To allow this....

[Jerima]

My dh has taught all the local children how to ride their bikes over the years.

Our DD2 has said she wants to remove one stabiliser and ride like that for a while until she's ready to remove the other. My DH has said no and says she must remove both at once.

I feel she should learn this way if she wants to and feels comfortable that way as I think she should be in control of how she learns to ride her bike. Also she has SEN and even in school does not learn unless she is in control of what and how she learns.

DH says no. He says that children do not learn to ride a bike when they remove one stabiliser as it defys physics.

I have seen many a child over the years with one stabiliser on their bike but because I can't name them or give specific details of when and where DH does not believe that ANY children have gone round on one stabiliser before. He also believes that once you take both stabilisers off the child has to learn to ride on the path or pavement and NOT grass.

So I am asking did any of your DC ride their bikes on one stabiliser at any time during the process of learning to ride on two wheels? Did it defy the laws of physics and did they come to any harm in doing so.

Or did they go straight from stabilisers to learning on two wheels, which I might add, I believe some children do as well.

just do it for her op, and take her to a grassy place

[quote Jerima]@diddl yes she is fine on that[/quote]
It was balancing on a scooter (both feet on the "footplate") than meant we could convince our skeptical son that he would be able to ride a bike without stabilisers.

I’ve never seen only one stabiliser. But, if that’s what your daughter is comfortable with, I’d let her try. Pick your battles and all that. She’ll probably realise it’s not the best way.

My dh has taught all the local children how to ride their bikes over the years.

This made me laugh. He doesn’t hold some great skill, it sounds like he’s thought of as some sort of ‘bike riding elder’. 🤣
Most people could teach someone to ride a bike. In fact he seems to be lacking some listening skills and patience, both very important when trying to teach anyone anything.

One stabiliser is possibly dangerous, it will catch on one side & not the other.

The protocol is to slightly raise both stabilisers higher off the ground rather than go unbalanced (only on one side).

Lower the seat so much that when she pedals her knees are up by her elbows. Then she will always be able to get a foot to ground in time; once she knows she can do that she will be confident to balance with both feet on pedals.

After she learns to confidently balance you can raise seat to a natural height.

It's not rocket science

your dh is correct

I did that! One dropped off my bike and I kept going on one for ages until DF announced enough was enough. By the afternoon I was riding. It's easy enough to ride with one, it's just a comfort thing.

Never seen a child with one stabiliser. My husband taught both our kids, they had stabilisers for a couple of weeks then he literally spent a day teaching them, running up and down by the side until they were confident. We’d tried several times with my son unsuccessfully but once he’d mastered the two wheel scooter the bike riding came really easily.

No stabilisers is better. Get one of those bike jackets. Taught my nervous 5 year old within a week with that

We didn't use stabilisers at all. Instead, we took the peddles off so that they used it as a balance bike. Once they were able to balance well while pushing and gliding along, we then put the peddles back on. It worked really well.

@TheChampIsHere lol he's also helped them all climb up and down the same tree over the years too

lol he's also helped them all climb up and down the same tree over the years too

Bless him. 😂 Your local area must be full of expert cyclists and tree climbers. 🤣 Your husband sounds great.

I’m sure your daughter will be whizzing round on 2 wheels on her bike in no time. 😊

Won’t she just lean to the side with the stabiliser though? I would definitely go with turning it into a balance bike instead.

I remember having one stabiliser removed. I never progressed any further.

Your DH is right yes you could let her fall and find out for herself that it's a silly idea but really she should just accept that 'no' means no and she can keep her stabilisers in on or take them off and that's the choice. Don't pander to her.

I agree with you @Jerima
My boys all learnt to ride bikes differently and my youngest had only one stabiliser for a while - it’s not about the physics of it - it’sa reassurance thing for the child!
They’re using that stabiliser as a security blanket and honestly, that second stabiliser soon comes off once they have been whizzing around and got that last little bit of confidence x
Every child is different/learns differently. There should be no right or wrong 🙂

Another vote for raising both stabilisers to allow more wobble before making contact with the ground. At least that way she’ll feel reassured but she’s learning too

One stabiliser has the potential of setting the bike off balance.
Are you able to keep both on but raise them off the ground a little more? Then she has to tip further to be saved by them.

My dd has SN and learned with two and then one stabiliser. She could balance on the two wheels but it was a security thing for her own sense of confidence. After a few months she asked for it to be taken off and has been an excellent cyclist ever since.

Yes , I've seen one stabiliser.

With dyspraxic DS we used flexible stabilisers that allowed him to learn the skill of leaning into a turn with some support, after a few weeks he was fine without

Having one stabiliser just puts you off balance, so I’m actually with your DH on that one.

But you can certainly start off on grass. I took both my dds to the playing field and pushed them down the hill. After a couple of falls onto grass, they could both ride. Once they’d managed to stay upright at the bottom of the hill they’d then ride on concrete. Never had an issue. They both learned to ride in an hour or so.

"she won't go near the bike because she can't do it her way"

I'm not 100% sure that's a way of thinking you want to encourage/give into.

I really think your husband knows what he's talking about and she either accepts that and learns to ride, or doesn't.

The one stabiliser thing could actually be dangerous and pointless

I'd be picking my battles and this, to me, isn't one of them. Does it really matter if she wants one stabiliser on? Logically it'll make it harder but if it makes her feel more secure and the end game is her riding her bike without stabilisers, I don't see what the issue is. Its just a different way of getting the same result. There are bigger things for your DH to put his foot down with and this is very low down on the list for me.

I had one stabiliser!

One fell off and never got put back on. I rode around with 1 until I was ready to take the other off.

I agree with your DH, I have never seen a child ride a bike with one stabiliser, sounds dangerous. Either leave both stabilisers on the bike or take both stabilisers off the bike.