You probably remember learning to ride a bike, right? Well, now the time has come for you to teach your child how to do it. Take a look at our useful tips and your child will learn to ride a bike in no time.
Teach Them to Stop
Before your child even gets on a bike, it’s a good idea to teach them how to stop. Get your child to walk with the bike and practice pulling on the brakes. This way, when your child does get on the bike, they’ll feel confident that they have full control over it and can stop whenever they need to.
Lower the Bike and Remove the Pedals
Once your child is comfortable using the breaks and you feel assured that they can stop, drop the saddle and remove the pedals. This will enable your child to scoot along on the bike with their feet and gain their own momentum, without having to worry about wobbling.
Introduce a Pedal
By introducing just one pedal (it doesn’t matter whether it’s the left or the right) your child can still continue to scoot along using one foot, but they’ll also know roughly where their other foot needs to go.
Your child will be able to scoot for longer when their confidence develops and they’ll soon get used to the idea of where their feet need to be.
Put the Other Pedal on
This is when it starts to get tricky; it’s time for your child to use both pedals. Be sure to support your child by holding their back or shoulder and walk alongside them as they pedal, so that they feel like they have a safety net should they start to feel wobbly.
Practice Makes Perfect
Your child will soon start pedalling at their own pace, without your assistance, after they’ve had plenty of practice. Once your child has mastered how to pedal alone, you can encourage them to stop and start, so that they get into the habit of using their brakes. It’s all very well knowing how to pedal, but your child needs to remember to brake too!
So, now you know how to teach your child to ride a bike. When your child can cycle confidently, you’re going to need to buy a bike lock for your child’s bike for those family bike rides. Be sure to check out our range of secure, lightweight locks today. You shouldn’t head out on a bike without one!