How to get my 6 year old to ride her bike??

[bluebird98]

We took the stabilisers off my 6 year olds bike last year, we tried once and she was petrified. She didn't fall off but couldn't quite keep her balance.

We haven't tried since and everytime I suggest it; she refuses. How do I get her to overcome this and ride her bike?

This is the bike she has, well it's a slightly older version but the same set up etc so that might be where I'm going wrong 😩

Mine all learnt on a gently sloping grassy hill. Are there really bike riding learning classes now? I didn't pressure them though. Just waited until they asked.

We did balance bike first so it was pretty instant but my dd was still quite timid on here. In my experience you just have to go out every day, wind rain or shine and keep trying and you have to be a bit gaslighty "no it'll be fine dear, here you go I'll give you a push and...off you go"

Another vote for a gentle grassy slope - and a quiet day.

It's a lovely bike but those themed kind of bikes are often quite heavy. It makes a world of difference to have a lightweight bike, we found. Is there an independent bike shop nearby - or look on Facebook marketplace etc for second hand?

DS was about 7 or 8 before he could ride a bike without stabilisers, he was slightly uncoordinated anyway which didn't help. It's one of those things that DC can just do at different ages, some of his friends could just ride bikes at 3 or 4 but DS couldn't but then he was more forward in other things. She may not be ready yet.

Take the pedals off and get her used to riding it as a balance bike. Then one pedal at a time. But wait until she's really confident scooting it around with her feet off the floor.

Oh and heavy duty bribery to get her on it in the first place. Lego and chocolate worked for us...

@Shelby1981 I'm not sure why it never crossed my mind before, it does weigh a ton! I will definitely look at more lightweight bikes.

Isla bikes no longer are made and frog ones only seem to have a subscription service so I will have to have a proper look after work

Holding the nape of her neck/upper back helps guided balance whilst you trott and saves your back.

But I'm sorry to say, one of the frog bikes/Isla bikes are much lighter than those Halfords ones.

Without pedals first to get the hang of balancing. Make sure the bike is the right size for her. Then when she starts trying with pedals you hold the child and not the bike. Reassure her you won't let go so she won't fall. If you hold the bike then you're stabilising it for her but if you hold her then she's fully in control of the bike and she can learn to pedal and balance it without risk of falling.

Facebook marketplace for secondhand frog bikes is your friend. Measure her inside leg and you will then know which one to buy if you google the sizing.

Both of mine have started out on balance bikes, or you can take the pedals off an ordinary bike. Let her get used to the pushing off the ground with feet and gliding along feeling, get her to pick her feet up in the glide so she leans how to feel balanced. Once confident put the pedals back on.

My dd was like this. Put the stabilisers on but raise them a little bit so they aren’t directly on the ground, then push her along holding back of her seat and talking to her to reassure her you won’t let her fall. Then gradually let her take control. It might take a few months.

My ds learned much faster - he was on a balance bike as soon as he could walk and an absolute pro; the transition to cycling took 3 days and accomplished before age 4. He falls off more now than he used to, and doesn’t care at all - at age 5 he is getting the hang of his gears and cycles standing up. It’s bonkers! I think the younger cyclists nearly always use a balance bike first which is a different method of learning so you can just ignore the comparisons.

Wild Bikes (from Go Outdoors) are a good alternative to Frog etc, very similar weight and about half the price.

We resorted to bribery in the end, we felt she was just a bit scared about it. So we offered a new outfit for her doll if she would ride around the house 3 times without stopping or putting her foot down. It worked and she pretty much spent the rest of the day pedalling round on her own. Sometimes that's all it takes!

I tied a scarf around my child’s waist and then used the long bit of it to hold them upright. So , tied the scarf and the yanked the long tail of the scarf upright and tightly so . This meant to didn’t need to hold the seat but we both felt in control and supported. As they got better I relaxed the scarf. Sounds mad but it worked !

My children, both had balanced bikes, and they both set off peddling very young.

However, when the time came for my son to have a bigger bike, he was absolutely petrified of it and refused to pedal it.

One day all the kids are out on the street on their bikes. It was watching them . This car, lots of frustration as he could ride a bike But wouldn’t ride the bigger one. We tried everything going behind him, putting the bike away weeks and weeks it went on for, to the point where any time it was mentioned, we had tears.

One day, all the kids on the street, peddling their bikes, and he was watching them. My husband came up to him, and said if he pedal down the street with the other children. I’ll take you to McDonald’s.

on he jumped and peddle down the street, just like that.

Bribery for the parenting win that day

Maybe it’s too small as well? My 3 year old has outgrown his 12 inch running bike already.

I have just bought him the 16’’ bike (woom 3). Woom are very good and lightweight.

I would imagine a 6 year old probably needs at least a 16’’ if not 20’’, and with 12 inch her knees much be very bent try to ride a 12’

Another vote for balance biking first and ideally a lighter bike. My daughter literally learned to ride her pedal bike in a single day the day after her 4th birthday as she was confident on a balance bike. It’s much harder to fall off a balance bike as their feet aren’t far off the floor. Then once they have the idea of whizzing around balancing with no feet on the floor it’s much easier to put feet on pedals.

Don't worry about the type of bike, kids have ridden basic bikes for generations. Some just aren't ready, best thing you can do is put the stabilisers on and go out riding with you on your own bike lots, the more confident at pedalling she is the more success you'll have when you decide to take them off in a few weeks. At that point it's sometimes good for a different person to help, holding the back of the seat - my dad taught my reluctant rider over a bank holiday (her younger sister was already stabiliser free and had a bike just like that one you posted!)

@Timeforanewnam - I’m all
for parent bribery. Ds birthday is shortly after Easter, when he turned 2 I decided to potty train. Fully bribed with reduced mini Lindt rabbits for two weeks and he was sorted.

I have never had to teach a child how to ride however I learnt by;

Seeing my slightly older brother tearing up and down the ally and road
Feeling left out I jumped on my bike that was a bit to big for me and had stabilisers on
Tore off after him playing tag for a bit , he shot down the ally I followed him but got to close to a bollard and hooked my stabiliser on it ( god knows how ! ) it catapulted me of the bike into a crumpled heap on the floor . I screamed like a banshee then demanded my brother took my stabilisers off. I was riding like a pro within about 20 mins and back to playing tag . I was about 5/6 .

Not a method I'd recommend though!

They sell them on their website and in independent bike shops.
https://www.frogbikes.co.uk/factory-outlet

Can you get to Cyclopark? They taught my child to ride in one lesson :)

If you can’t get a teacher then what you need to do is TAKE OFF THE PEDALS and get her used to using it as a balance bike. Once she likes it get her pushing off with both feet then letting the bike zoom forward while both feet are in the air. Once she’s got the hang of the balancing, put the pedals back on.

Stabilisers cause problems.

@EpicPineapple unfortunately not, it's just under 4 hours south for me but thank you!