How to Teach a Toddler to Ride a Balance Bike

A balance bike is a small bike which comes with no pedals but has fat pneumatic tires. Most models of balance bikes include a brake in their design. But the way most kids stop the bike is they slow down the bike and use their feet to stop it. So, choosing a good quality pair of shoes is important. 

Why Do You Pick a Balance Bike for Giving Your Child Bike Riding Training?

There are a couple of reasons why do you choose a toddler bike with great quality instead of a bike with stabilizers or trikes to teach your child how to ride a bike. The first reason is most cycle instructors agree that children need to learn balance first before learning to pedal. Learning how to keep a balance on the bike will give children more control over their bikes.

Another reason is bikes with stabilizers give children the wrong impression that while riding it, they are balancing it. This happens particularly when they ride on bumpy surfaces. Children tend to lean forward more to control balance while they ride on uneven surfaces using bikes with stabilizers.  This leaning tendency prevents children from learning how to balance a bike.

The right thing to do is to remove the stabilizer. Your child will then learn to balance and steer, as well as pedaling. 

However, when your goal is to give your toddler bike riding training, it is not our intention to tell you that you should not use bikes with stabilizers. This particular bike is also fine. But, most cyclist experts believe that balance bikes are better than those of bikes with stabilizers or trikes to learn bike riding.    

Getting Started

Safety first. This is applicable in every case including your kid's bike riding training session. In this respect, your first safety kit would be a helmet. Wearing a helmet is a must for bikers. So, your kids will learn this safety rule from the very start.

Choose a helmet that sits on your child’s head properly. It needs to cover his forehead and straps need to be tight.

Check Your Kid's Bike

Before starting the training session, do some routine check-ups of the bike like if the tires are filled with air, the saddle is not wobbly and the brake is functioning.

Get on and off a Bike

Do not just lift your kid to the bike’s saddle. Encourage him to do it on his own.

Using Pedal

Now tell your kid that you are going to show him how to use pedals. Tell him to lift his feet and place them on the pedals.

Keep Practicing

Let him practice. Let him feel the pedals and tell him to add power to increase the pedaling speed.

Take a Picture

Your child is now pedaling. It is a great moment. Capture it with a camera. While he is riding, use praising words to encourage him.

However, things may go wrong. He may lose control over the bike and may fall. Encourage him not to stop in his bike riding effort.