Tips for Teaching Your Child to Ride a Bike

If you love riding, then you probably can’t wait to share that excitement with your children! Long days of riding in the great outdoors, stopping for picnics and making great memories together as a family. Getting your bikes to the best trails around is a snap with our bike hitch mount, so you have that part covered. The hard part is actually teaching your kids to ride in the first place! Most kids are actually physically ready with the coordination to ride a bike by the age of 4. No matter how old they are, though, the process can be frustrating (for both of you!). We have some tips that can help make the teaching process a little easier. Before you know it, the whole family will be hitting your favorite trails together!

Check Out These Tips To Teach Your Kids to Ride

Pick the right teaching area

You’ll want to find an area that’s smooth and flat. Parking lots can be a great place, provided there aren’t any cars coming in or out. The sidewalks at your local park are another good place to try since they are usually surrounded by grass and should be relatively flat and wide. Try to avoid the sidewalks around your home, especially if there are a lot of cars on the road and other hazards like dog walkers, mailboxes, and other kids.

Get them the right bike

It’s much tougher to learn how to ride a bike when you are trying to learn on a bike that’s not the right size for you. Read up on how to properly measure your child for their first bike or bring them into your local bike shop to be measured. Bikes that are too big or too small could prove difficult to steer and control, frustrating your child and delaying their ability to ride along with you.

Practice one concept at a time

It’s a good idea to introduce one concept at a time. Start with encouraging them to balance the bike while it’s still. You can hold the back tire between your calves and teach them to keep their balance. Then practice getting started by having them push down on the pedal and coasting forward a little ways. Once they have the hang of that, introduce braking. Once they have all of that, it’s just one little step towards pedaling and you are on your way.

Protect your back

It’s going to be a lot more difficult to teach your child to ride their bike when you are down with a sore back. To protect your bike, don’t hunch over and grab the handlebars or the seat of the bike while your child is riding (this can actually inhibit their ability to learn to balance themselves, anyway). Instead, stay close and be prepared to grab them under the armpits if they start to fall. This will help your back and you won’t have to handle the weight of your child and the bike if they start to go over.

Make sure they have the right safety gear

Make bike safety a habit from the first time they get on. Equip them with a helmet, encourage them to wear it, and provide them with any other safety gear that you think is necessary, like elbow and knee pads. This can help when they are learning, though they may not want to wear it all once they learn to ride. Make the helmet a non-negotiable item, though.