8 year old can't ride a bike please help
07-28-17, 04:49 PM
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Calamari Marionette Ph.D
07-29-17, 07:21 AM
#27
Randomhead
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my back finally recovered from teaching my son how to ride 10 years ago. Still regret not getting the kids a balance bike when they were the right age. My mom took the chain and crank off of a kids bike for her nursery school and just left it around. A batch of 4 y.o. learned how to ride on that bike. Pretty sure it was the one that I learned to ride on, but my dad taught me by pushing me up and down the sidewalk. Mom had a theory that most kids were too young developmentally to ride a bike until they were 4. Or rather, that was the age where almost everyone could learn to ride a bike.
08-01-17, 09:21 AM
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Occam's Rotor
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08-05-17, 09:33 PM
#30
Lover of Old Chrome Moly
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First, is the child learning disabled or Autistic? Maybe you should mind your own business. I know a child that was 11 and had these issues. She could never roller skate and learned to ride a bike but was hit by a car because she can't deal with all the things around her and riding too.
You shouldnt endanger this child by tying a tube around her. These PEOPLE ARE ********. An old bike IS NOT GOOD. Safety issues have been dealt with since then. If you are so nosy that you want to interfere with how her Guardians are dealing with her, then get your cheap a_ _ to a Walmart and buy a bicycle for $70. Buy one with TRAINING WHEELS or order the TRAINING WHEELS separately.
TRAINING WHEELS are a SAFE WAY TO LEARN.
You shouldnt endanger this child by tying a tube around her. These PEOPLE ARE ********. An old bike IS NOT GOOD. Safety issues have been dealt with since then. If you are so nosy that you want to interfere with how her Guardians are dealing with her, then get your cheap a_ _ to a Walmart and buy a bicycle for $70. Buy one with TRAINING WHEELS or order the TRAINING WHEELS separately.
TRAINING WHEELS are a SAFE WAY TO LEARN.
Resurrects a zombie thread to criticize people responding to a father's request for advice on how to teach his daughter to ride a bike 
and then spouts a lot of misinformation.Not to feed the zombie, but there are a lot of older bikes that are far better built and safer than some of the cheap big box bikes of today. Training wheels have been proven to actually hinder the development of balance and steering control, coaster bikes are far better for developing the required coordination and skills and are available for toddlers.
As StarBiker pointed out, not all kids want to ride a bike and I applaud parents encouraging their kids to try riding, I don't advocate forcing a child to do so. There are also some kids who have a disability which makes bike riding inappropriate for them.
But for the parents who may read this and have children interested in learning to ride, most of the advice given in this thread is sound. I taught my own grandson to ride at age nine by removing the pedals from a 20 year old Trek mountain bike and started him coasting on a gentle grass slope that ended in an equally gentle upslope. He practiced balance, steering and braking while coasting. Within a few hours he wanted the pedals put back on and by that evening was riding his bike all over an empty parking lot. He now enjoys riding with family and friends and has begun to show interest in riding for recreation.
Just enforce good safety rules and helmet use. If you can ride with them and model good cycling behavior is more effective than telling them.
