Stabilisers or not?

[Luckymummy22]

5 year old can ride her bike without stabilisers but hasn't done so for 12 weeks.

She broke/dislocated her elbow and her recovery was more complex than it needed to be.

She's now cast / bandage free (very recent) so we need to get her moving her very very stiff elbow.

She still can't take part in many activities for at least another few weeks.

DH wants to put the stabilisers back in her bike. I'm not sure I agree. I think it's a step backwards (although the whole summer has been a step backwards)

I think let's just wait another couple of weeks and see how she is.

Hopefully by then we will be a wee bit more confident that she's not going to break her elbow every time she falls.

AIBU to say no to stabilisers going back on? It would allow her to ride her bike which she is desperate to do but I am concerned she will then be too scared to try again without stabilisers.

Her injury and what she's had to go through since has scared her quite a bit

I don't think I'd want to put stabilisers back on, but would put protective padding on her.

I wouldn't it's a step backwards and your making a point that she could hurt herself again and might put fear into her iyswis

I agree with your dh. Kids fall off bikes all the time, even when they've had stabilisers off for years. But for your dd, the average fall involving dirty clothes and a graze could result in serious damage to her elbow. And with a stiff arm, she is more likely to have an accident.

I also don't agree it would lead her to think she might fall and hurt herself again. And I don't think you should encourage her to think she's unlikely to. Because she will have more accidents, all kids do. What you need to tell her is that normally accidents aren't so painful and complicated, and right now putting the stabilisers on till she is 100% is the best way to prevent anything serious.

I wouldn't put the stabilisers back in but I wouldn't let her ride her bike until she was properly recovered either.

A better solution might be to put the seat down a bit so she feels more secure and learns to balance by herself. Stabilisers don't really help kids to learn to balance on a bike. Also, make sure she knows how to use the brakes properly. If she's able to control the bike well she's less likely to fall off, even with stabilisers.

Was she very confident on her bike before, or did she fall off quite regularly? If she fell off quite a lot then I'd say definitely put the stabilisers back on.

If she was pretty good and almost never fell off then it might be seen as a retrograde step, BUT she doesn't have full use of one arm yet, so her balance is going to be off anyway - so sell it to her (and your DH) that she needs to have them on purely as a safety net thing while she works out what has to change with her arm.

In other words, put them back on.

Sorry - misremembered what your OP said - your DH IS in favour of the stabilisers. I think you should be too.

She won't be riding a bike yet without stabilisers.
That's probably another month or so away.
DH's thought is that with stabilisers she could maybe ride a bike now and then take them off again in a few weeks time.
I would rather just wait for another few weeks before she rides a bike rather than put stabilisers on.
She's fed up though and a very active little girl. She's desperate to be out playing and running about and wants to be out on her bike and scooter

She is good on her bike and hasn't fallen off that much.
But she only learned last autumn and was building her confidence this spring but break happened beginning of June so I wouldn't say she is really competent yet.

Well I still think put the stabilisers back on and let her get out and exercise now, if she wants to - she'll need to use her stiff arm on the bike, so that would be good for her - but of course she needs to be protected from falls as well.

Does she have elbow pads, like you'd have for skateboarding? Might be worth considering some of those as an extra protection as well.

They went on. With the understanding that they come off in 1 months time and won't be going back on.
We do have elbow pads for bike but she refused to wear them. Still too sensitive.

But she did have fun

I think that's a good compromise. Hopefully she'll have more fun and exercise her stiff arm without doing any further damage. :)