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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

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Original poster

would you buy a four-year-old a proper bike (with pedals)?

24 replies

choucroutegarnie · 20/11/2008 12:58

Our son's been happily scooting around on one of those pushbikes with no pedals. He's now outgrowing it and my husband wants to buy him a proper one, with pedals, for Christmas.

I think he's too young for it and will get his legs stuck in the pedals etc (result being us carrying the wretched thing around the park).

Thoughts anyone?

OP posts:

ComeOVeneer · 20/11/2008 12:59

DS will be 4 in Dec and he has had a proper bike since his 3rd birthday, he uses it a lot.

TheGoat · 20/11/2008 13:00

get it. dd was riding a bike just after her 4th birthday. it might take a few hours of holding the saddle but he will get the hang pretty quickly.

traceybath · 20/11/2008 13:00

agree with cov - bikes are fab pressies

bigTillyMint · 20/11/2008 13:00

Yes!

My daughter could ride one without stabilisers at four, and son at just 3!!!

Is he a generally well-coordinated child, or does he fall over alot, etc?

MummyDoIt · 20/11/2008 13:00

DS2 got one for Christmas last year and he was just under four. He managed just fine. He has stabilisers, of course, but can pedal just fine. He just needs a bit of a push up hills.

MmeLindt · 20/11/2008 13:00

My DCs learnt to ride a bike aged 3yo after using the pedaless bikes. It is very easy for them as they have mastered the balancing already and it is just a case of working out how to use the pedals.

Does he have a trike or anything with pedals that he can practice the pedalling bit first?

I would get him the bike.

irises · 20/11/2008 13:01

4's about the right age to start, with stabilisers of course.

IdrisTheDragon · 20/11/2008 13:01

DS got one when he was 3.5 (as a 3 and a half present ). He would have been fine with it a bit earlier as well.

glaskhamhasoneintheoven · 20/11/2008 13:05

We bought DS one last xmas and he was only just 3, he was riding it this summer no problems (with the stabilisers on though!!)

MmeLindt · 20/11/2008 13:06

A few posters have mentioned stabilisers. I would try him without tbh. He can balance already.

My DD just got on her bike and whizzed away, no holding on to saddles or stabilisers for her.

We put really wobbly stabilisers on DS's cause he was not quite so confident to begin with.

elliott · 20/11/2008 13:07

Yes, I think the main limiting factor is the size of the child. I would recommend islabikes as great children's bikes - everything is scaled down so its easy for them to ride.
If your ds can balance on a scooty bike then there is no need for stabilisers. I'm sure your ds will be riding (properly!) just as soon as the weather is good enough to take him out to practise on it.
My ds's have winter birthdays and both were riding their first proper bikes within a few months of their 4th birthdays.

MrsMattie · 20/11/2008 13:08

We got our DS a bike with stabilisers for his third birthday. He is now 3.9 yrs old and is just about ready to start trying to ride without the stabilisers, I think. Go for it. A bike is a great present!

MadameCastafiore · 20/11/2008 13:10

DS has had a proper bike since he was 2 and has been able to ride it properly since the week he got it - he also has a brand new never been ridden scooty things which he hates and won't use because it doesn't have pedels - for this christmas he has got a big proper bike which I presume he will be able to ride perfectly well as he rides his 8 year old sisters fine.

Give your son some credit he will be fine with a proper bike - just make sure it has stabilisers on whilst he gets used to it.

DS wants a skateboard now but after seeing the havoc he reeks on his sisters scooter we have decided to wait until he is 5!

franke · 20/11/2008 13:11

If he is scooting around on a bike with no pedals without any problems then he'll be fine with a proper bike - no need for stabilisers. My older dc went straight from pedal-less to pedals seamlessly before they were 4yo. It took them a while to grasp the idea of brakes though so expect shoes worn through at the toes!

etchasketch · 20/11/2008 13:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Ali4cotswolds · 20/11/2008 13:12

I'd recommend you buy a proper bike and take off the pedals so he learns to balance / lift up his feet etc without worrying about putting his feet up onto them. Once he has got this sussed he'll be wanting his pedals back on and will be zooming around.

Bramshott · 20/11/2008 13:15

4 is a perfect age I think - he'll surprise you!

Gipfeli · 20/11/2008 13:16

I think if he's doing well on the bike without pedals, he'll be able to cope with pedal bike. ds (4.7) has had a similar bike and we were surprised to discover he could ride his cousins bike with pedals and no stabilisers in the summer after about 20 mins of practice.

So we'll be getting him a pedal bike for Christmas.

Also agree with some of the others, no stabilisers.

TigerFeet · 20/11/2008 13:18

DD got a bike (with stabilisers) for her 4th birthday in July

She loves it, it's a good age to get one imo. Four months on, she's nowhere near ready for the stabilisers to come off but she loves charging about on it.

MmeLindt · 20/11/2008 13:19

Hallo Gipfeli I was thinking about you yesterday when I say Schokogipfel in the supermarket, first time I have seen them called that

Gipfeli · 20/11/2008 13:22

Hello, interesting that they call them that in the French speaking part too.

elliott · 20/11/2008 13:22

this is what I would get:

www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/cnoc16.html

not cheap, but much better than anything else I have seen.

wideratthehips · 20/11/2008 13:24

ds got a 'proper' bike for 4th birthday. dh has a trailgator (i think thats what its called) attached to the back of his bick so he can attach ds bike to it when hes tired. if he didn't have peddles his feet would be just dangling...

i know that likeabikes are great but they give me terrible frights because the kids go so fast on them and seem to carear out of control

Original poster

choucroutegarnie · 20/11/2008 20:18

Wow - just caught the thread now. Thanks! A bike (with no stabilisers) it will be, but with a helmet

Happy xmas everyone

OP posts:

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