Originally Posted by
downtube42
A few thoughts, having gone through this more than once
1. You couldn't stop him from learning to ride if you tried, so relax a bit. It will happen.
2. Learning to balance, steer, and pedal all at once is challenging. If you can find a slight downhill that reduces the need to pedal, that will help.
3. The conscious part is to keep trying; the learning is done by the unconscious. Practice and persistence allow the unconscious to learn.
4. At the point of maximum frustration, see if he can give it five more minutes. Often that's an indication that something is about to 'click'.
Thank you for your great advice. You make a lot of really good points, especially #2, as I never thought about how difficult it is for a child to learn to steer, pedal and balance all at once. Thanks for opening my eyes. I have to find a small hill that he can start practicing on and maybe that will ease the frustration for both of us. The good news is that although he kept falling, he kept getting back up. I'll take him out again this week and hopefully I'll have better luck!