There is absolutely a place for training wheels in the process of learning to ride.



Our 8.5yo rode with trainers until she was a little older than 6. She could go for a handful of miles. When she was ready for the trainers to come off, a neighbor suggested pulling the pedals so she could learn to balance on a parking lot across the street that has a slight downslope.
A handful of balance practice sessions later and she was riding every day.

Our 4.5yo has trainers on and she is still working to get comfortable and confident on her current bike since she has had it for only a couple months after moving up in size.
Her old bike is now a balance bike- I removed the pedals and she will push and balance for a few feet at a time. She isnt ready to do more than that, even though she asks to.



Looking back, if we had a balance bike, our oldest would have been riding on 2 wheels much earlier as she is a very strong rider. And I would have been OK with it since she is hyper-aware when riding and works hard to follow every safety rule we have thrown at her.
With that said, I think it’s a case by case sorta thing with kids- I wouldn’t trust a 3yo to ride as fast as they can go on 2 wheels since their decision making and awareness are so inconsistent. Itd be flat out dangerous for many kids riding on sidewalks and multi use paths.
Its cool that kids so young have the balance to ride on 2 wheels, but unless they also have the discipline and awareness to ride safely at the speed 2 wheels allows, there isnt much(any) benefit in it.