Tips for Teaching a Child to Ride a Bike

My 4 year old learned much of his balance on a razor scooter. He picked up the no-training-wheels in about 60 seconds and I feel it was because he had been so comfortable on the scooter.

Good luck and have fun!

Do you mean that he is ready to take the training wheels off or you don't want to use training wheels at all?
Either way, falling down a time or twelve is just part of the process.
We gradually raised the training wheels so that she learned to balance and correct herself when she started to fall, but the training wheels were there to keep her from going completely over.
When we took them off, she had very few falls.

Take the pedals off and let him run with the bike to get his balance. Then when you put the pedals on he will take off like a rockstar!

Mastering a 2 wheeled scooter first helped my youngest tremendously. She caught onto biking super fast and we're pretty sure it's bc she already had her balance down from the scooter...

The way my dad did it was pushing from behind (where we couldn't see him), then he would just randomly let go. Most of the time, we didn't even know he had let go until we would try to turn and look at him, at which point we fell. :)

I have seen and heard a lot about removing the pedals. I have seen a few small kids riding without them. It teaches them to balance.

Does he already know how to steer and pedal? That's important.

My son did 2 things - he started against a curb with one foot on it and the other foot at the high point of the pedal arc, so he could push off while still being upright (vs. having a foot on the ground and being tilted), and the other foot was already positioned to start the downward pedaling.

The other thing he did was start at the top of a neighbor's driveway with a SLIGHT hill onto a quiet side street. The hill gave him a little momentum without pedaling, and he could just concentrate on balance and steering. If you don't have an appropriate driveway, try a school or office complex parking lot on a weekend when there's no traffic.

A combination of both gave him the necessary skills in a day or so. Pedaling and balancing at the same time are tough skills, so if you can separate them, it works well.

Agreed that they have to want to learn or it wont work. We lowered his seat as low as possible so he could put his feet down to stop. They also need the confidence to pick up speed because you can't balance at a really slow pace. My son took to it on his own and kept trying...if he felt like he was going to fall he put his feet down to catch himself. They do market "balance bikes" but that is essentially what we created for him. Open space helps too. My neighbor used an upside down vice grip on the back of the seat so that he could run along side and catch it before they would fall. I do agree that balance from a scooter can be a big help too. Our boys had a little step 2 motor cycle and I also believe that has helped them gain good balance.

We just let him ride on training wheels a couple months, then when he thought he was ready, we removed the training wheels and attached this handle thing to the back of the bike. It attaches down just below the seat and is curved going up, making it easier for the parent to keep hold of the bike. We had him sit on the bike and NOT pedal for a little bit (about 5-10 minutes), just talking him through it and "feeling" it with no trainers while we walked around, holding the bike by that bar. I remember my husband kinda tilted it to the left and to the right, just so he could feel where it "shouldn't" go and how it feels when the bike's where it "should" go. Then my husband took it and said "Ok, start pedaling slowly..." and he walked quickly, which quickly led to a jog, then to a run, then he let go and Joseph just took off! It was all done in 1 afternoon, about 30 minutes, I guess? We took him to the school parking lot on a Friday evening because it's in good condition, no cars traveling through it when school is out, pretty big area for him to take wide turns and ride up and down until he felt confident riding. A few days there at the school, riding in narrower and narrower zones, we finally felt he'd be fine riding on the sidewalk by our house. We realized that we maybe should have taught him a little bit about stopping or turning before letting go a little too late, but it wasn't bad. Oops. :) He ran up alongside a curb and put his foot down, kinda fell, but not far. It was much easier than we thought, but he was ready and willing to learn. I was 4 when I rode without training wheels, my son was 5 but wanted to ride his bike to kindergarten and that meant no training wheels! He had a goal...

I just held on to them and ran alongside of them and let go when they started getting it. Takes a few times. Don't forget to let them know the only way they stay up is IF they are pedaling, one if my kids just didn't understand that concept, Ha!

let him or her have a long stretch to ride on. if they are ready they will get it. if not put the trainers back on. & always always always have them wear a good helmet the right way even in the driveway

My daughter started riding without training wheels a few weeks ago. It's like everything else, when they are ready they just do it. Hubby taught her how to stop and fall, if nneed be, and then be got her going, running next to her, and then just let go. It took another day to teach her how to get the bike started by herself.

I took him out in the yard and did some pushing to get him rolling then let go. It takes a while to get all the nuances together. They have to balance, steer, brake, and all sorts of other stuff all of a sudden. It can take a while.

We recently taught two of our boys to ride their bikes without training wheels. The best thing we did was to find a gentle, grassed slope. The slight downhill angle gives them momentum, and the momentum helps them stay up. Also, the grass is nice and soft to land on.

I found that taking them to a grassy field helped.

Look up "Strider" on your favorite search engine or amazon. Friends had one for their 4 year old and he's now riding a bike no problem. We just ordered one for our 2 year old.

Both of my boys learned on the grass first. Falls weren't scary so they could focus on learning to balance.

Do you have an older child or cousin that he can watch. I tried with my youngest to teach her. We were both getting so frustrated. I went in the house to use the bathroom and when I came out she was riding just fine. Her older brother showed her how to do it. Sometimes you just need another kid to relate to I guess. Good luck!

We just taught our 4 year old. ( oaky the mouse in my pocket was actually my husband taught my 4 yearold). We took the training wheels off and he ran behind him balancing him (under his arms). He did well, but he was ready and determined. He only had to be plucked off the bike once .. he got it and is now a pro :)

I bought a balance bar for the kids to learn. It attaches on the back tire. It's easier to grab the bar then the seat on the bike. Good luck!

Put the seat all the way down so that his/her feet can stand flat on the ground while sitting on the seat. If he/she can't reach the ground like that in the lowest setting, the bike is too big... either get a smaller bike or wait.

Then let him/her use feet to get the bike going before putting them on the pedals to continue.

Go to a grassy hill and have him/her coast down, etc.

Training wheels are not needed at all. Have fun.