Learning the act of riding a bicycle is a skill on its own. When acquired, it’s never likely to be forgotten. Your child rides a bike- that’s quite great! Riding a bicycle is fun, it’s an excellent form of exercise, and it could provide your child with a sense of independence.
Teaching your kids some huffing and puffing is an old part of learning the act of riding a bicycle, but there are also simpler and straightforward ways to teach your kids the act of bicycling.
In this article, we’ll be discussing some of the bicycling tips for your children. With the few tips, you’ll get your child cruising down the road solo in no distance time at all. Let’s get started.
1. Find a Grassy Area for Your Kids Training
While the majority train their kids on bicycling in neighborhood streets or sidewalks situated at local parks, you could decide to find grassy areas that offer a whole lot of downward slope that’ll aid your child’s bicycling practices.
With grassy areas, the chances that your child will roll when he/she takes a spill will be significantly minimized when compared to pavements. Ideally, the spot you’ll be selecting will be about 20-30 meters in length with a gentle decline. This provides your kids with the opportunity to ride down the slope gently without worrying about pedaling.
In order to teach your child the act of balancing, you should train them to scoot the bicycle while moving down the slope with the support of his/her feet. As your child picks up with speed, they can also practice the act of coasting by moving freely while lifting their feet off the ground level.
2. Keep Your Children Relaxed to Enjoy the Fun of Bicycling
At first, some sets of children could find bicycling dangerous and awkward. While you continue to teach your child the perfect way of balancing during a ride, ensure that he or she is always relaxed and enjoying the fun. If you want them to be a fast learner, desist from putting so much pressure on them. Speak some words of encouragement to their ears. So, they can be a better cyclist. At some point, he or she may become frustrated, but remember there is always another day to try.
3. After Your Child Achieves a Perfect Balance, Practice Pedaling
Once your child is able to maintain a perfect balance with the grassy slope while on the ride, you can then begin the practice of pedaling. It is often advised to practice pedaling on the same grassy slope you used in learning balancing.
Encourage him or her to place his or her feet on the pedals of the bicycle as it rolls for a few meters in order to gain speed. If you have been using training wheels for your child from the beginning, ensure that the pedaling motion doesn’t appear too foreign. Otherwise, if your child used a well-balanced bike for learning and practice, they might need to know the basics of pedaling.
While some children are gifted with the will to adapt quickly, you should remain positive and always encourage him or her to put more effort into the practice. Practice as many days as possible for your child to gain maximum comfort.
4. Do Not Forget Steering and Stopping
Once you have been able to teach your child and he or she begins to move on his or her own, then it’s an indication that you halfway there. After you have been able to imbibe the practice of balancing and pedaling, the remaining skills your child needs are steering and stopping. These two will make your child master the art of riding safety without your guide.
In order to train your children on steering, you need to set up some cones in that same grassy area, allow them to practice turns and to weave in and out of figure eight. Remember to stay in the grassy area with them in order to protect them against any injury.
In order to practice stopping, the cones should be placed at the bottom of the hill. Allow them to practice with the hand brakes, which will make them come to a complete stop at the designated resting point.
Once you notice that they’ve mastered the basics, you can try a game with them out of it. You can try games such as red light, green light, or other exciting activities that bring about fun and optimum enjoyment. Rather than focusing on their mistakes, try to help them master the art of safe braking. And before you know it, you’ll see them already cruising the entire neighborhood with their bikes.
There you have it! Some of the bicycling tips for your children. While teaching your children the act of bicycling, remember to take it slow. Give them sufficient time to practice. Over time, stand back and you’ll see them already building their confidence.
