How and when to Teach Your Child to Ride a Bike!

Teaching your child how to ride a bike can be a rewarding experience for both of you. Not only will you be spending quality time with your child, but they will be learning something as well. Of course the first thing you will need to do is purchase a good bike with training wheels. It will take time for your child to learn to master riding a bike by themselves, so make sure you have plenty of patience. When they first start out they will be very nervous. This is natural for them to feel this way. Reassure them that you will not let go off the bike until they become comfortable. You will then want to show them how to properly place their feet on the pedals. Most kids have a tendency to try and pedal with the back of the foot. This is a mistake since it will make pedaling a lot more difficult. Show them that the best way to pedal is to use the front of their foot.�¯�¿�½

Remember to start off going very slow, giving them plenty of reassurance as they begin to ride their bike. You will also want to make sure that you start on a very smooth surface. The best place to begin is probably the park. Especially since most sidewalks are not very smooth. Teaching your child to ride a bike will definitely take several days or even weeks. Remember that some children will definitely take longer to learn that others. If you have one child that learned quickly, it does not necessarily mean that your other child will learn just as quickly. You also want to encourage them to always wear their safety gear. It is against most laws for any child to ride a bike without a helmet. To help make your child more comfortable with wearing the helmet, let them pick one out that they really like. When it comes to kids it is all about the latest fashion and style. If they actually have a helmet that they like they are pretty much guaranteed to wear it on a regular basis.�¯�¿�½

You will also want to make sure that you teach them the rules of the street. They need to understand the traffic lights and how to ride with the traffic not against the traffic. Of course the first time they are riding they will not be in the street. But it is still very important to teach them the proper rules, and then as they become more comfortable riding their bike you can show them the proper way to cross the street. For example you want them to make sure they get off the bike when crossing the street. The key to teaching your child to ride a bike, is to teach them proper balance. Once they learn to balance on the bike they will be able to ride without the training wheels. Before you know it you will be running after them.