How to Teach a Child to Ride a Bike in 30 Minutes

What to begin with?

Having decided to teach your kid to ride a bicycle, make sure that he/she wants it, ready for it, and has at least some basic skills of balance and coordination (usually these are kids of 4-5 years old). If all these factors are set, then all you need is a good and safe bike, free place outside for riding, and of course desire and a bit of patience.

The right choice of a bike

Purchasing a bike, take into account the following criteria: your child’s age, height, and weight. It shouldn’t be big, as then a kid would be unable to control it properly, thus can easily fall. A perfect bicycle is the one, where a child is capable of putting both feet on the ground and feel safe.

First steps

When a bike is bought and a kid is ready, it is high time to start the teaching process. At first, put a kid on a saddle with his/her feet on the ground. Arms should be placed on a handlebar and be a little bit bent. At the very begging you should help your kid to move the bike, until the moment he/she feels ready to put feet on pedals and try it by himself/herself. Usually within minutes kids feel more confident and start riding by themselves finding and feeling required balance and coordination. When you see this situation, you can advise your kid to try to turn to the left or right using steering and brakes.

Importance of safety: helmet

The most important thing to teach kids when riding is to let them know about safety, in terms of a helmet. A huge emphasis is put on it, since kids of all ages just hate helmets. Yet, they should realize, that helmets should be worn for safety reasons, such as, for example:

- when a kid just learns to ride a bicycle and there are chances of falling;

- when they already have experience and are allowed to ride near with roads (traffic);

- to avoid potential injuries;

Conclusion

Teaching kids riding bicycles is not that difficult as it might seem from the first glance. Just follow these simple instructions and even if your kid is timid, he/she will definitely enjoy the process as this technique really works.