That's the problem with the situation I got in. I "thought" that the 18" wheel bike I got my 9-year old would be small enough for his feet to rest on the ground with him in the saddle, but unfortunately that is not the case. It was a case where we saw it on closeout for $40 at Target, and it says ages 6-8 on the box, but he's small for his age I guess. As such, he can ride it with the training wheels on, but once he gets some speed up he starts to panic and no matter how many times I show him how to ride with my bike, he still makes jerky movements with the steering until it turns hard enough to tip right over in spite of the training wheels.

It was once he had it tip over and jam his leg into the pedal before I could catch him that he refused to try anymore. It stinks really, since the training wheels are preventing him from truly learning balance, but since he can't get his feet to the ground while in the saddle, he can't adequately dismount the bike once it starts going down. I guess I could go buy a bike with 12" or 16" wheels, but I'm kind of leaning towards just waiting until he grows enough to fit the bike. It's frustrating though, that's for sure. He sees how easily one of the 6-year old boys down the street rides his bike and is discouraged that at 9, he still can't figure it out.