5 year old and bike

balancelife

Hi

My now 5yr old got a bike a year ago and struggled a lot with it, she can't seem to pedal very well it looks like a real effort when she tries. Also she says she can't reach and squeeze the brakes. We tried hard and then she was refusing to go on it so we stopped. She was given a scooter and loves it.

Now she wants to learn again but is still struggling and is upset. She wants to learn and ride to school instead of going in a bike seat.
Any ideas to help her?or a recommendation of a bike? A friend suggested a balance bike but theres a lot out there and I'm not sure where to start.

She's just turned 5 but is very little. Weighs nearly 15kg and is 105cm tall. She's an active kid but more with dancing and running rather than climbing etc.
We also have a son who will be 2 at Christmas and could get something to suit them both I guess.

Anyone with a chips who struggled got any ideas?I think she thinks one day she will just sit on it and be able to ride by magic! I don't want to push her and get frustrated but it is hard!

minimoneysaver

Have you looked on ebay for a balance bike? Or maybe you could just remove the pedals from her bike while she figures out the brakes and the balance. Did she have one of those little 3 wheeler trikes as a toddler with pedals and could she do it?

pigpen

Maybe she just hasnt developed the coordination yet to use the pedals... bit like my 15 y/o! Can she ride it with stabilisers? .. Mine can barely even manage that!

I wouldnt bother with a balance bike.. seems silly when she can do a scooter.. you know she can balance!

My 9 y/o is 109cm and struggles with most stuff like this.. try lifting the back of the bike off the floor on blocks so she can practice the pedalling.. like an exercise bike..

If she is fed up of the bike seat would one of those child extension things to clip on the back of your bike help? She would be able to learn the pedalling and you would still have control.

ellay864

Can you adjust it at all so she can reach things better? Did you get a chance to try her on it when you bought it? If you bought it in somewhere like Halfords or a bike shop they should have helped you get the 'fit' right at the time, and would be able to help change it now if need be. Maybe if she feels she cant reach brakes to work them she's a bit worried, and so if you could get her feeling comfy and safe from that perspective she'd be able to focus on the pedalling more easily.
As pigpen has said, there's plenty of kids older than her who aren't great on bikes - my eldest started trying at 5, gave up for a bit then went back later when he saw more friends on theirs and seemed to just suddenly click with it all. Your daughter is still very young so certainly isn't in any way behind what she should be doing at that age.

adamantine

my son turned 5 this year and got his first bike for his birthday and my dad took him to the local running track and we taught him to ride it then coz he watched my dad on his bike. we had to adjust everything on it a few times coz the pedals were too stiff and the brakes handles were at the wrong angle for his hands etc but after fiddling with it over a week or so we finally got it right and he loves it!

have you tried going on your bike while she is on hers so she can see what she needs to do or have you tried pushing the pedals yourself to make sure they are not too stiff and the same with the brakes?

dibuzz

The brake levers are often hard for little hands to use, I've nearly always had to adjust them to make them easier to reach and pull when the kids were little.
Some kids are just not ready though, my eldest was 8 before he could ride without stabilisers but my youngest only 3. If she's struggling one of the trailer bikes might be a good option as it's not babyish like a child seat.

rachbc

my daughter is tiny too and we got her a specialised honey bike - she would have about 98cm when she got it last year and can touch the ground on the lost seat and manage the brakes easily. She had a balance bike from 2 (a first bike one) and was up on a off on her pedal bike very quickly. DS on the other hand really struggled - at 8 we just ended up pushing him down a grassy hill over and over again til he got the balance bit and the nerve to stop looking a his feet to make sure they we still pedalling!!

custardy

balancelife wrote: »

Hi

My now 5yr old got a bike a year ago and struggled a lot with it, she can't seem to pedal very well it looks like a real effort when she tries. Also she says she can't reach and squeeze the brakes. We tried hard and then she was refusing to go on it so we stopped. She was given a scooter and loves it.

Now she wants to learn again but is still struggling and is upset. She wants to learn and ride to school instead of going in a bike seat.
Any ideas to help her?or a recommendation of a bike? A friend suggested a balance bike but theres a lot out there and I'm not sure where to start.

She's just turned 5 but is very little. Weighs nearly 15kg and is 105cm tall. She's an active kid but more with dancing and running rather than climbing etc.
We also have a son who will be 2 at Christmas and could get something to suit them both I guess.

Anyone with a chips who struggled got any ideas?I think she thinks one day she will just sit on it and be able to ride by magic! I don't want to push her and get frustrated but it is hard!

it sounds to me like the bike doesn't fit her
not being able to reach the brakes
looking like a real effort

for you as a stop gap a tag along may help
so she is still on a bike but with you providing the majority of the power
however you are either looking at her growing into it or looking at whether the bike is appropriate
maye using a bike with a coaster brake would be easier
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f_ProductID=12757&f_FullProductVersion=1&f_SupersetQRY=C441&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct=c003155c018344
(not recommending this one in particular)
if you have a good local bike shop then pop in and see what they have for her to sit on and see how they feel

Debbie_A_3

The brakes can be a real problem on childrens' bikes. The levers are too far from the handles for little fingers to reach, whilst the force needed to squeeze them is just too much.

When mine were learning I put the bike seat low down so they could put their feet down to stop (and destroy their shoes in the process, but hey-ho!). We taught them all in a local supermarket carpark after 4pm on a Sunday. They had loads of space and the ground was on a slight slope so they could ride uphil to slow down as well. But it was very hard work (for me) holding under their seat, pushing them, letting go, and catching them before they fell, whilst making "encouraging noises".

Moominmamma

Just seconding minimoneysaver's suggestion of removing the pedals from the bike so that your dd can practise getting her balance right.

My dd also really struggled with riding a bike, but when we did this she was up and away pretty quickly, we did the same with my son and he's riding like a pro at 4

wendydarling

Does she use stabilisers just now? My daughter really struggled to ride her bike with stabilisers and didn't seem to have the strength in her legs to pedal; so I thought she was a long way off from riding properly. One day we tried her on a bike without stabilisers and she managed to cycle straight away and it became evident the stabilisers had been complicating the whole process!