Well, Chris and I decided that it was time for Maddie to learn to ride her bike without training wheels. What we found out is that it's not as easy as we thought it would be. Maddie has not shown much desire to take the training wheels off, but we felt that since she's now six years old, it is time for her to try.
We did what every good parent does and padded Maddie up with her helmet and knee and elbow pads for those expected falls that occur as you are trying to learn how to ride. Chris set out first as the teacher and quickly became frustrated as Maddie didn't seem to understand what to do. I was surprised at how quickly Daddy's patience ran out, I always thought he had way more patience than I do. That is why I thought he would be the better teacher. Anyways, Mommy quickly took over the lessons and worked with Maddie to see if I could do any better. Much to my surprise, I didn't achieve much better of a result. Maddie seems to not understand that she has to keep pedaling and steer the bike in a straight direction - you can tell that she stops doing this once she senses that I'm about to let go. She would make it just a little ways and then would lose her balance and fall. I will admit, she was very brave and got back up on the bike and would try again. She even got a small scratch and didn't cry!
What we learned from our short experience - both Chris and I have to obviously work on our patience, as we know this isn't going to come to her overnight. We were very proud of her for trying and being brave even though she was scared she would fall. However, we would appreciate any advice from those of you that have accomplished this with your children. We know that eventually she will get it, but as Maddie put it - "Its not as easy as it looks Mommy."
5 comments:
Way to go Maddie, Keep trying! We know it isn't easy, but you are brave and smart and you can do it!! Plus it is kinda fun to have mom and dad run along side, it gets their heart rate going!
"B"
Hey Jenny,
We are working with Laken on riding a bike too since he'll turn 5 next week. We took him to a very small grassy hill and kind of pushed him down it so he could keep pedaling faster and kept the momentum up once he made it back up the hill. Worked great! He's not quite at the stage where he is riding w/o training wheels, but we're getting there. Good luck! Traci
Maddie, tell Mom and Dad that it takes time to learn! You're doing great!
We put Cole's training wheels as high as they would go. Then we would go bike riding with him and tell him not to let the training wheels touch. Then we practiced alot! We also told him he could have a new bike if he rode without the training wheels. (All the girls on our block were getting new bicycles so he was jealous. We told him he had to stop using the training wheels to get a new bike.)
Good luck!
Leslie
Hi Jenny,
We found, after trying very hard with our first child, who was interested, and atheleticly inclined, that with the other two, who were...not so much :) that it is MUCH easier on a wide open surface, like the parking lot at CCC vs. on a sidewalk. There is all kinds of room to weave and turn, and not nearly as frustrating!! Landri say," Way to go Maddie, you can do it! "
Cindy
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