4 tips for teaching your child how to ride a bike “on the road”

I’ve been a parent for six years, and I still feel like I’ve always just missed some two-week window that would easily set up my oldest for the rest of his life. First it was swimming, then play dates, then soccer. The latest was riding a bike. In August, Milo was past 5 and a half years old and ripping his Big Wheel through the neighborhood. He loved it, but I feared that I had blown the chance to teach him to ride a two-wheeler before kindergarten started. So, me being me, I scrambled and tried to undo time. I bought him a used BMX bike and removed the pedals. He went up and down our sidewalk; the cracks and roots made that two weeks of uselessness. He kept at it, but I didn’t see balance clicking in. However, on a Thursday afternoon while we were walking on our just-repaved road, Milo picked up his feet and started rolling. By Saturday, when he was pedaling without pedals, I realized it was time to reattach the real things. Before I could finish, “Just remember that you have to…,” he said, “I got this.” And he did and he hasn’t stopped. I’d love to take credit. The most I can claim is that I went outside with him. But I knew one thing quickly: the playground basketball court wasn’t going to contain him for long. I also know that kids can’t ever be 100% prepped — that’s the point of learning — but streets are different than soccer and even kindergarten. They come with cars, distracted drivers, and more cars. Pata Suyemoto is an instructor at th...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Children's Health Parenting Source Type: blogs