As easy as riding a bike ...

The five-year-old has enjoyed cycling to school since he started last September. He loves the freedom of zooming down the road on his little Toy Story bike with matching stabilisers.

A few weeks ago we felt the time had come to destabilise and help our son transition to an independent cyclist. My partner and I are both keen cyclists, and ever since the days when I used to cycle around town, with my toddler strapped in safely at the back, I have longed to go out cycling as a family.

Finally that day has come! I thought naively setting aside an afternoon in which we would both teach our child to ride and go for a cycle around the park.

Before setting off we decided that we would teach him in the same way that we were taught. Basically our parents  held on to the back of the bike until we found our balance and then let go so we could do the rest. From what I could remember, the rest would came naturally. It would be a piece of cake.

So the day came, we set of to the park with our son and his ‘big boy bike’ and were all very excited about the milestone he was about to achieve. One thing we hadn't accounted for with our ‘teach him like we were taught’ plan was that our attitude to parenting is significantly different from our parent’s before us. 

Sociologist have found children born to baby boomers,  (we were both born during this time), are more likely to be 'helicopter parents'. So there we were in full overprotective parent mode, my partner holding the handle bars while I held onto the seat, both jogging along (backs aching) while our son pushed the peddles. When the time came to let go, we froze. Neither of us could bear to relinquish our hold for fear of injury to our child or the possibility of traumatising him if he fell, thus scaring him for life...

After four laps of the park, and our son no closer to independent cycling than he had been with stabilisers, we decided to call it a day and took our aching backs home.
 I had never before considered myself to be an overprotective parent, but since when did the prospect of a child suffering a scuffed knee outweigh the benefits of this learning milestone.
In 2010 research carried out in Gumma University Japan suggested that overprotective parenting can cause defects in the prefrontal cortex which cause mental health illness like schizophrenia.

Not wanting causing my child mental harm with my 'helicopter parent' attitude, I decided to do a bit of research. Using my own knowledge, advice from friend and tips on the web. I found a method that worked for me:


Having the ‘chat’: I talked to my son, explaining that he would be learning to ride his bike like I had learnt to ride mine as a child. I explained that part of learning would mean that he might fall off but that he would be o.k. and falling would help him to learn how to balance.

Talk to their peers: One of the children in our drive who is close to my sons age can ride his bike. I asked him to tell me and my son how he learnt to ride his bike, asked him if he had fallen of and if he enjoys cycling. It worked like a charm and motivated my son to learn how to ride his bike.

Choose a quiet place: It was easier for my son to stay focused when we practised in a area where there were less people around. He was less likely to become distracted from what he was doing and have a wobble when he saw people.

Hold on to the shoulders: I found that holding on to my sons shoulders was easier on my back and it encouraged him to guide the handle bars and find his balance.

Let go: Harder than it sounds as it goes against all your instincts as a parents (especially if your a child of  the baby boomers) but my son only had a few scuffs as most of the time he was able to stop himself from falling when he felt he was losing balance.

Keep it fun: I think this is one of the most important things to remember as teaching your child to ride can be a bit stressful for parents. But it shouldn't be for your child. Keep things light, pile on the praise and go at their pace. You don’t want this to become an experience that puts them off cycling.

I am happy to report that my son has now learnt how to ride his bike, but whoever said teaching them was easy is either a hobbit or a liar!