Bikes give kids a heady freedom that isn’t matched until they learn to drive a car years later. But in teaching two-wheel skills, do be patient. Kids learn to ride when they’re ready, not always when their parents are.
⢠Dress your learner in long pants and long sleeve shirts, because there will be falls.
⢠Look with some roads with a slight incline to help keep up momentum. Let your child coast, using the bike as a scooter. Or encourage your child to keep peddling; it helps provide balance.
⢠Choose between two popular theories of teaching children to ride, using training wheels or running along side and holding the seat, until your child learns to balance. Or combine the two; you’ll find it helps to be in good shape.
â¢Â If you run along, hold the seat firmly, positioning yourself so your child can’t see you. Then, when you let go, the child probably won’t notice, and there will be no reason to panic.
⢠And when the skill is finally mastered, you can help your child remember the correct side of the street to ride on by putting a piece of electrical tape on the handle bar to be nearest the side of the road that he or she should be on.
Vicki Lansky’s practical, common sense approach to parenting is familiar to millions throughout the world. Vicki’s first book, Feed Me, I’m Yours, published in 1974, and still one of the most popular baby/toddler food cookbooks in the country, was followed by The Taming of the C.A.N.D.Y. Monster, a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her other titles include: Toilet Training, Birthday Parties Best Party Tips & Ideas For Ages 1-8, Dear Babysitter Handbook, Welcoming Your Second Baby, Getting Your Child to Sleep … and Back to Sleep, Trouble-free Travel with Children, Baby Proofing Basics and Games Babies Play From Birth to Twelve Months, Koko Bear’s New Potty, A New Baby at Koko Bear’s House, Koko Bear and the New Babysitter, and Koko Bear’s Big Earache. Vicki Lansky’s Divorce Book for Parents: Helping Children Cope with Divorce and Its Aftermath
