correct themselves. Start slow, with one hand on the bike or child’s back and progress to taking your hands off for a few seconds at a time until they can pedal further distances without help!
Tip: Teach the rules of the road (riding with traffic, hand signals, yielding to pedestrians, riding single file). Assure that they know how to stop and that they can get themselves started without help.
It is important to note that conventional bikes are not appropriate for all children. Adaptive options such as hand powered bicycles and recumbent bicycles offer a sense of independence and freedom while enhancing your child’s level of mobility!