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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

when did your child ride a bike without stabilisers?

38 replies

anniebear · 18/04/2006 09:10

Just mentioned it to DD who will be 5 in August. I said maybe we could take one stabilisers off in the summer, she nealry cried!!! lol

To be fair, she doesn't go on her bike that much, although she would love to, so she doesn't get much practise

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Feistybird · 18/04/2006 09:14

DD1 was 4 and a half.

misdee · 18/04/2006 09:15

dd1 is 6 and still cant peddle a bike.

Enid · 18/04/2006 09:16

dd1 is 6 and still has her stablisers on, it makes me cross and I am desperate to take them off but dh says no leave them

AllieBongo · 18/04/2006 09:17

ds had turned 4 in april, rode stabiliser free in July. He insisted. Was black and blue but kept getting back on

brimfull · 18/04/2006 09:19

ds is 3.5 and is really good at balancing on a two wheel scooter .He's been whizzing around on it for about a yr.Does this mean he may be ready to take his stabilizers off,or am I jumping the gun here?

ghosty · 18/04/2006 09:21

DS was 4 and a half ...
The one thing I would say is that you have to make it a mission ... if you take them off then spend the time with her to learn to go without them.
DH took DS's stabilisers off, took him out for one bike ride and then went off to work the next day. DS wanted his bike, couldn't do it without the stabilisers, I couldn't help (had not long had a c/section and couldn't see how I could hold him on the bike AND push the baby in her pram), so DS wanted the stabilisers back on but we didn't see how that would help so the bike ended up in the garage for a few weeks before DH could devote time to it ...
Also ... to do it, make sure her feet can touch the ground first ... don't do it if she can't put her feet down easily ... it is all to do with confidence.
DS is a demon on his bike now (he is 6 and a half) ...

Original poster

anniebear · 18/04/2006 09:24

her twin sister has SN which is why she doesn't go on her bike as much as she would like....couldn't cope with them both!!! lol

OP posts:

puddle · 18/04/2006 09:26

Agree with ghosty - you need to set time aside to help them make the transition. DS did it when he was just 5 - we went to the park on our own and practised for a couple of afternoons and he got it.

blueteddy · 18/04/2006 09:47

My DS is 6 & still has stabilisers on his bike. He took forever to learn to ride a bike properly with stabilisers, so I am not going to rush him!

fennel · 18/04/2006 09:48

dd1 was just 5, dd2 was 3 3/4. most children i know are 5-6, I think it depends totally on how much they like cycling and how much they want the stabilisers off. dniece just learned this weekend and she's nearly 9.

Hallgerda · 18/04/2006 10:04

We were forced to take the stabilisers off after our children outgrew bikes with stabilisers - that happened around the age of 6 in each case.

foxinsocks · 18/04/2006 10:07

I think they have to want to do it

I saw another little girl in dd's class whose mum used a little harness (don't know where you get it from) with a handle on the back (child puts it on) so that when the little girl was learning to ride, she didn't have to break her back holding onto her while she cycles

dd is 6 in August and shows absolutely no desire to be without stabilisers!

alexsmum · 18/04/2006 10:42

ds has just recently learned with no stabilisers.he's 6.he's not confident though and can't turn corners or go fast!

scotlou · 18/04/2006 11:00

ds was around 4.5 - think dd (nearly 4 )will probably be much later as she is just not interested in bikes. I was at least 8 - I used to wheel my bike round the garden quite happily - while point blank refusing to actually ride it!

poppiesinaline · 18/04/2006 11:02

DS1 was 6.5 before he rode without stabilisers. He is still quite 'wobbly' (he is 9 now). He is not a 'bike' person though. Really not bothered at all. DD on the other hand rode her bike without stabilisers at 3.5. In fact, that was the only reason DS1 put his mind to learn to ride without them - because his younger sister could do it! LOL

serenity · 18/04/2006 11:09

DS1 learnt last weekend - first time we took him out on his new bike which is too big for stabilisers. He's 8, but we hardly ever take the bikes out (no garden, and until recently we haven't had a car big enough to put the bikes in to get to a park) The problem is that he's big for his age, and quite uncoordinated with it, it took ages for him to learn with stabilisers.

My Dad tried to teach me off and on from when I was about 5, and each time it ended up with him yelling at me because I couldn't get it (same as with DS1, I was tall and clumsy) I ended up hating bikes and refused to even try. In the end I taught myself so I could do the cycling proficency (sp?) test with my friends.

longwaytogo · 18/04/2006 11:19

dd2 was 3.6 but we lived on a campus and she rode her bike along the top avenue to nursery every day. one day we noticed that the stabilisers weren't touching the floor at all so took them off. That had a knock on effect to all the other children who then wanted theirs off. the tennis courts were full of 3/4 yr olds trying to learn to ride their bikes for weeks. I bet they all loved us. DD1 was about 5 i think.

But will agree with others unless it was a fluke like dd2 you do need to devote time to this task.

scarymamma · 18/04/2006 11:38

dd was 5 and it took a fair bit of effort - several w/e in the park and on tennis courts (dodging balls didn't help!!)

ds learnt on his own in an afternoon age 4! dd helped him and we had a big back yard for him to cycle round which really helped.

I guess it is one of those things where once they decide they want to do it, it can happen quite quickly.

scarymamma · 18/04/2006 11:41

Just remembered - actually had to take ds's stabilisers off as he broke one off cornering too fast/hard and the other one was seriously bent backwards! Has had a fair number of falls tho'. (He ski's the same way too - kamikaze style)

Mistymoo · 18/04/2006 11:46

I taught my son when he was about 5. I remember my dh told me off one Sat afternoon for doing nothing constructive so I showed him

Littlemissbusy · 19/04/2006 10:44

Timing / age really depends on:

The child - some are just better at balance etc
You - as other people have said, you do need to set the time aside. That's what DH is for! And it's a great exercise regime for him!

Personally, I do hate stabilisers - the pavements near us have big cambers, and bike with stabilisers can just toppler over. DD1 learnt last summer holidays at 5 and a few months. DD2 is just starting to learn and she's just 4. DS is learning, and he's just 9 months! Well, just joking about the last bit actually!

charliecat · 19/04/2006 10:53

My dd was 6/7 when she got on her cousins mountain bike style bike and pedalled off, we had spent hours shoving her up and down on a girly type bike with no success.
Her friend was 6/7 too and dd2 5 is nowhere near riding hers alone.

iota · 19/04/2006 10:54

there was a \link(www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=1012&threadid=157270&stamp=060404145346\thread} about this a couple of weeks ago

iota · 19/04/2006 10:55

there was a \link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=1012&threadid=157270&stamp=060404145346\thread} about this a couple of weeks ago

chilliconcarne · 19/04/2006 10:56

ds was 5, but still needs a bit of support...he can ride his bike about 10 metres on his own!

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