Bicycle at what age?

What's a good age to get a real bike (with training wheels)? My son is
almost 4, and I'm thinking of getting him a bike for his birthday. My
main concern is that we live on a hill with a fair bit of traffic, so we
don't have a great place for him to practice riding without going
somewhere else.

Jeanne

"Jeanne Clelland" wrote in message
...
What's a good age to get a real bike (with training wheels)? My son is
almost 4, and I'm thinking of getting him a bike for his birthday. My
main concern is that we live on a hill with a fair bit of traffic, so we
don't have a great place for him to practice riding without going
somewhere else.


DS's been on the Radio Flyer tricycle since 3. He's on the tiny side. We'll
probably get a RF bike with training wheels when he turns 5, with a new
helmet. I worry about someone snatching him (a child went missing in our
area several years ago) so he cannot be out of my sight for even a second.
He understands where he's supposed to be at all times. You'll have to put
barriers around the area you want him to be in and to go no further. At that
age, they don't mind going around in a small area over and over.

If traffic is really that much of a concern, you could also get him a bike
with a long handle attached to the back of it, you hold on to the handle
while he pedals downhill/uphill etc. I don't know which company makes this,
maybe Little Tykes or PlaySkool?

http://www.redwagons.com/rafl5prtr.html


If traffic is really that much of a concern, you could also get him a bike
with a long handle attached to the back of it, you hold on to the handle
while he pedals downhill/uphill etc.

Hmm, I'm thinking that the girls started riding their bikes around 2ish.
Small bikes of course, but they moved on to bigger bikes and eventually to
no training wheels when they were around 6-7 years old. We have always lived
on a street with sidewalks though and they were allowed to ride up and down
our steet, with some bounderies at first. Now that they are 11, 9 and 7,
they are riding around the block and up and down our street and going across
the street.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

Jeanne Clelland wrote in message
...
What's a good age to get a real bike (with training wheels)? My son is
almost 4, and I'm thinking of getting him a bike for his birthday. My
main concern is that we live on a hill with a fair bit of traffic, so we
don't have a great place for him to practice riding without going
somewhere else.

Jeanne

On Tue, 22 Jun 2004 20:46:18 -0400, "Sue"
wrote:

Hmm, I'm thinking that the girls started riding their bikes around 2ish.

Are you sure? Most two year olds can't peddle at all. The earliest I
have seen kids peddle is around 3. And usually that's on tricycles
not on bicycles. Do they even make bikes small enough for 2 year olds
to reach the peddles?

Small bikes of course, but they moved on to bigger bikes and eventually to
no training wheels when they were around 6-7 years old. We have always lived
on a street with sidewalks though and they were allowed to ride up and down
our steet, with some bounderies at first. Now that they are 11, 9 and 7,
they are riding around the block and up and down our street and going across
the street.

I think my kids were 6 or 7 when they learned to ride a real bicycle,
but we didn't do training wheels, iiRC.


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

Jeanne Clelland wrote:
What's a good age to get a real bike (with training wheels)? My son
is almost 4, and I'm thinking of getting him a bike for his birthday.
My main concern is that we live on a hill with a fair bit of traffic,
so we don't have a great place for him to practice riding without
going somewhere else.


Depends on the kid ;-) Hunter couldn't really pedal a real bike very well
until he was 4. He had gravel is all though. He could do a trike at 3.5+.
Luke was able to pedal a real bike at 2 (on pavement) and is a speed demon
now at 3. We had a very small bike with training wheels. He now rides one
that is to big for him but refuses to get back on the small one. It is hard
for him to steer the big one because his arms aren't really long enough.
You can get push bars to add to the back so you can control them. We don't
have sidewalks so up until he a few months ago I tied a rope to Luke's bike
so he wouldn't get away from me. I'm a cheap skate ;-) That worked good
because then I could pull him when he got tired. They both spend hours
going up and down our long drive way and don't seem to mind that they never
go anywhere, lol.
--
Nikki
Mama to Hunter (5) and Luke (3)

Jeanne Clelland wrote:

What's a good age to get a real bike (with training wheels)? My son is
almost 4, and I'm thinking of getting him a bike for his birthday. My
main concern is that we live on a hill with a fair bit of traffic, so we
don't have a great place for him to practice riding without going
somewhere else.

Jeanne

My daughter just turned 4 and we got her a bike with training wheels and
she is loving it. Still figuring out the fine art of slowing down and
stopping which is giving me heart attacks, but its been good for her to
have a motor skills activity for her that she enjoys (she has never been
the best climber or outdoor play type, so we've encouraged things she
expresses interest in like the bike).

Even if you don't live in an area great for biking, its fun to put the
bike in the car and go to a park or area for a picnic and riding time,
makes for a nice outing. Also in the way of advice, we went to Toys R
us and I had her ride all the bikes to decide which one seemed best
suited for her. I chose 2 that seemed the best and she chose of the 2
which she liked better. I was surprised that some of the bikes weren't
a good match for her.

cara

My son's 2.5 and I got him a bike with training wheels already. He's still
learning how to pedal well, but he does way better on a bike than on a
tricycle, which he can't seem to pedal on it at all. I also had one of those
ones with handle, but it wasn't fun for me or my son because he just hates
it when someone interfere when he's trying to do something (ie pedaling). Is
there a park close by that the two of you can walk the bike to?

I think it really depends on the child, that's no "good age" to get a real
bike because each child develops at different rate.
"Jeanne Clelland" wrote in message
...
What's a good age to get a real bike (with training wheels)? My son is
almost 4, and I'm thinking of getting him a bike for his birthday. My
main concern is that we live on a hill with a fair bit of traffic, so we
don't have a great place for him to practice riding without going
somewhere else.

Jeanne

toto wrote in message
Are you sure? Most two year olds can't peddle at all. The earliest I
have seen kids peddle is around 3.

I'm thinking of those little ride on bikes. I know I started those at two,
then moved on to a very small tricycle.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

toto wrote:

On Tue, 22 Jun 2004 20:46:18 -0400, "Sue"
wrote:

Hmm, I'm thinking that the girls started riding their bikes around 2ish.

Are you sure? Most two year olds can't peddle at all. The earliest I
have seen kids peddle is around 3. And usually that's on tricycles
not on bicycles. Do they even make bikes small enough for 2 year olds
to reach the peddles?

We had two sizes of trikes. I do not remember at what age they had
those, but at least one of them was riding by the time we went to
California and I guess that would have been the 2.5 yo as the other
one was under a year. In California (age 3 and 1 to age 5+ and 3+),
they both rode trikes, and also rode on pedal cars (like a little
locomotive that they sat in and pushed pedals). I have movies of them
riding their vehicles in both places.

Small bikes of course, but they moved on to bigger bikes and eventually to
no training wheels when they were around 6-7 years old. We have always lived
on a street with sidewalks though and they were allowed to ride up and down
our steet, with some bounderies at first. Now that they are 11, 9 and 7,
they are riding around the block and up and down our street and going across
the street.

I think my kids were 6 or 7 when they learned to ride a real bicycle,
but we didn't do training wheels, iiRC.

I gave my dd#1 a real bike (regular size) when she was 5 IIRC. She
had training wheels on it until she was 7 or 8. But she was a
cautious child. We had a short paved street that we lived on which
was pretty much dead end, and all the other kids in the neighborhood
rode their bikes there. The little boy next door had a much smaller
bike at a couple of years younger.

My dd#2 learned to ride on her own without training wheels when she
was in kindergarten by borrowing her sister's bike without permission.
She would have been about 5. But she was a much more competitive
child (not necessarily less fearful, but more driven). At that point,
we had an alley that backed up to a marsh and she learned in the
alley.

I don't remember when the younger two learned. I know my ds knows
because he rode his bike a lot before he got a driver's license. I
just don't know when he learned or how. I don't know if dd#3 can even
ride a bike. She may have learned to ride a horse before she learned
to ride a bike.



grandma Rosalie