Make 9 year old learn to ride a bike?

Wtf?? Are they 'proudly ' announcing it or just saying and contributing to the range of views and experiences??

What's with all these posters in their sixties and seventies proudly announcing they've never learned to ride a bike, and have never seen any need to do so? No wonder we're a nation of couch potatoes.

How can it be an essential life skill when so many of us manage to navigate life perfectly well without it?

I think it’s an essential life skill too. Second hand kids bikes are very cheap and maybe you could get a bike rack for your car?

I've managed 60 years without riding a bike....not sure it's an "essential life skill" at all.

The Netherlands have their excellent cycling network partly due to political leadership in some places (see Groningen) and partly due grassroots campaigning about child victims in road collisions (the StopDeKinderMoord campaign). It’s really paid off for them as not only is it easier to cycle but their roads are much better than ours too due to the focus on safety. The cycle routes really increase children’s freedom. There’s a very readable (& heartbreaking) account in Peter Walker’s book Bike Nation.

OP - you have choices (depending on finances):

1. buy folding bikes
2. buy a rack for your car
3. complain to your councillors as your Transport Department is letting you down - if you want to refer to government guidance on cycle routes, it’s is in LTN1/20 (you don’t need to read it all - the basic principles are enough for an argument).
4. look into local courses to teach him to ride by your council or by organisations like British Cycling, Cycling UK or the Walk, Wheel, Ride Trust (previously known as Sustrans)
5. Go on a holiday where you can ride bikes

Bikeability depends on your council - my council runs it only for children with their own bikes (which I think is unfair).

You can’t predict if your DC will need to cycle or not - my parents discouraged cycling in my teens due to road danger, then I studied somewhere where I could cycle & have cycled ever since. It’s cheaper than driving & public transport & means you can cover larger distances than walking. It’s also useful for shorter journeys where there is no bus route.

We have four bikes in our shed.

DH uses his every so often
DS1 used his loads before he went to Uni (and got it nicked)
DS2 used to go out on his but hasn't for years and probably never will again
I've used mine twice in the last five years

I'm glad we can all ride but I would never use a bike if I could run/walk/drive instead.

Yes I have a funny thing when Im on a bike that the thing Im trying to avoid I head straight for, always have, as a child, as an adult.

I'm 33 and I can't drive or ride a bike. Tried to learn to ride the bike several times in childhood and they all ended in horrible crashes (into a pond, a tree, over a fence of a retirement home). My mum went on and on about it being essential and every kid needs to know, but that didn't make it any easier, if anything I just felt pressured into doing something where I would inevitably hurt myself. Also I'm dyspraxic so I just don't think it is an activity that everyone can enjoy. And the idea of using it for transport in this country with our awful infrastructure? Nah.

Learning to swim to a basic extent I see as essential because it might save your life, cycling is not the same.

My comment about swimming to work was obviously meant to be flippant, well I thought it was obvious!

But you kind of illustrate my point about the Mumsnet obsession with swimming as a life skill. Yes, of course it is a great skill to have and, sure, I took DC to swimming lessons from an early age. In certain very rare circumstances it might save your life. But I would be interested to know how many of the people who die by drowning are actually non-swimmers who might have saved themselves if they could swim, or whether in an emergency situation in open water being able to swim several lengths in the public baths is not much help anyway. Indeed, it might often be the case that a non-swimmer. wouldn't have been in the situation in the first place.

Also if we are going to concentrate on life skills that could save a life, surely drumming in road safety must be right up there. And what about first aid?

But if we are to prioritise life skills I sort of feel that the ones that are very likely to be of important everyday use to you, e.g. driving and riding a bike, should be ranked above one that in very, very rare circumstances might possibly save your life. Or might not

Ask one of your friends who has a similar sized child, who can ride a bike, to help out. Meet a few times in a safe cycling space. It will only take two or three half hour sessions for your child to learn to ride.

His friend will be encouraging.
Then you can look out for a second hand bike and your son can practise and join in cycling activities.

Don't they do bike training anymore in primary school. They used to get you to go on the road too.

Several of my DS’s school trips have had cycling elements in them, and a child not able to join in would just sit and watch, not very fun for them

All the kids seem to have their parents ferrying them around

TBh it was useful mine could ride bikes. Meant quick journeys felotlr them from air cadets and similar. DS used to ride his to meet mates and play football etc

Possibly, I dont know really. I learned as a child and bought my own first bike around 30 years ago so Ive had bikes of my own as an adult for most of my adult life. I ride for leisure but never once have I developed balance, Im very wobbly, Im not safe on the roads really. I have panic reactions to traffic.

I suffer with vertigo which doesnt help obviously!

I can’t get DS8 on a bike or two-wheeled scooter and have tried all sorts of ways, including paid instruction. Before, I probably would have thought it odd if a kid his age couldn’t ride a bike but I don’t judge now!

Our school bikeability course gives an extra session the day before for kids who can’t ride to catch up - there’s often a couple. So that will be crunch time for us.

But as you get older do you really need to 'learn', do you not just get on, wobble a bit then go. It's not like driving where it's complicated and can take hours to learn.

I'm not saying I'm right by the way, I'm just thinking it through and wondering why we put so much emphasis on riding a bike when some will never ride one and, if they do, it takes 10 minutes to learn.

Sorry to hear about how you were treated. My autistic brother (aged almost 50) can’t ride a bike either, never got the hang of it. I’m not sure he can swim either. I also suspect a dyspraxia of some sort.

I don’t think it should be schools problem to teach absolutely everything about life, parents need to take responsibility to teach their children life skills too. Cycling is not essential but life is much richer when you have more skills and experiences under your belt. We have a camper and use our bikes for transport when we stay on sites out of town. I’ve also used electric bikes to cycle around European cities. We also got our bikes out when there was a public transport strike in Rome and the taxis were all booked up.

Riding a bike is a useful life skill for sure but how important it is for him will depend on where you live. I live somewhere where everyone cycles a lot. Adults & kids. My 15 year old cycles to school/park/town/cinema etc. If she didn't cycle it would be an issue because it seems to be the main way that everyone gets everywhere especially teenagers looking for independence. I appreciate that not everywhere is like that.

Does his primary not offer the Bikeability courses to help children to learn to ride?

I think it’s our job as parents to teach our children skills that COULD become essential. At school we learn the foundation for so many different subjects so that we have the choice and ability for further study in those areas when older. Some will be useless and some will be essential. I personally can’t imagine not being able to ride a bike and feel it’s a skill that’s far easier to learn as a child. I think teaching it now is just part of ‘future proofing’.

Me too. I've never had a bike and I'm 73.

I never learned to ride a bike (too stubborn! Definitely everyone had a bike where I grew up) but it was important to me that my kids did so my husband took them out. He got a bike rack for the car as he needed to fit 3 on. To be honest, he’s the only one that enjoys it. Kids don’t cycle around here, we live in a very hilly city with lots of buses so kids walk or take the bus wherever they want to go. My kids couldn’t easily bike anywhere from our house so they drive somewhere to bike from outside the city.

they do bikability in p5 and the kids are usually about 50/50 with riding a bike. They have a stash at school as many kids don’t own one (living in flats with no garden so couldn’t easily store it anyway).

I have no idea what I’ve missed out on without riding a bike outside the trips with my family. I suppose it would be nice to do one of those bike tours in the Netherlands maybe? Otherwise I wouldn’t be riding a bike here in any scenario so it hasn’t affected my daily life at all.

I dont think its a key life skill either but I do think there is a point in him learning because he may move somewhere where he can cycle to work (good luck to him), he may want to do it as a hobby, its good exercise etc

If he learns now, even if he never gets on a bike until he's in his 30s thats fine, he sitll has the skill