Mom Struggles with Teaching Her Child to Ride

I saw this BLOG post this morning.  It sounds like many parents I have talked to over the last year.  You can click on her post and see my comments.  I have also added my comments belows. 

Bike Coach

Guest Mom: No More Training Wheels

I am a working mom of two children who keep me busy all the time.

 

Excerpt:

If we can hire people to baby proof our homes, teach us how to breastfeed, and cook meals for us, how come I could not hire someone to help my daughter to learn to ride her bike without training wheels? I tried. I offered our next door neighbor who is fifteen the chance to earn some money and she turned me down. So it was up to my husband, my daughter, and I to figure this out. Although she is now the resident “expert” on our block, this accomplishment did not come easy. It has been a labor of love, tears, scrapes, sore backs, discouragement, and dare I say, yelling.

 

 

Comments by Bike Coach:

Hello Guest Mom, I have heard your story dozens if not
hundreds a hundred times.  We want our children to ride, feel the freedom and
confidence it all brings only to have them frustrated and then scared to try any
more.  I am very proud for your daughter that she had the persistence to keep
trying.    

If I may give some advise for the next Mom or Dad:
struggling with the “learning to ride a bike process”.  This mom started off right,
taking the training wheels off.  Only, you needed to add one more step, take the Pedals off also.  Balance is the key to riding, not pedaling.  With the pedals
off make sure they can be on the seat with their feet flat on the ground and a
slight bend in their legs.  They must be completely comfortable that they can
put their feet on the ground easily to keep themselves up right.  Too small is
much better than too large.  Now they can push the bike like a scooter or I call
it a pushbike.  The progression is a simple as walk, run, coast, coast and turn
(s turns).  No need to push they will get it very quickly.  A big open parking
lot with a slight slope is very helpful.  Once you see they can balance and
control their bike put the pedals back on. (I have more helpful hints if anyone is interested).

I started telling my friends and neighbors about this more
than 10 years ago.  Some would do it with great success while other went another
direction, so I decided to prove it works and make it easier for parents to
engage their children.  I wrote a children’s picture book called “Learning to Ride with the Bits”.  It is my families’ true story of how my
children learned to ride using the method I briefly described above.  The book
allows children to see themselves in the process.  It is also great parent time
reading together.  I say I wrote it to help teach children and their parents an
effective way to learn to ride, fun for kids and easy for parents.  My family
and I started teaching classes mostly to show that it really works and found
there is a big need and we loved it.  Over the last year we have had more than
200 kids (ages 3 – 16) learn to ride in 4 1-hours sessions (95% successful). 
Now I cannot seem to keep up with training request now and my regular job as the
word has gotten out.  I never dreamed I could touch the lives of so many
children and their parents. The testimonials have been great. 

I anyone out there is interested in starting training
programs in their community I would be happy to discuss further. 

Best Regards,

Harvey A. Nix

Aka “Bike Coach” or “Daddy Bit”

www.notrainingwheels.net

www.bikecoachonline.com