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Original poster

Mum wants to get DS (22mo) a Thomas the Tank Engine bike for Christmas

15 replies

BouncingTurtle · 21/10/2009 07:28

He is 2 two days after Christmas.

It is this one here.

It says it is from 2 years and has and adjustable seat, but he is tiny - he is between the 0.4th and 2nd centile(not sure of his height!), so I'm thinking it will be ages before he is big enough to ride it!

Has anyone else got one? What sort of age/size was your dc when you got it?

Opinions please!

OP posts:
ChopsTheDuck · 21/10/2009 07:51

I think it will be too big for him.

Mine had them for their third birthday and they didn't last very long, but def would have been big for a 2yo.

I can upload a pic if you want, and I know he was jsut over 90cm at that time.

AboardtheAxiom · 21/10/2009 07:57

Regardess of size maybe a trike would be better?

Is it that she wants to buy him his first bike? If so assure her she can when he is big enough.

ChopsTheDuck · 21/10/2009 08:00

I've put a pic up, its def too big, ds could barely reach the pedals at 3!

girlywhirly · 21/10/2009 12:04

Turtle, I definitely think a tricycle would be better for his age and size. They don't really learn to pedal until after 2yrs anyway, and the bike you've shown looks a bit easy to fall off! Perhaps your mum could get him a bike with stabilisers when he's 3.

SCARYspicemonster · 21/10/2009 12:12

I would suggest she gets him something more like this trike.

My DS (who is 50% centile) got it last Xmas not long before his 2nd birthday. He still can't push the pedals properly but we go out to the shops on it etc. I don't think he'll be ready to take the stick off the back until he's about 3 1/2.

I think you'll get a lot more use out of it.

Original poster
BouncingTurtle · 21/10/2009 18:16

Thanks everyone - this has been very useful.

It seems that I was right to be concerned, it is going to be too big for him.

I will talk to her about getting the trike instead.

DS is her PFGS, I am don't mind that she wants to buy him a bike, but I think she doesn't realised that it will be too big for him. Luckily she was going to give me the money and I was going to get it so she didn't have to pay for postage (she lives other end of country from me!) so won't be a problem. I will talk to her and let her know.

Thanks again

OP posts:
Clary · 21/10/2009 18:19

I do think the bike would be too big for him at a tiny 2yo.

But I personally found trikes like that one linked of very limited use. Child can't reach pedals and by the time they can, and can actually pedal, they are too big for the trike and need a bike!

Just IME. Ours was "used" by 3 DC and sold on at a car boot for £12 in mint condition.

Original poster
BouncingTurtle · 21/10/2009 18:30

Hmmmm very true! No rush anyway so will have a think. I might take him into Toys R Us and try him out on them.

OP posts:
claraquack · 22/10/2009 00:15

BT - you have to get a likeabike (or similar, eg a pedal-less bike) - they are brilliant. We got one for dd1 when she was two and she is still using it now, two years later. It meant she was independent much earlier than her contemporaries who had to be pushed on Trikes (which both my dd's get bored of very quickly).. They say it means they should be able to ride normal bikes faster than usual too; I have yet to get proof of this but even so I can highly recommend them!

Clary · 22/10/2009 00:18

yy of course likeabike is the way to go.

They are not cheap but a family I know where they all learned on one, all 3 boys could ride with no stabilisers (they just never had them) well before their 4th birthday which is pretty unusual IME.

Original poster
BouncingTurtle · 22/10/2009 10:03

Wow! My DSS still can't ride his bike without stabilisers, and he is 8.5!! That is in impressive!

OP posts:
Original poster
BouncingTurtle · 22/10/2009 10:08

Likeabike, nice idea, but way outside both my mum's and my budget!

OP posts:
spiralqueen · 22/10/2009 10:55

BT DD's tall and she's happy on a trike but she's a way off a bike IMO. Scary's suggestion is more like the kind of thing we were contemplating as our next purchase.

Definitely with you on the horrors of a trip to ToysRUs

Clary · 22/10/2009 15:03

yeah they are expensive, likeabikes.

Wonder if there's any chance of a 2nd hand one? They are also called balance bikes so you might want to search that for cheaper options.

They are the bees' knees, honest (and we never had one, but I have just looked in at others!)

mamadiva · 22/10/2009 15:49

A friend of mine bought the Thomas bike for her almost 3YO and he could'nt reach the pedals so she took them off along wiuth the stabilisers and lowered the seat right down.

Cheap balance bike! seems to work fine her son is now 3.6YO and still flying about on it, without the pedals though

My DS is 3.4YO and can't seem to grasp the cponcept of balance bikes so we are just getting hiom a normal bike and see how he goes with that!

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