Getting my 24 month old to 'STOP!'

[eshape]

Has anyone got any advice or tips on how to get my 2 year old to stop when we're out and about? He got a balance bike for his birthday but if he gets too close to a road or too far head won't listen to me when I'm asking him to slow down or stop! We have spoken about what the word it means and he knows exactly what I'm asking him to do but when we're out on his bike he finds it near on impossible to listen! It's making our walks out unenjoyable for both parties now so something has to change!

2 year olds don’t have impulse control so even if he understands he needs to stop he won’t always be able to do it. I think the only think you can do is go somewhere off road.

My 2.10 year old is pretty calm and compliant (compared to my DS) and I wouldn’t trust her to stop at a road if she was on a bike. I’d have to be right with her. She probably would, but I wouldn’t take that chance.

My DS is now 5 and I think probably in the last year he’s been reliable enough to ride ahead on his bike and stop at the roads. And we’ve had a lot of practice. He was a crazy runner though

So yes bike riding only for places where there are no roads. We go to the school car park. Otherwise they aren’t allowed to ride away from me. Hence why my littlest can ride her bike in the street at this age, but my eldest wasn’t allowed as I had a buggy and couldn’t keep up with him

If he does not stop, take the bike off him, and keep doing that until he gets the message.

If your on a road surely you need hands on the bike or the kid. Reins on him so he can only go a short distance ahead? One of those back packs with like the lead on them? I dunno bit I think it's either that or no balance bike by the road

I was assuming the bike was off road. I would not take a two year old child out by the road on a bike.

You need a quiet street. Or an empty car park

When mine were young I played the stop and go game ( they learnt this in the safety of the park each time we went ) . Whenever I shouted go they could run jump skip etc and as soon as I shouted stop they had to freeze . They loved this game especially when I used to stay go stop go stop really quickly and they were freezing and unfreezing like mad . The game made it fun but they listened and did as they were told. They were around 3 when I started playing the game. To be honest I wouldnt have trusted them at 2 years old to always stop at the curb and never let them.get that far im front of m when out near roads but there maybe some 2 year olds that would

When I was a young mum all toddlers, as I remember it, had reins. Wonderful things, They couldn’t run into roads, they could be hoisted up before they hit the ground and certainly couldn’t ride off on a bike unless in the garden or a park.

We've used a balance bike to get to daycare daily from about age 3 for DD. Prior to that we had lots of riding it to the park and around the block/up to the shops. Running shoes and a sports bra each time though for me and I awas always right beside her and hyper aware of driveways, roads, other people etc. I found going out during the day at quieter times when she first got the bike, around 2yrs, was good so we could stop lots, talk about being safe, practice looking for cars and things like that.
DD is 3.5 now and says all the right things (stop, look, listen, mum says safe to cross?) but I still wouldn't trust her to stop every time and am right there ready to grab her if need be. It's exhausting but she's slowly learning.
I have markers on the routes we regularly take to show her where to stop and this works quite well too. Lines in the pavement or certain post/letterboxes. She's a lot more aware than some of her friends on their bikes and scooters because of the daily practice.
I have taken the bike off her plenty of times when she is getting a bit too wild and we always have a quick reminder before setting off that if she's not listening then she will need to hop off and walk.
She is about to size up to a 16in pedal bike and I can see I'm going to have to up my game on my sprints to keep up 😂

@SleepingStandingUp

If your on a road surely you need hands on the bike or the kid. Reins on him so he can only go a short distance ahead? One of those back packs with like the lead on them? I dunno bit I think it's either that or no balance bike by the road

Sorry just to clarify when I say road it's not a main road! We live on a really quiet estate so that's where we use the bike I certainly wouldn't take him anywhere busy!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions we will give them a go!

I've always played the 'Stop and Got game with my DS, probably since he started walking, he's almost 6 now. So wherever we were (park, cycle track, garden etc) I would randomly shout 'Stop!' and he would have to stop and stay still, until I shouted 'Go!' This was a game he loved to play. Anyway, that seemed to have translated into, wherever we are - walking, cycling, scooting etc - if I shout or say 'Stop!' He will stop wherever he is and wait for me to follow up with 'Go!' He still loves playing it even now. My sister once marvelled about how I got DS to listen when we were on a walk together one day. He was scooting along the path a few metres ahead of us, not particularly fast because he was on a wobbly scooter! I noticed from where I was that a car was about to reverse out of a driveway ahead of DS slightly. I shouted 'Stop!' and he stopped. She was gobsmacked but he's always done that, from being very tiny! Now, if I only I could shout 'Tidy Up!' and he would do that too 😂

Yeah I love on an estate of quiet roads. It takes 1 idiot thinking it'll be quiet so speeding through. Or just someone paying less than 100% attention because it's a quiet estate. Like others have said, until he old enough he really shouldn't be roadside