Buying a bike for non-rider?

[DontOpenDeadInside]

My dd2 (9) has never learned how to ride a bike. We tried, she was just too scared incase she fell off, so gave up. Dd3 (7) has just learned and I wanted to get her a new bike for Christmas. However dd2 will be very jealous if she doesn't get one, eventhough she can't ride. And I can't think of another present she would like to the same "wow" factor. So would you buy her one? I don't want to ask her outright if she'd like one as it'll spoil the surprise (for dd3 too) but don't want to spend money on something she won't use.

To make matters more complicated, dd1 (13) has suggested she would like a bike, but is also a non rider.
I was thinking of getting 3 for 2 in Argos which will lessen the load a bit, but I had something else in mind for dd1 which is £100 approx.

Seems a bit silly buying one if she has no interest in learning to ride. I can’t ride a bike (same fear as your daughter 🙈) but there were a few christmasses where my main present was roller blades or a scooter, would she like something like that?

What are her interests? Maybe we can come up with some other ‘wow’ presents ☺️

I wouldn’t get them all bikes , if you cannot think of other things for the older 2 I would give them all different things and then get the new bike for a birthday . I’d be pretty disappointed if my main Christmas present as a child was something I couldn’t actually use / try out on the day and do you want to spend Christmas Day with the middle one falling off a bike ? Also I wouldn’t buy a bike without the child trying it , so when you do buy go to a bike shop / Halfords with the child and get the right one and nothing too heavy as it will put them off.

I avoid bikes as presents for this reason. DD is 7 and almost there but not quite. She has very little interest but I want her to learn as a life skill. DS is younger and will be quicker than her. I deliberately bought their latest bikes in summer to avoid the disappointment of a main present she doesn’t actually have much interest in.

She has few interests. She loves playing online games, roblox and Sims. She's quite crafty but we have most things. Buying he new pens etc already. Bought her a drawing pad thing last year so she can connect it to the pc and draw on paint. (Hardly used) She has a Fliker type scooter already. Doesn't like reading, TV, dolls. She's the hardest to buy for.
(Oh I've bought her a fingerling )

Bikes better as birthday presents then.

What a pity adult trikes will get them teased, or that would be an option, but in reality sadly not realistic.

You can get better bikes second hand than buying new at that price point.

Also why not talk to your older daughter about helping her learn to ride? She is quite old not to be able to cycle. It will get harder to learn, no?

Imo Dd3 is getting a bike! Dd1 has asked for a bike! And Dd2 will be jealous if she doesn't get a bike.
It's a no-brainer! Getem all a bike.
On a more sensible note. Even though 1 and 2 cant ride. If they don't have a bike, how will they ever learn?

We have just bought our nervous 7yo one of these balance bikes for older kids.
She can pedal already, it's just the balance that she struggles with so we are hoping this will help.

I suppose it depends how tall your 9yo is though as it says it's only suitable for age 5-10.

That is actually a good point - the older 2 will have no chance to learn if they don't have a bike vaguely the right size.

Get second hand ones, take the pedals off and go somewhere like an industrial estate on a Sunday where nobody is watching so they won't be embarrassed? Learn to glide first before attaching pedals.

There are actually adult learn to ride a bike courses in a few places.

I do think just like learning to swim it is a skill that parents should be teaching their children or it should be taught in schools. It may be embarrassing and harder for them to learn when they are older, what if they do bike riding at school or friends go cycling at the weekend?
There are probably instructors or classes they can go to to learn if you can’t teach them.

We got our 6 year old a bike for his birthday, he couldn’t ride and his younger brother could. He said he wasn’t bothered and didn’t want to learn. There was a big smile tho when he saw the bike on his birthday. It took a while but he his now cycling away. We gave it to him with stabilizers on and took them off when he was ready. Actually we took them off a few months later when I told him I’d buy him monopoly if he could cycle around the track (did it straight away!)

To be fair, if dd1 doesn't take to it, I could use it (we're same height) my plan all along
Might sound dd2 out and see if she would like one. She's had the chance to use dd3s bike but wouldn't attempt it. When dd3 learned to ride on an old rusty bike we'd had years, I bought her a 2nd hand one the next day £25 off gumtree. But it's not a shiny new one!