to think that I am a failure as a parent because my dd aged 10 doesnt know how to ride a bike

[sonu678]

Because I have been so caught up in my own work, that I haven spent time taking her out. And her old bike has not only died in the rain where her father left it all year, and I didnt notice. And even if it was prisitne, she is too tall for it, and wouldnt be using her muscles properly on it anyways.

please tell me Im not as bad as I think I am. She hasnt done the bikability in school this week, along with 9 others, because she hasnt got a bike.

DS2 who is 9yo can't ride a bike. He can't ride a trike either. Because he doesn't have the physical strength to push the pedals. I have been trying since he was 3yo. He has Hypermobility and dyspraxia.

He will 'get' it in the end.

I think it's important to learn to ride a bike as it gives a child so much more freedom.

I think it's important. Please find the time to teach her. dc5 (9) has a friend who still cannot ride. I know that is she very self conscious about this and the older she gets the more she is worrying and less keen to actually get out there and learn.

I think its an odd thing not to notice in ten years tbh

never once she has mentioned biking?

nuts

Well my husband taught his mother when he was in his 20s.

It's fair enough her not riding a bike if she doesn't want to, or she's tried but just can't . It's pretty poor IMO, for her not to ride a bike because no one has made the effort to teach her.

Unless she has SN preventing her from learning. Well sorry, but I think you really need to find the time to teach her. It is a life skill, and people will be a bit if a ten year old cant do it.
I would never say it in real life but since you asked here, thats my pov.

DS is 6.5 and got his first bike 2yrs ago, he still can't ride a bike. We've only been out a few times due to time / weather pressures. He argues with me when we do go out and won't pedal for love nor money. At this rate I won't be at all surprised if he can't ride at 10.

He's 2.6yrs into swimming lessons and can't really swim either. It all comes down to having the time to practice and I don't have it.

Difficult one, my DS is 10 too and cannot ride a bike either. He is autistic with dyspraxia and ADHD. Fear of failure means he will not even try with a bike even though they have been bought for him. The most we have ever achieved is an enjoyment of a bike with stabilisers. Now he is 10 of course this is not acceptable even to him.

I guess not all children learn to ride bikes, it's not making you a bad parent either, I have worked with the most neglectful and chaotic families and many of them had kids who rode bikes well; well enough for them to be found loitering on the other side of town on a school night in some cases (yes we ARE talking about junior school).

Its a good skill to have and many local councils offer Bikability lessons for children who haven't ever ridden bikes before.

My DD only learnt to ride a bike recently (she's14) - has been gradually getting more confident over the last few years. I'm sure pre-teens is a fine time to learn

I can ride a bike and can not remember the last time I rode a bike, maybe 13-14 years of age.

Ds almost 7 can ride a bike, but that's thanks to my sister who trains with the British cycling team and won alot of trophies doing so.

Cycling isn't a life skill in the same was a say swimming is. And you haven't failed as a parent. But you do sound as if you just can't be bothered tbh, rather than as if you genuinely want to help her learn but don't know how, or have genuine difficulties in being able to.

If it helps both of ours learnt to balance and ride without stabilisers in about twenty minutes. It then only took another three or four twenty minutes sessions for them to be confident riding on grass. So are you honestly saying you couldn't have found two hours spaced out a bit, in ten years? I'm surprised.

We took our non cycling boys to Centreparcs (9&7), peer pressure of everyone cycling was the key. They learnt in a day.

Rubbish swimmers though, that is more of an issue.

If you can easily afford the bike, go buy her one this weekend and spend the next few weekends teaching her - it doesn't take that long to learn, if she wants too. You'll have her riding by the time the school holidays start if you take her out at least one day of the weekend every weekend between now and then.

If it helps, I'm a terrible cyclist, i learnt as a child, but then I had some health problems around 10/11 and my parents stopped wanting me to go off riding without them for a year, and it just stopped being something I did by the time I was ok to go off on my own again.

Around 25 I was on a holiday with the now DH (who is big cyclist, races etc) and we went for a bike ride - I'd completely forgotten how to do it and had to be re-taught! I'm now always suspicious of anyone who says anything is "like riding a bike" to mean you can't forget how to do it, i'm living proof that some lifeskills can be forgotten

My sons (8 & 6) can't ride bikes, they've been brought bikes and taken out a handful of times, they are just not interested. Both bikes are rusted in the garden now, I feel every time time there is a bike day at school and I'm scheduling routine drs/dentist appointments s they don't have to attend. I don't what them being picked on because they can't ride. No help t you but i wanted you to know, you're not the only one.

I do think it's a shame that she's had a bike & outgrown it without learning-and that the bike has been left to go to ruin!!

Will she get another chance to do bikeability?

I live in Germany though so we cycle everywhere-and for fun!

Once we had a set of neighbours & the woman-in her 20s didn't have a bike & the children were

Would it work to take the pedals off & use as a balance bike first rather than with stabilisers?

Or just get straight to it at that age?

Should only be a weekends job to get her riding.

I don't think it makes you a failure, but it's very sad to me.

Does she WANT to learn and to have a bike? If so, do it and put in the time, energy and some enthusiasm.

If she has no interest at all, then leave it, and you'll probably be OK unless social services find out

They can't swim either

i felt like you , my daughter was 8 when she learnt to ride , she hasnt got on one since she learnt , that was years ago , dont beat yourself up shes got a lot more important stuff to learn in life than riding a bike .

titsalinabumsquash that made me laugh ,i used to take mine to dentist every sports day , felt bad but kids hated sports day and didnt enter anything so would just of been sat on sidelines all day.

A friends 10 year old only went on a bike for the first time a few weeks ago. He mastered it in about an hour. My two have always been able to ride but are not really interested in doing so!