Bike Riding

As owners of a bike shop, we get this question a lot. The advice we give is pretty much what Rachelle has already stated, with one addition. Once you're ready to remove both training wheels, let her try the first few runs on the grass if you have a big enough yard (or go to a park or other large grassy area if not). This does a couple things, it softens any falls obviously, but it also keeps kids from being able to get going too fast on pavement without being in total control of stopping easily. Best of luck to you and your daughter, and only one other word of advice it you aren't doing so already... HELMET.

Personally, I wouldn't be too worried about it. My 7 year old son still doesn't know how to ride a bike either. We did try last year, be he doesn't have the balance either. With him, he just isn't an athletic child and he decided that he doesn't want to ride a bike, unless it has training wheels (my inlaws take the kids bike riding at the Huron River Metro Park in Dexter alot), so I'm not making him if he doesn't want to. I figure that if he watches the neighborhood kids riding back and forth on our block, he may change his mind.

My daughter, on the other hand, figured it out all on her own when she was 7 and she is clumsy to the point of getting injured so often, the ped wants her evaluated for PT, although I don't think it is necessary because she is very active and the most athletic out of all of my kids.

One day, after we got a "new" bike for her (a friend gave it to use because her daughter grew out of it) without training wheels, thinking that either I or her dad would take her out and teach her, but one day, she came running inside and asked us to come watch her and she did it by herself. She will be 10 in Aug.

My 15 year old son won't ride a bike at all, even though he is completely physically capable of doing so and he was in physical therapy on and off since he was 2 years old. He is just not interested and totally not athletic at all and I won't make him either, if he doesn't want to.

This is just my opinion, but if your daughter is expressing an interest on learning how to ride, then just keep with the training wheels on for a bit longer and gradually keep "shortening" them, which will make the bike "wobble" from side to side more, but will catch her before she falls and she can learn to balance that way by trying to keep the training wheels from touching the ground until you and she are comfortable enough to take them off completely.
We tried this way with my 7 year old until he decided he didn't want to do it right now.

Every kid is different. My 13 yr is took him sometime to learn and I think he was around your daughters age. My 6yr he has been riding a bike without training wheels since he was 3 going on 4. On x-mas when he was 2 I got him a small spiderman bike with training wheels and he used that bike in the house that winter. He turned 3 in Jan. That summer he rode the bike mostly with the training wheels outside with the older kids and was trying to be like the older kids so much that he had bent the training wheels up enough to point they didn't touch the ground and really wasn't using them and he asked us to take them off so we did. At first he didn't want anyone watching him but he didn't realize we did from the window and he just took off and he is now 6 going on 7. I all depends on the child and when they are ready. Me when I was a kid I was determined to learn so I spent hours in the driveway practicing. I did it on my own. Eventually she will get it.

You put her on the bike that she can put her feet down on to stop size wise, walk along side of it holding on to the seat and one side of handle bar. Get her pedaling, when she does this a few times and days. Run with it a little, ask her if she is ready for you to let go, when she looses balance she can put her feet down to stop. Training wheels help but she is older now. With determination and practice she will learn on her own with the smaller bike. Have fun! Pam R

We are currently doing this with our 5 year old. So far we have lifted the training wheels off the ground about an inch. He was pretty wobbly at first and then started riding leaning on one training wheel now he can pretty much ride on the two wheels but does use the training wheels to turn corners and go around people or other things in the road. It's all about balance. Our next move will to remove one training wheel so that he only has the balance aid on one side and then the second one after a few days. I'm sure he'll fall a few times when they are gone, that's what pads are for. I have seen parents just take the training wheels off and run along side for awhile until they have the balance down; that's what mine did to me. It worked fine I was on my own the same day. You know your child best, so go with a method that you feel suites her. Don't feel bad that she's 7 and can't do it yet either, I have a nieghbor child that is 8 that can't do it yet and the parents don't even try to teach him. Good Luck!