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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be shocked at this?

278 replies

upsideup · 03/05/2018 17:47

DS1 has two friends round for dinner tonight, ones 8 and ones 9 and they have gone outside to play with bikes/scooters etc and both of his friends dont own a bike and have never been taught to ride one before and its not just them they all mentioned several other friends who cant as well.
I thought riding a bike was a still a pretty normal skill that all children had learnt to do by now.

AIBU to be shocked at this? Do most 8/9 year olds not know how to ride a bike?

OP posts:
maygirl27 · 03/05/2018 18:50

My DD was 11 when she learnt how to ride a bike.

BanyanTree · 03/05/2018 18:51

I live in the countryside and I would not cycle myself down our roads, let alone let my DC. The cars speed all the time. My youngest (8) cannot ride a bike but can swim 40 lengths. I don't think it is down to slack parenting. I've tried to get him on cycle courses and there are none. I've tried to find somewhere to take him and can't find anywhere. I live in a private road and when I have taken him out on his bike my miserable neighbours all moaned their heads off that they were being disturbed.

Where I used to live overseas there was a cycling park like a mini town to teach the DC to ride and do safety courses. It was brilliant.

ImTakingTheEssence · 03/05/2018 18:52

Yep up. Personally i do find it shocking as when i was a child most kids from 6 up could ride and spend most of our day outside. Dd learnt to ride at 5 shes now 7 but rarely plays out on her bike and is constanly in the house on her ipad, xbox. She can't swim yet which i think is a much more important skill to learn. Each to there own i guess Grin

speakout · 03/05/2018 18:53

In an ideal world many people would cycle.

We don't live in an ideal world.

Cars and bikes don't mix.

happypoobum · 03/05/2018 18:59

It's not really something I would encourage - too dangerous. You can't ride a bike on the pavement as it's illegal, even for children. Riding on the road is quite dangerous.

I guess if you lived right opposite a park with a cycle track around it you could walk your bike over and the cycle around but most children I know just aren't interested.

arethereanyleftatall · 03/05/2018 19:01

I think parents chat with other parents about what stage their new born is at, what their toddler can and can't do; after that you dont compare any more. All of a sudden you get to 8 and all their peers are cycling and swimming and roller skating etc
For her 8 th birthday dd first wanted to go to pump track (no said 20% of invitees, can't do that), then the aqua park (can't swim 25m (required)) said 20%, roller skating then...nope.

If you can afford it, get a balance bike when they're toddlers, they'll hop straight on a bike from that and whizz off at 3 or 4 years old.

Jux · 03/05/2018 19:08

We have so many (and so steep!) hills around here that only really bikers ride around here. Most children have a phase of having a bike but it doesn't seem to last long. Lots of children never get on a bike, round here.

I tried to take dd out on a bike when she was 7 ish, but as I don't drive we had to go to the park where there are no road/paths so she had to try on grass and it just didn't work out well. So dd can't ride, and she's not alone.

Nanny0gg · 03/05/2018 19:09

Where do you ride them once they're past pavement size? I live in the country so there's either lanes with lunatic car drivers or trunk roads with lorries.

Only necessary if you live in a town with bike lanes.

happypoobum · 03/05/2018 19:11

nanny it's illegal for anyone to cycle on the pavement, regardless of age/size.

I know a few people who have had to pay fines because they or their DC were doing this. There is a real clamp down on it in some areas as it's hazardous to pedestrians, particularly the elderly or those with hearing impairments. It's just selfish and anti social really.

sausagedogsmakechipolatas · 03/05/2018 19:14

We live on a busy road so mine wouldn’t have the opportunity to ride regularly anyway. They are also used to being almost mown down daily by the little twats from the secondary school up the road who ride bikes on the pavement, so maybe that has put them off, who knows.
They walk most places, can swim, and are generally active without the risk of being knocked off their bike by a car or worse. Times change.

Mamabear1475 · 03/05/2018 19:14

How do you know they have the money for bikes. Maybe they put on a show for other people but in reality they are up to their eyeballs in debt. I was licky to learn to ride a bike when i was 7. My best friend got a chopper for her birthday and gave me her old bike. I was lucky to know some generous people because I would probably never have learnt

soulrider · 03/05/2018 19:16

I used to work at an activity centre where one of the activities was biking, our school groups used to be 8 - 11 year olds. At that time (about 10 years ago) it was only ever a handful of groups that had a child who couldn't ride a bike.

gamerwidow · 03/05/2018 19:17

Dd has owned 3 different bikes between age 3-7. She's never been able to ride any of them because she won't get on them because she gets scared at the first wobble. She'd much rather be on her scooter. I did try taking her out every Sunday on the bike but it turned into a chore rather than a fun family activity because she didn't want to be on it.

TheClitterati · 03/05/2018 19:18

My 10 yo loves cycling. My 7yo thinks they are the devils transport - she has learnt to ride but has no interest in ever getting in s bike again.

Lethaldrizzle · 03/05/2018 19:18

Not everyone can afford bikes for their kids

krustykittens · 03/05/2018 19:20

Neither of my kids can ride a bike. They have never been interested and I don't see it as a necessary skill. They are outdoorsy kids though, so I have never pushed it as they do get lots of fresh air. It would have been a frustrating exercise had they been interested as, like pp, we didn't live in a very bike friendly area when they were younger.

Cornishclio · 03/05/2018 19:24

I would consider learning to ride a bike a life skill for kids along with swimming. Our generation and my kids generation mostly knew how although it took my younger DD a while to allow us to remove stabilisers. Both could ride two wheelers by 7 though.

I hope our granddaughters will learn. You can pick up second hand bikes quite reasonably but then you need somewhere to be able to store them and ride them safely. Our bike rack only holds 4 which I think is the maximum so large families would struggle. Places like centre parcs are great for kids to practise riding bikes as no cars but not cheap.

londonrach · 03/05/2018 19:24

My dsis finally learnt as an adult having spent her childhood falling off bikes. My dad spent hours teaching her. She took out her front tooth, damaged next door car (dealt with my my sister and my parents with the neighbour more worried about my sister and drove damaged car around for next 5 years...parents werent allowed to pay for repairs so neighbour got bought massive pot plant) and has some awful scars on her body due to her inability to cycle. As a result she stopped learning to cycle aged 11. Its not as uncommon as you think. Especially in london.

AuntLydia · 03/05/2018 19:24

I'm surprised by the responses here. Not appalled or judgemental as many have rather unfairly read into the op's use of the word shocked. Just surprised. Round here most kids can and do ride bikes. Roads are busy but most still seem to rise them. When ds had his cycling proficiency in school, his whole class (year 6) was able to participate. We just used to take their bikes down the park when they were little. Now they're older we go to a cycle path for a ride or take them on a bike rack if we're off on holiday or whatever.

It would never have occurred to me that this level of bike use was unusual in other parts of the UK. Not a value judgement. I'd feel a similar level of surprise if loads of kids locally had never watched a cartoon or eaten jelly or other kiddy type activities like that!

AuntLydia · 03/05/2018 19:26

Oh and this is a relatively poor area. My lot have second hand bikes or bikes as a main birthday present or whatever.

Lethaldrizzle · 03/05/2018 19:27

I always thought kids were allowed on pavements so i just checked and apparently children under the age of 10 are below the age of criminal responsibility and fixed penalty fines cannot be given to under 16s. So although it's strictly not allowed there's no real penalty for it. And anything that encourages kids cycling is a good thing.

Scribblegirl · 03/05/2018 19:27

DH had a loving, comfortable childhood and his parents were wonderful people. They never taught him to ride a bike and TBH I do find it really weird!

also sad as it rules out centre parcs

Roomba · 03/05/2018 19:29

My 5yo can ride a bike and has one, but we use it for the school run.

My 12.5yo has never mastered it due to dyspraxia. He feels really left out as many of his friends ride their bikes regularly

greendale17 · 03/05/2018 19:31

I am surprised reading the responses. I thought riding a bike was a skill most kids had- just like learning to swim

catinapoolofsunshine · 03/05/2018 19:31

It depends where you live. Where we live no child gets to 5 without being able to ride a bike, let alone any older. Most kids get a balance bike for their second birthday and a regular bike for their 3rd or maybe if they are very tiny for their age 4th and stabilisers aren't really used. People think 4 is late to learn. Obviously dispraxia and other relevant disabilities aside no child starts school unable to ride a bike.

However we are very rural and abroad in an area with excellent, separate cycle paths.

In year 4 the kids to an extensive cycling proficiency course run by the police and the idea of a child not already being able to ride a bike seems not to register as possible.

If you live in a very urban area with nowhere to ride or store bikes it's undoubtedly different. Our recycling place (officially not a tip... But sort of) usually has some kids bikes to take for free, so few people couldn't source a kids bike if they wanted to.