Hezz

Andy,

There are certain kids and people that will always have this fear of the ground moving underneath them, but I think there are several good ideas that have been given here that you can use. If her seat cannot be lowered enough for her feet to be flat on the ground it may require a smaller bike or "Townie" style bike. Though you have to be careful not to force her too much so you might intensify her fears I think if you take the multi-angle approach you will be the most successful. I would get her some elbow pads and gloves and maybe knee pads and a good helmet and make her wear long levi's and maybe a Levi jacket or something while practicing. Train her to understand that she may fall but if she is properly dressed and in the safe areas she will not likely get hurt very bad.

Then you could give her some kind of reward that she would really like for practicing 15 minutes everyday in a safe place. Something that would be motivating enough to help her forget her fear. Without the pedals at first and then gradually with the pedals. I think the idea of pedaling is too scary for some kinds until they know how to balance the bike a little. Also, it might be possible to set up a kids single speed with lower gearing so that they can pedal on the grass which if they fall will not hurt them much.