Tips to Help You Teach Your Child How to Ride a Bike

Learning how to ride a bicycle on two wheels is a milestone in every child’s life. Some children learn right away, while others take a long time before they get the hang of things. But with a good amount of support and the right teaching technique, you can teach your child how to ride a bike in a short amount of time.

Always Use Words of Encouragement

It’s important to remember that this is a somewhat scary experience for your child, so always have a positive attitude, plenty of patience, and use words of encouragement. This will allow your child to feel at ease and release any fears. Even if your child falls a few times, let him or her know that it’s perfectly normal and that there’s no need to get discouraged. It may take a few days or weeks before your child is ready to go on his or her own, and that’s okay too.

Hold the Bike Up with Your Hand to Provide Extra Support

As your child stands holding the bike up and getting ready to sit down, hold the back of the bike from behind the seat to provide extra support and balance. Have your child really feel the weight of the bike and see what it’s like to balance on the bike just from this position.

Continue Holding the Bike As Your Child Pedals

Have your child begin moving. Again, hold the back of the seat with your hand and perhaps even hold one of the handles for extra support and balance until your child gets the hang of it.

Use Towel for Balance

There’s another creative way that you can assist your child in learning how to balance correctly on two-wheeled bikes. Wrap a large towel around your child’s waist. Bring the ends of the towel behind him or her and tie it off like a rope. Just make sure you leave enough slack so that it isn’t too tight. The towel is meant to provide a sort of safety net, but your child is actually required to find the balance on his or her own. As the child rides, you hold the towel and walk behind him or her, providing a bit of support to keep him or her upright and even more support if you feel your child tipping off to one side.

Walk Alongside Your Child

Stay close to your child at the beginning. Once your child seems secure enough while you’re holding onto the back of the bike, let go and see how far he or she can go.

One Last Thing to Consider…

Now that your child will be riding his or her bike regularly, and possibly on his or her own in a few years, it is a great idea to invest in a good insurance plan specifically geared towards bicycle riders. One option is Protect Your Bubble cycle insurance, which is affordable, yet provides you with coverage in the event anything happens to the bike or your child. 

Laura Ginn is a freelance writer and blogger who enjoys riding her bike every day. When it comes to teaching a child how to ride, she knows that the task requires plenty of patience. She chooses to lead by example, showing the child how she rides before assisting him or her.