2nd birthday.... balance bike or scooter?

[partyskirt]

Not sure which to get! Please vote.

And yes to helmet for scooter and bike. They can easily come off a scooter especially when they are unsure

I would say yes to helmets for both too as, once they get going, they can bomb along on both scooters and balance bikes.

No helmets, no wheels

Balance bike. DS had the FirstBike from age 2 then went straight to bike without stabilisers aged 4. FirstBike is plastic and very light. He was too short for Micro Scooter when he could get on his bike and never fancied it.

DD (older) had bike with stabilisers from age 3 to 5.5 but didn't like it. Bought her a balance bike from age 5.5-7, finally mastered pedal bike just after her 7th birthday after learning using balance bike. She loved her mini micro scooter but now never wants to go on it as her bike is easier.

Similar here re balance bike - my eldest was much older & took far longer to learn to ride a bike (no balance bike, just bike with stabilisers) than my younger 2 who both had balance bikes. [to the point where my middle one who is 2 yrs younger could ride his bike at almost the same time as the eldest - only a few months in it].

Also agree with those who say helmets for both bike & scooter.

Definitely wear a helmet. My two aren't allowed near their bikes without one

Balance bike !! But a light weight one - not a clunky wooden one. Every child I know who had a BB was on pedals by age 4 with no stabilisers. Scooters are ace too.

They need both imo. B bike great for learning to ride but more for bike riding situations whereas scooter quickly became an alternative to the pram for us as ds would scoot for miles , would never agree to walk that far! I felt the scooter was more manageable when out and about as easier for me to carry if he got bored and a bit easier for him to manoeuvre

How old were your children when they learned to ride, bruffin , and how long did it take?

They didnt have bikes until 4 and both went straight off when the stabilisers came off annd that was on big bikes. The kids in the street taught them. I am sure if they had smaller bikes ealier they would have learnt then.

They didnt have to unlearn anything. Dd had a proper two wheeler scooter before that.
I used to holiday in centerparcs in holland every year. I only ever saw two balance bikes there and they were english.

My point is that get a balance bike as another toy, if you want to. But they are not essential to learning to ride a bike as 99% of people will have learned without them.

fair enough - they are well ahead of any of my Ds1's friends who had stabilisers. Lots of Ds2's friends had balance bikes as there are lots of them around now, so it's no longer comment-worthy to see a 4yr old on a pedal bike.
We went to Holland this summer and all DS2 could hire was a balance bike, he wasn't big enough for their smallest pedal bike, the bikes there seem very big and heavy compared to what we are used to ( maybe just because they were hire bikes?)
£80 on our balance bike was the best money we ever spent on the children, now waiting for child 4 to learn on it, £20 per child seems pretty good value to me.

Decathlon do a great bb for £40. There are lots of lightweight ones about - easy to hand off a pram too. DD was on pedals by 3.5 and all her bb mates by 4. The stabiliser kids take longer. Those on stabilisers get used to leaning on them, which they have to unlearn and they also just stop and sit there - which you can't do on a pedal bike. My DS at just 3 cycles ours every where, as do his mates and keeps up with DD on pedals. He will be on pedals in the spring.

I agree 100 percent with baking tins. The stabiliser kids often are still wobbling about slowly at age 5-6-7. The stabiliser bikes are cumbersome and don't turn corners easily. It's definately not marketing spin. Here is South Manchester you see tons of 2-3 year olds racing about on BB. Our school nursery has loads who cycle them to school. You never see a child on stabilisers whizzing in of a morning

Halfords do a good one too 40 pounds at the mo

That is complete nonsense doodledot
You would think nobody learned to ride a bike before balance bikes

We bought our DD a scooter for her 2nd birthday and she loved it! We already had a balance bike that we had bought on sale when DD was about 1.5.

She didn't start to use the balance bike until about 2.5, she has now just turned 3 and is riding a normal bike without stabilisers!!

She does however still use the scooter but wants to bike everywhere. We live in Germany and ALL the little ones (1 and 2 year olds) on the school run have balance bikes, they are very popular here.

I think either would be good for a present.

And yes, DD doesn't go on her scooter or bike without a helmet.

Balance bike every time. Ds2 went straight from a balance bike to pedals (no stabilisers) a month after his 3rd birthday. I used his balance bike a considerable amount for walking into town and back when he was still quite young, using a rope to tow him uphill. They both have scooters but I worry about the one sided effect of them.

Bruffin they did or do indeed learn to ride eventually with horrid stabiliser but it was generally a lot harder and took a lot longer. They don't learn at age normally unless a bb first. The evidence is too strong I am afraid. Daily I get parents saying to us 'I so wish we'd had a bb '

Balance bikes are amazing - one of the few real innovations since my childhood (likewise baby sleeping bags).

From personal observation and experience, they allow children to learn to ride pedal bikes much younger and more naturally than they otherwise would.

Doesn't mean a particular child will like or use one but definitely worth a go. Dd age 2.6 is still getting to grips with both bike and scooter but probably gets more out of the bike.

Luckily where I grew up in Central Europe they were the norm - some time ago. You very rarely saw kids with stabilisers and still don't

IMO balance bikes are rubbish, hardly used and expensive.
Scooters more flexible and used all the time

We went with balance bike for DS' 2nd birthday as he loves bikes. However we also did the "no helmet no wheels" rule. So the bike is discarded in the shed as he refuses to wear a helmet. No tantrums no fuss just so stubborn about the helmet he chooses not to ride the bike. Sigh.

Diodledot
Just told my ds about your post and he laughed and said what a load of rubish
He is planning to ride 7 miles to school. I dont know any one who had a horrible time learning to ride a bike. My street has kids playing out from 3, they all taught each other.
I think those who may have a problem probably have the wrong size bike.