How to get rid of the training wheels?
 

Some advice is needed. My eldest just showed some awesome riding skills tonight at the school field. Before we left I secretly adjusted her training wheels so they were just south of useless. They stop a fall but offer no support at all when riding. Know what? She didn't need them. :) In fact they just got in the way of starting and stopping.

Now the dilemma. Do I go get my ring spanner and get rid of them, or do I let her have her unnecessary support a little longer? A crash now will kill her confidence and perhaps push her back to insisting on them.

Maybe leave them for a little while and then show her how little they do in their current state and convince her she doesn't need them?

Try the Rec and Family forum ... there's a very similar question as the first post there: http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...nal-amp-Family

We never used them...just took the pedals off and let them use the bike as a scoot bike. In your case, I would raise them up a bit more for a couple of more weeks, then pull them.

Aaron :)

Offer her a challenge, if she can ride __________ and not touch a training wheel on the pavement then she gets a prize.

Then while enjoying the prize, speculate that she doesn't need them because she is such a big girl. Make it her idea.

Here's the link to the particular thread, as it has moved from the top of the forum. http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...raining-wheels

take the training wheels and the crank and chain off.. then you have a "balance bike"

the learning chore is reduced to balance & steering, then once that is learned,

put the chain, crank and pedals back on.

I managed to ride my new trike right off without training wheels!:)

^^^^^^This.

Training wheels actually inhibit the ability to cycle as you've found.

Lowering the seat and removing the pedals teaches balance and aids confidence. Once this is gained replace the pedals and gradually raise the seat.

Pulled them off and lowered the seat. She is overcompensating but I think given a few falls into the sand it will
soon sort itself out.

I took my son's training wheels off pretty shortly after he got his first bike. It just seemed as if they were slowing his progress. He got on and started riding. If I remember correctly, he pretty much got the balance thing within a day or two.

Same for us, with two kids and a 50-year-old aunt who'd never learned to ride: took off the pedals, lowered the seat until they could put both feet on the ground and aimed them down a very gentle hill. My daughter got it in 10 minutes at age 4. Son was 8, and it took him awhile. My aunt had to practice at home, but she eventually mastered it.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=317207

5 minutes with a push. She still needs to stop putting her shins in front of movng pedals though.

This is brilliant

Over in places like the NL they sell little push bikes that don't have a crank or pedals, I have seen children as young as 2.5 using them. They are wicked fast on those things too. Most are riding regular bikes by age 3 or 4, usually with a grab handle coming out of the back for mom or dad to help keep them under control.

Aaron :)