Teaching Your Child to Ride a Bike

Our daughter talked about wanting a bike for almost a year. We had all the typical questions: Is she ready? What bike to get her? How to teach her? Here is what we found and worked for us.

Children typically start bike riding between ages 3 and 8 with an average of 5 years old. Getting a bike that is the right size is important. Measure your child’s height and pick the appropriate tire size. When you begin teaching keep it fun.

Ready to start riding?? Here we go.

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When should my child be able to ride a bike

Riding a bike is a milestone. Riding a bike is exciting, fun, thrilling and your child will love that independence they gain from being able to ride around the neighborhood. You want to make sure they are ready so they will enjoy the experience and not get hurt. Children usually start riding a bike between ages 3 and 8 and an average around 5 years old. Our daughter started at 6 and son at 4 so we are helping that average out over here!

Some children may be able to start riding as young as two years old if they have good balance. Each child is different so gauge their interest and abilities and then use a bike that is sized correctly for them. Remember to encourage them and make bike riding fun. Pay attention to cues of frustration and tired muscles. Take breaks and help them to enjoy learning.

Start with equipment

Before you run out and buy or borrow a bike for your child lets make sure you are getting the right bike for your child succeed.

Depending on age and ability there are a few options you may want to consider. Before we jumped into kid sized bikes we got a balance bike to work on coordination and skills. We really wanted to build confidence and make sure they liked riding bikes before spending a few hundred dollars on equipment.

Once our children were comfortable on the balance bike we bought regular kids bikes… for Christmas.. how typical of us!

Our son is 4 and by this age muscle control and coordination is slightly more developed so a small kids bike is recommended. We also recommend foot brakes for this age. While riding our son is mainly thinking of the pedals, the handle bars are not the first things he thinks of when he needs to stop.. which is evidenced by some occasional crashes.

Training wheels are also a great option if your child needs extra stability. Using training wheels helps your child master starting, stoping and turning without worrying about balance. We have also noticed that our son is developing his leg muscle and having training wheels allows him to slow down when he is tired without falling over.

Our daughter is 6 and her age group is even better at coordination and muscle control. She rode with training wheels for maybe half a day before mastering riding without. Her bike also features hand breaks which she can control flawlessly at her age… she has had a few crashes as well… but that’s normal.

Picking a bike that is the right size is very important. First you want to measure how tall your child is and measure their inseam. Here is a size graph created by Rascal Rides to help you figure out sizing.

You want to make sure the bike is the right size for your child so they can ride successfully and minimize injury. Make sure the child can stand over the top tube comfortably and be able to reach the ground. This will come in handy when they need to rest, stand up and get on or off the bike.

To size a balance bike you want to make sure your child can place their feet flat on the ground while the seat post is in the lowest position. Essentially they will be walking or using their feet to move the bike. They need to be able to reach the ground.

To size a pedal bike you want to make sure the lowest seat post measurement is 1-3 inches more than your child’s inseam measurement so when sitting on the seat their feet are pointed but they still reach with the balls of their feet. This will encourage them use the pedals instead of trying to use their feet to move as they did on a balance bike but also allow them to reach the ground to stop or rest.

Safety is always important. Make sure you have a helmet that fits your child and is secured properly. Protect those brains and wear helmets every time you ride. You also want to make sure they wear proper shoes, long socks, and good fitting jeans incase of falls or bumps with the bike pedals.

How to teach a kid to ride a bike

First thing, find a safe place to practice. An empty parking lot, a cul-de-sac with low traffic, an empty basketball court or playground. You want a lot of paved area and little traffic. Narrow trails, sidewalks and grassy areas can be tough to work in so are best to avoid.

Remember we went the balance bike method first. A huge benefit of that was they got the hang of getting on and off the bike, sitting, steering, gliding and coasting on the bike. If you don’t have a balance bike you can still do this step by taking the pedals off your bike temporarily.

If you are starting with a pedal bike and no training wheels start by having your child get on and off the bike until they are comfortable. Remove the pedals and have them practice gliding on the bike using their feet on the ground. Let them go some distance, turn around and come back. As the gain confidence instruct them to go faster and lift their feet to practice balance and coasting.

When they are comfortable coasting and balancing put the pedals back on. Now we want to work on using the pedals and keeping their feet off the ground. To help your child work on balancing while using the pedals stand facing them and straddling the front tire. Secure it between your legs and have your child sit on the bike. Have them practice bringing their feet up to the pedals, balance and stand again. Before the practice moving make sure they know how the breaks work, either back pedaling or using hand breaks.

Now we work on moving. Have your child start with one foot on the ground and the other foot on the pedal in a high and slightly forward position. They will then press that pedal down and use the momentum to get themselves moving. Try to allow them to do the balancing themselves and avoid holding them upright. You may need to help a little, but work on them being able to balance the bike.

Once they have a handle on moving forward for a stretch, balancing and stoping safely it is time for turns. Start with wide turns first, then progress to smaller turns. Make it fun by having them go around various objects, a park bench or water bottles. Remember if they fall, get right back up and try again.

If your child has a bike with training wheels these balancing steps are not as necessary since the wheels help with that. It is still important to work on starting, stoping and turns before going out on the open road.

Once your child feels confident in an empty area its time for some biking on open road. Go over safety, looking out for people, objects, cars and animals and how to maneuver around them safely. Give them some traffic rules, stopping at corner rules and where to safely ride on the street. Have fun, be safe and enjoy your new activity.

How to teach a kid to ride a bike in 5 minutes

Before our kids got bikes they talked about wanting one almost daily. They also told anyone and everyone they could that they were getting bikes for Christmas. One day my daughter was telling someone all about her future biking adventures and he recommended You Tube videos that he tried with his son. Sure enough his claims were true. She watched the video twice and was able to ride without training wheels on the first try after taking them off. She loved her new independence and watching that excitement is so heart warming. Dad was pretty stoked too.

Here is the video we watched and recommend to you as well.

We hope you love bike riding as much as we do. If you have any tips or stories to share please tell us in the comments below.