Bummed. 6yr old more interested in Ninja Turtles

[Mudu93]

All your parents out there can sympathise with this one. I spend weeks looking over and agonizing about what bike to get my son for his 6th birthday. I do the whole LBS vs Big Box retailer thing and settle on a nice DiamondBack Viper. I give it to my son yesterday and he was more interested in the Ninja Turtles he also just recieved. I was hoping that this would get him excited to give up training wheels and ride with me.

Oh well his time will come.

[bbattle]

Keep at it. He'll get tired of the turtles soon enough but riding a real bike with no training wheels may be a little scary to him. I'd keep working with him, being real patient. If there are other kids his age in the neighborhood riding around that should be a good motivating factor. Riding with his dad down the bike trails is another.

There may even be somebody selling Ninja Turtles cycling jerseys for kids. That'd be a nice bribe.

When the weather warms up, bring out the bikes again. Maybe by then those turtles will have gotten lost or broken.

[joeprim]

The easyest way to get the training wheels off is to take them and the pedals off and let him push it along with his feer on the ground. Then he will start coasting it with his feet in the air. At that point the pedals can go back on.

Joe

[bikebuddha]

Keep at it my youngest didn't even learn to ride until she was nine. Now she's a cycling nut.

[Artkansas]

What, you didn't get him a Ninja Turtles Bicycle (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7212691314&category=64647)

You heartless fiend! ;)

http://bakertowne.net/Rand/NT-1656.jpg


Perhaps the local stores have some turtle oriented accessories(seats, horns, bells, stickers) that will help him to transfer his enthusiasm for turtles to his bike.

Maybe you can explain how Vipers and Turtles are both reptiles and that Vipers are cool too.

[mgkg3]

This past Christmas, I got my 6yr-old (just turned 6 in late Nov) a Diamondback Octane 20. Its his first bike and is a 6-speeder. At the same time, he also got a other toys that he was much more interested in than riding a bike. So I can completely understand your comment!

That said, I simply worked with him for couple of hours, without any training wheels, on a open paved area shortly after Christmas. I helped him get on while holding the bike steady and pushed him along initially. In matter of minutes, he was able to pedal at low speed and I ran along aside him and helped him come to a stop. End of first lesson. We followed by learning to get on and get off by himself, using brakes - how and when, gear changes - again how and when, and riding tempo.

We been working on bike ride now for a month during each Satureday for couple of hours in January and last weekend, we took a 6mi bike ride together with hills and gear changes!

The point is once he started to ride, he become very interested, and while he still plays with other toys, he loves to go biking also. My sense is that once your kid has some success riding the bike, he too will take to liking the whole idea.

Like you, I too read much of this forum and did the toy store vs LBS bit. In fact I returned the first bike from a toy store and bought his bike (at 2x the cost but still less than high-end athletic shoes so it helped me put things in perspective!!)

[DiRt DeViL]

The new toy fever won't last for long, usually kids grab the most apealing toy and use it until boredom.

Don't push the bike too much, let him decide if he wants to ride or not.

Eventually take him to the trails so he can learn how to shift and improve his technique, let him control the pace and let him lead or go on the front if the trail is safe. In no time he'll get hooked and will want to ride more often.

Always remind him to wear his safety gear and don't let him ride without it.

Good luck!

[vleett]

Don't worry....the Ninja Turtles interest will pass and the bike will last longer than the toys...

being a parent myself, I've seen my boy change his interests overnight...it happens! :D

[PaulH]

I've seen with my own daughter that it can take up for a year for them to discover the appeal of a present. Just be patient.

Paul

[TRaffic Jammer]

My nefew was a tag-a-long bike kid, always behind his mum.
He got his own bike I pushed him along and let go and that was it his balance was allready perfect, it was quite a sight.

Turtles will definately get boring pretty soon. No worries, my little one loves going out and getting dirty with daddy on our bikes.

[radioflier]

My other hobby is flying r/c model aircraft. Every year in April there is the "mother of all model shows" in Toledo. Outstanding models of every type are on display as well as every vendor worth their salt showing their latest products! I often see dads bringing their kids to the show trying to get them interested in modeling - more often than not these kids are taging along with dad, playing their gameboy as they walk thru the isles. Kids nowdays have a lot more choices on what interests them, many of them high-tech, in-your-face activities. You can only hope that they will eventually see the pleasure of riding a bike. Give them time. BTW - I rediscoved the pleasures of biking 3 years ago after a 40 year layoff.

[Mudu93]

Thanks for the sympathy. I know he will love the bike in time as he loves riding his current on with the training wheels. I imaging all the neighborhood kids will get him interested as he is now the only one still with training wheels. I guess peer pressure is sometimes a good thing. Later all

[jimmuter]

My 7 year old just learned to ride without training wheels. Once I found out he loved my sports drinks, I effectively bribed him to practice. Now that he's got it, he can't wait to get out there again. Now to start working on my 5 year old.

[ken cummings]

A lot of the positive responses seem to involve quality time with Dad. If he/she likes being with you s/he will do what it takes to be with you. Just enhance the fun side. Of course if that had been true for me I would be a fly fisherman. I just would not accept the mosquitos that came with being with my dad. :)

[FLBandit]

Yeah, my 7 yo just learned last weekend. It is really something when they finally get it and ride off down the road. (In my case down the hill and out of sight!) When she finally rode up, and stopped beside me all by herself, with that big smile I felt like the best dad in the world.

[TrippinBTM]

He'll get interested in the bike soon enough. Every kid enjoys riding a bike, and when he's a little older it will take him to the park, or his friends' houses. New action figures are fun and "easier" than a bike, but also get old a lot sooner.

[Velo Dog]

I just took about a jillion dollars' worth of Ninja Turtles to the Salvation Army. My son's 25, and they've been in a box in the garage for probably 15 years ("They'll be worth a lot someday, Dad"). I finally told him they'd have to appreciate in his garage instead of mine, and he said to get rid of them.
The good news: I bought a used Bridgestone 550 for him last year, and he can kick my butt all over town on it.

[Seggybop]

The Ninja Turtles are pretty sick. Your situation isn't terribly surprising. When I was 6, there was another kid who had a Ninja Turtle bike and helmet. I wanted one of those sososo bad. It's true that he'll probably lose some interest in them eventually, but by then the bike might not fit anymore. >>'

[vleett]

well, luckily it's just the Ninja Turtles and not Teletubbies!

[Lima_dat_alone]

Try to find him a ninja turtle bike. That's what my parents did! First thing I did on christmas morning was rip those streamers out! Mom was pissed. :rofl:

[localtalent]

It took me a long, long time - like 18 years. I did rollerblade with my dad, but never rode with him, I hated bikes. He hurt his back, so he doesn't ride as much anymore, but I still try and drag him out sometimes ;)

[tuolumne]

We have no television in our home. Our kids ride their bikes all day long (or poke sticks in dirt, climb trees and other good wholesome kid stuff).

[slowandsteady]

Why even try to make him conform to YOUR interests? Sure a child should have values, be disciplined, and behave well. But why get upset if he doesn't share your idea of fun?

[CrosseyedCrickt]

I ordered some bike parts for myself a few weeks ago. In a totally unrelated order I got a new pipe from an online estate sale, a really nice Peterson pre-republic. Both arrived on the same day.
I packed the pipe and enjoyed a bowl of dunhill nightcap before I even opened the packaging for my new bike parts, didn't touch those until the next day.
It doesn't mean I wasn't excited about the bike stuff, it's just that I was more interested in my new pipe than bicycling.
The next day I installed said components and rode 30 miles.
Give it time, even adults act the same way.

[Paul L.]

The easyest way to get the training wheels off is to take them and the pedals off and let him push it along with his feer on the ground. Then he will start coasting it with his feet in the air. At that point the pedals can go back on.

Joe


I recently did this with my 4 year old son whose brother of the same age took to the bicycle like a fish to water (Kept at it for 3 hours straight and suddenly he was riding!) while he would get frustrated quickly. The no pedals allowed him to acquire a sense of Balance which he had not been able to master previously. When I could see he wasn't falling to one side or the other constantly I put the pedals back on and surprise, surprise he took right off.