How to teach a child to ride a bike

Riding a bike is such a fun milestone for any child!  They get to do so much more.  They can join the rest of the family on bike rides (and not have to ride in the wagon in the back), and they can play with friends in the cul-de-sac and do their fun ‘racing games’.  (They will show off to anyone that will watch!)  Thanks to Dynacraft for partnering with me today to share this sponsored post.

How to teach a child to ride a bike

Our boys all learned to ride their bikes between the ages of four and five.  Now that Allie is five, it’s time for her to learn to ride a bike, too.  Before she is ready to take off her training wheels, we wanted her to practice on a bike that was more her size.  We wanted her to be excited about the idea of riding a bike without training wheels, so we surprised her with a new bike.   We ordered this Hello Kitty bike from Dynacraft.  It is a 14″ bike, and it comes with everything that she could want on a bike!

It gives our little go-getter a fun way to scoot circles around her brothers.  The bike has a solid steel frame with sturdy tires.  It also has front and rear brakes, which is perfect (we will take all of the safety features we can get!).   Yes, those are my favorite things… but not hers.


This Hello Kitty bike is a coaster brake & training wheels to help her get started with the pedaling.   It has an adorable little Hello Kitty handlebar bag, which is currently being used to collect rocks that look like diamonds.   It has Hello Kitty streamers, too… what bike is complete without streamers?   I think that’s her favorite part!   


Oh… and iIt has pink pedals and tires with these adorable little spokes Hello Kitty faces!   Love these details!
 

Tomorrow is the big day and here is how we will teach her to ride without her training wheels.  We will take her with her adorable, one-speed,  pink  Hello Kitty bike from Dynacraft and she will ride like the wind! 🙂   

-Take her to a grassy field.   We taught each of our kids to ride their bikes on a field near our house.   It is the local school’s soccer field.  The field is flat, and if they fall, it won’t hurt.  The reason that this works for us is that the fear of falling off and getting hurt was eliminated, so the kids are a lot more “brave” than they would be if we were on the street.  (Remember to ALWAYS have your child wear a helmet!)

-Start by holding onto the bike & running behind the bike, with your hand holding onto the bike.  Have one hand on the handlebar and one hand on the seat.   Try this 3-4 times before letting your child try without your help.

– Cheer for your child when you first let go.   If they fall, they will be OK because they are on soft grass.

-Teach your child to put their feet down when they begin to fall.  

-Next, after a day of this, take them back and teach them how to push off on one pedal.  Move the pedal up to the top (one pedal up, one down)  and push off with it.

-Last, show them how to use the breaks and get off without falling.

That’s it.  Practice. Practice. Practice.  Each of our kids learned how to ride a bike in just a day or two.  They loved it and Allie is excited to give it a try, like her brothers!