or "How I taught my son to gain balance, on his own"
The earliest memories I have of riding a bicycle are of the 'Paramount' 16 inch bicycle with a long saddle and steel back support. I remember my dad running behind me teaching me to gain balance. Thanks to him, I learned about the confidence, mobility and independence that came with riding a bicycle, early in life. I would like to pass on the same to my son, I thought.
My son was five years old when we got him his first bicycle, a Maxit 14 inch. Little did I realize I had, in part, put a mental handicap of sorts on him by putting training wheels on the bike. A month passed, then two. He would never bring himself to take the weight off either the left or the right side training wheel. Wheels kept getting worn or broken.
A few days later, at Decathlon sports store, I saw,the "run and ride" or "push and balance" bicycles. These bicycles do not have a drive train on them. Built for 2-4 year olds, these are normal looking bikes without chain, sprockets and pedals. (What's a Balance Bicycle?) Children push the bicycle ahead by pushing back the ground with their feet, one foot a time alternately. Doing so teaches them to learn balance. It made sense. Without a parent or elder running behind them shouting instructions, the child will be free to pull up his instincts and likely learn balance faster. Unfortunately, I had already bought a bicycle and buying just for balance was impractical.
That evening, at home I read up about tricks to teach a child to gain riding balance. I couldn't find anything I was not already doing. Add to it, my work schedule made it tough to commit time everyday to the effort. For some very good reasons, my wife was not up to the task, even though she is a rider. I did not want to lose any more time either. That's when the 'lazy dad' in me kicked in to make everyone happy with a workable solution. It was time to get hands dirty, literally.
I removed the drive system completely. The bottom bracket, pedals, chain ring/sprocket and chain, the chain protector (it should be really called 'ankle joint protector'). I cleaned the bottom bracket of any residues and reset the wheel. Obviously, no training wheels either. My son did not like it one bit. He wanted all of those things right back on the bicycle. To him, it did not look like a bicycle. I spent the next evening teaching my son to get used to a bicycle without pedals. I needed to be around, I think, more because he now had a 'weird bicycle'. He needed to get used to lugging it around, first with me around him. After that I just let him be.
A week later, my son started demanding pedals back on his bicycle. He kept insisting it's time the pedals got back on. I was a little surprised. I knew this would teach him to balance, but a week (he probably used the bike only three or four times since) was too soon. That day again I went down to play with him and watch progress. I was pleasantly shocked to see my son had learnt to balance the bicycle. He had done it by himself and how quickly. The experiment, if you may, had worked!
Now, my son and I ride bicycles together.
PS: Pedals on not, please insist on always using a helmet while riding a bicycle. Theories and opinions aside, it's safe for children and adults alike.
The earliest memories I have of riding a bicycle are of the 'Paramount' 16 inch bicycle with a long saddle and steel back support. I remember my dad running behind me teaching me to gain balance. Thanks to him, I learned about the confidence, mobility and independence that came with riding a bicycle, early in life. I would like to pass on the same to my son, I thought.
My son was five years old when we got him his first bicycle, a Maxit 14 inch. Little did I realize I had, in part, put a mental handicap of sorts on him by putting training wheels on the bike. A month passed, then two. He would never bring himself to take the weight off either the left or the right side training wheel. Wheels kept getting worn or broken.
A few days later, at Decathlon sports store, I saw,the "run and ride" or "push and balance" bicycles. These bicycles do not have a drive train on them. Built for 2-4 year olds, these are normal looking bikes without chain, sprockets and pedals. (What's a Balance Bicycle?) Children push the bicycle ahead by pushing back the ground with their feet, one foot a time alternately. Doing so teaches them to learn balance. It made sense. Without a parent or elder running behind them shouting instructions, the child will be free to pull up his instincts and likely learn balance faster. Unfortunately, I had already bought a bicycle and buying just for balance was impractical.
That evening, at home I read up about tricks to teach a child to gain riding balance. I couldn't find anything I was not already doing. Add to it, my work schedule made it tough to commit time everyday to the effort. For some very good reasons, my wife was not up to the task, even though she is a rider. I did not want to lose any more time either. That's when the 'lazy dad' in me kicked in to make everyone happy with a workable solution. It was time to get hands dirty, literally.
I removed the drive system completely. The bottom bracket, pedals, chain ring/sprocket and chain, the chain protector (it should be really called 'ankle joint protector'). I cleaned the bottom bracket of any residues and reset the wheel. Obviously, no training wheels either. My son did not like it one bit. He wanted all of those things right back on the bicycle. To him, it did not look like a bicycle. I spent the next evening teaching my son to get used to a bicycle without pedals. I needed to be around, I think, more because he now had a 'weird bicycle'. He needed to get used to lugging it around, first with me around him. After that I just let him be.
A week later, my son started demanding pedals back on his bicycle. He kept insisting it's time the pedals got back on. I was a little surprised. I knew this would teach him to balance, but a week (he probably used the bike only three or four times since) was too soon. That day again I went down to play with him and watch progress. I was pleasantly shocked to see my son had learnt to balance the bicycle. He had done it by himself and how quickly. The experiment, if you may, had worked!
Now, my son and I ride bicycles together.
PS: Pedals on not, please insist on always using a helmet while riding a bicycle. Theories and opinions aside, it's safe for children and adults alike.
No comments:
Post a Comment