DD1 has been using hers since she was 2.5 and started riding a 2-wheeler with no training wheels before her 4th birthday - the balance bike has given her the best start to being a balanced, confident bike rider. I cannot recommend them highly enough!
She loves going to the BMX track and doing the hills on it too
DD has one and likes it but it is a bit hard for her as we have no footpaths around her and practicing on the grass is near impossible. Also, not seeing other kids use them, left her a little confused in the beginning (I can hardly demonstrate )
I''ve seen kids in Germany use them. Most kids have them over there and they seem to have so much fun with them. We''ve just spent 6 weeks there and DD was using a neighbour''s bike and is slowly getting the hang of it. It definitely helped seein other kids use them.
I think they''re great and would recommend them. I have one that you can add pedals to at a later stage (like the Glide to ride bike from playskool, but not so wide where the pedals will be mounted).
Thanks girls I'm definitely leaning towards getting him one, I just hope he likes it LOL! DH is happy to get one too. TBH, I'm kind of stuck for ideas of what to get him, this is the only thing that's really popped into my mind.
Brand suggestions? I like the look of the timber ones, but open to suggestions.
Last edited by Janie; April 18th, 2010 at 10:28 AM.
I got one for my third, as they werent available before then, but yes love it, she is 3, and not balancing yet, but she can use it by herself, which is great.
I too grew up in germany, and the speed at which the german kids learn to ride their bikes compared to over here is huge.
my son loved his - I think he was 3 when he got it (a wooden.net one). they really give kids amazing freedom of movement without the technique required to ride a pedal bike. i used to take him out on it while walking my little one in her pram, and if he got sick of riding or we had to cross a busy road it was easy to put the bike on top of the pram hood, which i couldn't do with a pedal bike. And I don't know whether this was due to the bike or not, but my son rode his bike without training wheels on his very first attempt and is a fantastic bike rider now. I'm so looking forward to my daughter using the walking bike when she's big enough. Highly, highly recommended!
Target & Big W have a Playskool branded balance bike that can have pedals added.
They also have a wooden Thomas the tank engine one (without pedal option).
The one I have is a JDBug one (can purchase pedal kit) I got from an eBay store (brand new). They sell them all the time.
And yes, I can confirm, they are huuuge in Germany and have been for quite a few years.
It is hard to say from what age they are suitable. It depends on your child's motor development. Some kids are fine on them at 2 (although they might take a little longer to get the hang of the balancing thing), others are more ready for it by the age of 3 or 4. I think 2 1/2 is a good age to get them but as I said, some kids are ready for them earlier.
We got DD a JDBug one for her 3rd birthday (about 3.5 weeks ago), and she loooooves it! She has gotten pretty good in such a short time, and has started to pick both of her feet up a little and balances quite well for a little bit of time too, unless she has managed to pick up some speed. Only problem is that she doesn't really look where she is going, and so gets wobbly when she looks around, but she hasn't ever really fallen off yet... Most balance bikes are pretty hard to find IRL, and so have to shop online for them...the JDBug was cheapest on eBay for $95, up to about $135 in other places...
HOWEVER I found ours in Kmart - I read in a bike forum somewhere that people had seen them advertised in their catalogue for the toy sales last year, but never saw them in the shop. I was in Kmart anyway, and thought I'd just have a look to see if they had any, and they had one. There was no price anywhere on the shelves or box, so I took it to the price scanner thingy, and scanned it, and scanned it, and scanned it again, coz it was only $6! Biggest bargain of the century!
Isn't it just too cool? I'm jealous you got it so cheap.
We have the blue one here, too. I'm not really into pink, although DD is, but I'm trying to include some other colours with her aswell. Plus, i thought DS might not be too impressed if it was pink when he gets to use it later on... not sure if he's man enough to pull off pink
Unfortunately, my Inlaws got DD a 3 wheeled scooter just before she got the balance bike (don't get me started, who gives a scooter to a kid 4 weeks beefore Christmas?) and as that is much easier for her to ride on, she prefers to ride that... might have to hide it in the back of the shed - HA HA HA "evil laugh"
Registered User
Who has a balance bike? Is it great?
)
I'm definitely leaning towards getting him one, I just hope he likes it LOL! DH is happy to get one too. TBH, I'm kind of stuck for ideas of what to get him, this is the only thing that's really popped into my mind.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks