Bike with training wheels - what age???

[Santosha]

DD turns 2 on Wednesday. DH has suddenly got it in his head that he wants to buy her a little two-wheeler bike with training wheels. I have suggested that she's too little - since she can't yet operate the tricycles at playgroup but apparently I am not an authority on this subject! So... educate me:

What age was your child when they first managed to ride a little bike with training wheels?

And, if this doesn't suit (which I don't think it will), is it worth investing in one of those little trikes with the handle on the back or will she just grow out of it really fast?

TIA

[Aligater]

We are planning on getting DD1 one for christmas she will be 4 the bikes with the hanndle are the same size as the one without and if you want the handle get a bike where it comes off then you just have a bike with training wheels that also come off

[Traveller]

Pretty much all my kids were riding bikes at 2, it might be that her own bike will be what encourages her to try peddling? I personally wouldn't recommend one with the handle because the one we have like that, the kids just sit back and let me do all the work. Without the handle they give peddling a really good go.

[Nai]

We have had our girls use balance bikes or runbikes. DD1 went straight from that to a 2-wheeler with no training wheels ever before she turned 4. DP thinks training wheels are evil as they don't teach balance - all the kids we know who have used runbikes have gone straight to normal bikes with no training wheels.

[ButterflyForever]

my daughter used one of those balance bikes from about 2 and a half. They are great for getting them used to riding. Can get some funky designs, we had the Dora the Explorer one.

[~*Niadalla*~]

DD has a bike! We got her one with the handle as she can't quite reach the peddles well enough, but she loves it. She hops on and off it herself and I think it is great for her balance.
DS has a smaller 3 wheel bike that he got for Christmas when he was 18 months old. He couldn't pedal it for the first 6 months, but had worked it out by the age of 2. He's only just gotten a bike with training wheels himself about 6 months ago but he's been able to use it from day dot really well. I would assume DD won't be able to pedal until she's about 2&1/2 when she's gotten a little taller.

[krysalyss]

I agree that a balance bike is good start rather than a bike with training wheels. DS went straight to a bike with pedals two weeks ago just before he turned 4. You would have to get one that suits her height though. Otherwise a trike if she is too little. DS had one of those when he was 2 or so and used it until he got the balance bike at 3 (which came with removable pedals). The trike was a eurotrike with a tip tray and had a removable handle.

[Rach75]

Jack was 2 when he got his if your concerned get one with a parent handle

personally I dont liek the balance bikes my nephew has one and cannot for the life of him ride a normal bike he is 5 he just has no clue

[Nai]

This is a good demo of how a balance bike progresses their skills - if you you tube run bikes you get some really amazing stuff that little kids can do on them. DD2 is 2 and starting to use hers now too.

YouTube - Why a Runbike?

[Santosha]

Well don't I stand corrected?!! DH is chuffed to hear your responses and now I'm getting 'see?, see?!!!'.

Thanks for the advice on balance bikes versus training wheels too. Will look into the options. I've told DH that he can be in charge of teaching her to ride it and trying to prevent too many massive stacks in the process. My memory of learning to ride a bike is not a happy one - I was terrified and ended up doing myself a serious injury. Think DH can cop the grey hairs for this one!

[Santosha]

Hehe. Nai, I just watched that video. SO cute. Love how they've documented the whole progression and can tell there's a very proud Daddy behind the camera! I see the logic behind the opportunity to use feet until balance is learnt and then tackling pedals. Makes more sense than training wheels. Thanks again.

[Tanya]

I agree with Nai's dh, training wheels are evil! All our training wheels are in the bin, kids eventually learnt to ride after I removed the pedals and they learnt how to balance on the bike rather than relying on the training wheels.

Good luck.

[Kaydee]

We have had our girls use balance bikes or runbikes. DD1 went straight from that to a 2-wheeler with no training wheels ever before she turned 4. DP thinks training wheels are evil as they don't teach balance - all the kids we know who have used runbikes have gone straight to normal bikes with no training wheels.

I am a huge fan of balance bikes, but I'd like to share my (son's) experience. DS had a hard time learning to pedal, he just didn't get it. So we bought him a bike with training wheels at about 3 years and took a couple of afternoons to focus on teaching him that skill. He already had a balance bike, we figured it's great for balance, but they do need to learn to pedal. Anyway, it took him a couple of afternoons to learn, but he finally got it. DS turned 4 and we decided to try without training wheels and he got it after about 15 minutes! So away the training wheels went.

So training wheels are great with learning to pedal and to control a bike in general, but I suggest getting rid of them ASAP.

[krysalyss]

Kaydee brings up a good point. DS had a trike first so already could use pedals when going to a balance bike. That way when he got the pedals on he already knew how that worked and could put the balance and the pedals together.

[aussienic]

Around 18 months to 2 we bought our kids their first bike. usually their 2nd birthday (DD got one earlier cus her brothers all had one lol) they learn very quickly what is needed to make the bike move..

We bought DD one of those bikes with a detachable handle on the back.. that worked well until she learnt how to pedal well and decided she no longer wanted mum or dads help