Scooter or balance bike for 2 yo? Or trike? I’m confused

[Anewmum2018]

What will be most useful fo my 2 y/o for a Christmas present (and last longest)? Was thinking a balance bike, or one of those trikes that adults push along? Or is he getting too big for that? He’s basically a pushchair refuser so need some other vehicle to get him places, but that he thinks is fun. TIA

Hmmm. So DD is two next week and I have a balance bike and a trike. Both picked up from FB as I try to do with outdoor type items.

The trike has been used daily this year. She loves it, like you say fun. We can walk walk miles. She jumps on and off, easy for me to push, handle will eventually come off when she can reach to peddle but we are a while off that. So it's more a pushchair replacement. Bag on back and easy to manage her walking and that.

Balance bike she plays with more as a toy at the moment. So maybe ten minutes up and down yard, I certainly wouldn't be able to go for a walk with it yet. Although I'm sure that will come.

Mmmh, I never bothered with a trike. I saw a lot of mums getting them as presents for a 1 year old rather than a 2 year old. They never looked comfortable to me, pushing a child along by a long stick!

My son had a mini micro scooter at 2 which got tons of use. I think it would take a while before it would replace a pushchair though, fun to take to the park and build up their balancing confidence.

We then got a balance bike at 3, I don't think he would have had the coordination to use it at 2.

Ah thank you for this. Perhaps we missed the trike boat?! Maybe a micro scooter is the answer and then maybe just shove him into the pushchair when absolutely necessary...

I would say it depends on your child. A balance bike will be best long-term, as many children progress quite quickly onto bikes, but only some two year olds can really use them as a mode of transport. They also tend to be outgrown fairly quickly.

DS1 got a Micro scooter for his second birthday and was whizzing everywhere in it by 2.5. When DS2 came along (before he was 3), he went all round town on the scooter and we never bought a double buggy or board. He used it until he was 5 when we bought a bigger one. DS2 never liked the scooter and always preferred walking once he was able.

As for the trikes, maybe pick up a second hand one as I don’t think you’ll get a huge time out of it.

I got my son a balance bike for his 3rd birthday and he loves it. Over the summer he's used it loads, and I do think he'll find the transition to a 'big' bike easier as a result.

I don't find trikes very useful. They are tricky to push with one hand, tricky to get up and down kerbs, not useful for kids to pedal because the pedals are in the wrong place, out in front rather than underneath you like a bike.
I vote for a balance bike, but that's because we're a family who cycle a lot so that was our priority.
Get both, we had a cheap balance bike which cost about £25 and then a scooter. One from us, one from my parents.

Balance bike all the way, those tricycles look so uncomfortable to push. They also don't seem to actually teach them to cycle or balance so are really just a novelty. My DD loved her balance bike and went everywhere on it, then went straight to a pedal bike with no stabilisers.

ds loved his trike and was on it all the time, it had a pram type handle so was very easy to steer/push when he couldn't peddle, or if he got too tired peddling himself.

he had similar to this one and would load and carry things around in it. Can't remember what age he was when he stopped using it so you might not get much use out of it now, but you would be able to resell easily and get some of your money back.

After the trike as he had learned to peddle we got a bike with stabilisers and a scooter. The bike he was mobile on quickly while the scooter taught him about balance before we took the bike stabilisers off.

At 2 you are towards the end of the trike stage but not quite at the next one. We never had a balance bike so not sure where they fit in age wise.

DD 2yrs 4 months has a micro scooter and a balance bike. She started using the bike at 2yrs 2 months and in those two months has become am good enough to cycle with her big sister to the school 0.8m away twice a day. She loves it!

She likes the scooter but no where near as much as the bike.

Honestly I'd say both as they both challenge a child in different ways. Mine loved scooters in the garden and balance bike when out and about for a walk etc.

If you want to Use it to usefully transport him around then I would get the scooter. You can get a strap to pull them along which means that you can better control them when you need to. My two have loved their balance bikes and their scooters but I have felt happier walking along pavements to school or the shops with them on their scooters rather than their balance bikes.

My ds is now 3.5 and the balance bike is brill, he can do a whole hour long dog walk on it now. I think he started using it properly like this at around 3. But would use it for shorter distances from about 2.5yo. We also have a push along trike and we used that loads from about 2yo. He's grown out of now really in that it's been replaced by the balance bike iyswim. He's never used the pedals on it. So the trike has a shorter shelf life for you but could be invaluable for that window. The balance bike would be more of a toy now and a mode of transport later. I would do trike now and bike for Christmas or next year.

He's got a scooter too but only manages ten mins on that before getting bored.

I wouldn't bother with the trike, I find them quite difficult to push long distances compared to a pushchair and I think he is a bit old for one.
The mini micro scooter is brilliant and well worth the money; one problem I've had with using it as a means of getting from A to B is that the pavements around here are quite bumpy and there are lots of ups and downs with kerbs and driveways, which doesn't suit the little wheels of the scooter, she fell off a lot.
I found a balance bike much better with it's bigger, chunky tyres. Although she had one from about 18 months she didn't really get the hang of it until two and a half, but then she was off and there was no stopping her! She got a normal pedal bike with no stabilisers for her third birthday and she was riding it a few days later.

We've had about two solid years out of this balance bike from Smyth's. £30 and really sturdy.
Ds bombs up and down on it every day. I'd absolutely recommend, it still looks new and has been absolutely battered.

He's got a next size up convertible balance bike for Christmas, he'll be just turned 4.