2yr old xmas present. Are balance bikes really that good?

[MrsArchchancellorRidcully]

DD (24m) loves ride ons etc and I've heard great things about balance bikes. They do sound good, especially as she is a bit short so cannot reach peddles.

Before i commit for xmas, can anyone give me some honest feedback - are they worth the money? I've seen on on the ELC website for £50.
Thanks.

Alice:

i can't ride a bike and it is a huge source of embarrassment and regret for me.

any genius ways i could learn...i'm actually scared to get on one and i'm not a scardey cat usually (i ski for eg)

sophable - do you know what it is that stops you? Have you had a bad experience, don't like the sensation, worried you might fall off, too much to do at once, too high up or all sorts of other things? Can you put your finger on anything?

My DS is borrowing his friend's old one at the moment and he loves it. Possibly because he imagines himself doing

bad experience and terrified will fall off. also feels like something you cant learn as an adult

My ds2 got one for his second birthday and was riding without stabilisers before he was three.

They do seem to help kids learn to ride without stabilisers a lot earlier - at my ds's nursery there a quite a few now riding without stabilisers but when my ds1 went to nursery (before the advent of balance bikes) it was much rarer.

Bad experience part, do you recall the experience when you think about cycling? If you do, you can do stuff to stop always associating that memory with the thought of cycling. Recalling that memory can lead to the fear. But that's a huge long explanation that might be too big for here. Here's a summary of what I'd do for myself www.deep-trance.com/techniques/fast-phobia-cure.html
Ignore all the technical words - I don't know what they mean either but I think the essence is intelligible. And do it more than once if needs be. (or ignore it if it's not your cup of tea)

Fall off wise, you could try lowering the saddle and keeping your centre of gravity low, so low on the handle bars too, and then just scoot along. Be careful of the pedals, or you could take them off of course. If you're scooting along like that then you'll find you can't fall off, as even if you need to react to something, you can easily put your feet down and stop.

You can learn as an adult though. They are trainers for just that thing . Here's a link. www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4135 I'd act quick though as some of the schemes will be public sector funded so will of course be cut soon.

Do it!

I'm a balance bike enthusiast and my son started using it few months after his 2 years birthday.
He run and explored the world much more than his friends because with his balance bike was the mean to a journey and not a new tool to learn to use.
I chose FistBike and I'm completely satisfied.
I blogged about it with photos and a video at:

thebestformysonen.blogspot.it/2014/09/the-best-balance-bike.html

Balance bikes are great! My niece and nephews are using one and both are flying along. If you're not sure what to go for, why not try the LittleBig bike which changes from a small balance bike into a big pedal bike. Available from www.littlebigbikes.com

Balance bikes all the way, they're great. Definitely better than a scooter and miles better than a bike with stabiliers. They're light, simple and easy to use. Once your little one gets used to it they can go for ages without stopping, and surprisingly fast.

If you don't want to choose between a balance bike and a pedal bike, you could try the LittleBig which converts between the two. It grows too : )