Teaching 2.2yr old DD to use balance bike

[jasperc163]

For those of you who bought balance bikes, just wondering what age your DC got the hang of them? DD has had hers for couple of months but loses interest very fast as she tries to walk with it and hasn't worked out how to 'scoot'. Any tips?

thanks

[voituredepompier]

She is still quite young to be riding one, we have friends with children of a similar age to yours are not yet that interested and of the slightly older kids with balance bikes, their parents say they didn't get into their bikes until well into their third year so don't push it or she may lose interest entirely.

We are keen cyclists so wanted our DS to ride one as soon as he showed an interest. At 28 months he rides like a nutter whilst I run alongside him. But we have really encouraged him! At about 18 months we started by just pushing him around the house whilst holding the handle bars even though he couldn't reach the floor with his feet. To begin with he wasn't that fussed but soon he was coming back for more. We also showed him Youtube videos of kids on balance bikes and also more general biking videos to get him enthused and started him first of all on a trike. So in summary, it might take a bit of effort and encouragement.

A couple of other things. Is the seat low enough so that her feet are comfortably on the floor? Do you take her out on a child seat on a bike so that she can see how much you enjoy it?

HTH

[jasperc163]

thanks voituredepompier. Yes we are not pushing her but i can see she is frustrated as she tries but won't accept help. She is physically ready but obviously just hasnt' got her head round it yet! Will maybe try youtube :-)

She is tall (more like a 3yr old) and the seat is at its lowest on her bike (Isla Rothan) no problem re the height. She does go out on a child seat sometimes, with her big sister on a bike so she has someone to emulate. She is keen on anything with pedals but don't want to go down that route.

[Roo83]

My ds started like this-he got his balance bike for his 2nd birthday so similar age. He really got to grips with it over summer,we'd take him to the park and he'd do a bit on his own,then we'd keep encouraging him to put his bum on the seat and push him a bit...going on it a few times a week when the weather was dry helped him, and also seeing his dad out on his bike as he was desperate to be like daddy! One day it will just click-ds is 3 now and can ride a pedal bike without stabilisers, which is certainly due to the practice he got in on his balance bike. It's worth persevering

[sleepdeprivedby2]

I think it really depends on the child and how physically able/confident they are.

We got my DD a balance bike for her second birthday, but she really didn't start using it properly until she was 3 (decided one day she wanted her bike out and within a few attempts was zooming along). She was exactly the same a year later with her scooter.

DS inherited his sister's bike on his second birthday and within days was scooting along at a fast pace (learning to stop is still ongoing ) However he did have the advantage of many hours sat in the pushchair watching DD on the bike and he has always been more physical than DD.

DD now has the next bike up (without stabilizers as we know she has perfect balance) however although she may be physically able to ride it, she is not confident enough to do so. Although I am sure that if we leave it and let her decide in her own time then she will just decide to do it one day and be off!

So I think a little gentle encouragement is the way to go but she will do it when she is ready.