training wheels
 

at what age should I start to consider removing my son's training wheels. He will be five shortly, but I do not want to rush him into it and get him discouraged if he is not ready yet.

I think I learned to ride when I was 4, I do remember it took alot of falling over. I guess that as long as you think he can handle the falling over then it should be fine. Have him practice in the grass, much softer than falling onto concrete;)

Atleast thats the way I learned. My dad just took the training wheels off gave me some pads and told me to go!

BTW I'm not a parent so take my advice with a grain of salt.

I don't think there's actually a right age.

It's been quite some time since my kids used training wheels but, from what I remember, after our kids got used to riding with wheels, we raised them a bit so they served as support in case they began to lose their balance. Once the training wheels became more of a hinderance than help it was time to take them off.

I think a lot of the rediness factor had to do with wanting to ride without training wheels.

Stacy

my daughter learned when she was 4.she was the one that said she wanted them off.I then had to run along behind her and help.it took a couple of days.then she was off.my wifes oldest was 3.
i was 5 or 6.(got a late start.)took me about a week acording to my mother.and I said enouph.wouldn't ride till dad took them off.first trip was into the rose bushes,then up the street.had to learn to turn couple of small wrecks later I was on my way.

I'd say raise them up so he can ride with out them touching
and when he can keep them off the ground most of the time then
I would think about removing them

When he can hold himself upright and stay balanced. Hopefully, that will be soon.

My nephew is 5 and still has poor balance. He still has training wheels.

Then again, he's still peeing the bed too. He's just slow, the poor boy.

Koffee

Just went through this with my son. He just turned 6 in September. I bought his bike for him when he was 4. He just learned to ride it without training wheels about 4 months ago. I tried several times over the years to make him ride without them.

He would subsequently crash and have a big ouchie and not want to ride again. Finally i decided to quit pushing him. I figured he could just ride with training wheels forever if he wished. Well, right at the start of school one of his little kindergarted buddies was riding his bike to school without training wheels.

Suddenly one day he came home and said he wanted to take the training wheels off. I thought this was odd because i normally couldn't even get him to ride it with the wheels on. I think i pushed him too hard. So i went out to the street and took them off. He took off like a pro.

He rode a long time without crashing but did finally crash again that night. Trama all over again but this time he was over it the next day and wanted to ride again. I think he found out how fun it was to ride without the training wheels. He can now ride it flawlessly and never crashes. I am very proud of him and i suggest that you let your child be your guide as to when to take them off.

I know my dad just took them off and pushed me if i crashed he told me to get up and quit crying. I guess that worked too. Come to think of it i don't even know if my dad taught me, i think i was just tired of getting left behind by the bigger kids so i just climbed on one of my older siblings bikes and learned to go.

Most training wheels are so poorly designed that they make learning to ride harder, not easier.

Find a grassy hill with a gentle, long slope. Put the seat low enough that the rider can easily put a foot on the ground. Put the one pedal at the "noon" position, out of the way. Then let the child just "scoot" down the hill, using feet instead of pedals to push the bike. In an hour or two, most kids will be ready to coast down the hill without using their feet. After getting a good sense of balance, using the pedals is an easy next step.

Alanbikehouston, that is what I recommend too.

(I learned with the "ride on the grass and fall over lots" school.)

If the bike has hand brakes, remove the pedals and lower the seat. The kids will quickly learn to scoot along. When they get good enough raise up the seat and put the pedals back on.

That's the key! The other kids will let him know when it's time and he'll tell you. The idea of raising them a bit is also a good one. It will make it easier when the peer pressure encourages him to try without them.

Dont laugh, i got off of traineing wheels at like seven (even later :o ) I basically was pusshed by my day, ON GRASS, iT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE. And just start by running with them and prepare for crying.