Help! Ds cant ride bike

[malloryknox47]

I feel really ashamed writing this but my ds who has just turned 9 still can't ride a bike. He had one at about 4/5 and showed no interest whatsoever. Looking back I should have insisted. But he was interested in other things and it didn't seem that important at the time.
Then he grew out of that bike and I couldn't afford another until quite recently. He is really struggling. He's embarrassed to practice anywhere local in case people we know see him and as we don't have a garden I've taken to driving us out to random car parks and such to practice but he's really struggling. And because he's older and heavier I find it hard to support him.
I feel so guilty for letting him get to this age without teaching him such a basic skill. Especially now all his friends can ride. Has anyone got any tips or advice on how to teach an older child?

[titchy]

Find a short slope to go down and have him balance using his feet. Keep going down the slope and when he gets used to it have him lift his legs to go down. This will help him get the balance part. Next I got them to put their feet on the pedals and put them down when they got to the bottom of the slope. Lastly they put their feet on the pedals and start peddling at the bottom of the slope and keep going as much as they can. I used a grassy slope as they feel more secure.

We did exactly this - took an hour.

Train station or office car park might be empty at the moment and unlike to see anyone he knows?

[LER83]

Neither my 10 year old nor 8 year old can ride bikes. They just don't want to do it. They have perfectly good, never used bikes sitting in the garage. My eldest has autism and isn't very well co ordinated so that puts him off. I suspect once my 8 Yr old gets to the age where her friends are playing out on bikes she will want to learn!

[Roowig2020]

My dc finally cracked it going down a grassy hill (not too big), after weeks of trying on a flat surface. The hardest thing is the balance, if he's going down a hill he doesn't need to pedal so he can lift his legs. Less likely to hurt himself on grass but make sure he still wears a helmet! Good luck.