The Right Age
 

Well, my Godson is 3 months old now, so naturally I'm looking for his first bike. :D

What's a good age to start a child out riding his own bike (his parents aren't cyclists, so they won't be bringing him along on rides now, but someday, he'll be big enough to ride with his Uncle Rick, so...)? I'm kinda new at this...

This is from the perspective of working in a daycare center for a couple years with 2 year olds:

You can get very small mobile toys for children as young as about 12-18 months now ... little plastic train-engine-shaped things, and so on. If I had kids, that's the sort of thing I'd start them on ... they will sit on it, with their feet touching the ground, and push themselves around, like these:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=3266385
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=2553322

Then you can probably get into stuff like this by about 2 years:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=4344903

Then you might want to move into larger more mobile tricycles as they get a bit older, and finally into small bicycles. :)

My grandson was a natural and began to ride on his own, with Mom or Dad always supervising nearby, somewhere between 2-3 years old. He was pretty amazing.

You may want to think about, first, one of those child seats that attach to your bike, then when your godson is a little older, a trailer bike. That way, you and he can share the experience of riding together even before he gets to ride on his own.

By the way, I have heard that children should not be placed in any kind of attached cycling device--a trailer, seat, whatever--until at least ~18 months of age because their neck or spine hasn't yet developed enough strength to hold their heads steady enough.

Awesome that you're thinking ahead. Just be careful never to teach him fear. Most parents project their own fear onto small kids which only hinders their growth.



And I don't mean to chase him away from cycling, but when he wraps his tiny fingers around your pinky, you should start teaching him the overlapping grip!

Golfers make a ton of money.

Well, it all started when I saw a photo of a kids 10 speed, and started fantasizing about riding with my new godson. So I asked his mother if it was too soon for me to start thinking about a bicycle for him-- :D -- and she said no, and asked if I was talking about the Radio Flyers. I had no idea what she meant, so I went online and checked them out, and nearly died (see photo). I have to buy one. But then I started thinking that it's got to be for a really young rider, because an older kid-- say 5 or 6-- would probably get beaten up for riding that bike. I'm going to teach him Tae Kwon Do, and his dad is going to teach him boxing, but still, no need to needlessly hurl him into confrontations. So I figured the Radio Flyer must be for really young kids, and I started to think about when the right age would be to start him riding.

And I will instill some healthy fears into him. Always ride with a helmet. Always watch for cars when you're in the street (and NO street riding until he's old enough to understand the danger). Always make sure your front wheel is secure before hurtling downhill at top speed. That kind of stuff.

I can't wait. :D

My daughter's not born yet but I'm already eyeing tricycles; I'd love to be able to justify that Litespeed Ti trike.... :D Guess I'm lucky they're not making them any more.