Balance bike not really working?

We have a BB - DD has not been using it a whole lot, but say for 6 weeks on/off. I guess we are at fault here b/c we are not regular about it. BUT, when she does use it, she just keeps her feet on the ground and shuffles -- so she's not really practicing balance IMO, but maybe I'm wrong.

Is there anything we could do to help her w/this?

FWIW - DD can't pedal on a regular sized bike... I don't know why, it's peculiar. She'll do the same thing and just keep her legs on the ground and use her feet to keep the bike moving.

Have I doomed my child?!

I think they all start out that way. I hear showing them YouTube videos can be helpful in getting the idea. I'm panning to try that with my three year old who is just started getting interested in her balance bike.

Catherine

How old is she? It took our girls a LONG time to get to where they were comfortable with lifting up their feet. It wasn't a matter of not knowing what to do...it was a confidence and comfort level thing. And if she is shuffling at a decent pace with her weight on the seat, she is likely learning balance - it takes practice to keep the bike vertical. When my girls first started, they were falling over all the time because they didn't know how to keep the bike upright while moving on it.

Have you tried showing youtube videos of kids on balance bikes?

How old is she? It took DS a few months to figure it out at age 2.5. I'd say before 3.5, many kids can't figure it out immediately. But once she figured it out, you better watch out!

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Originally Posted by twowhat?

Have you tried showing youtube videos of kids on balance bikes?

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yup, did this! I was hoping that would be the trigger. :)

She's 3.5 now.

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Originally Posted by PMJ

yup, did this! I was hoping that would be the trigger. :)

She's 3.5 now.

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She may just need more time. We got our balance bikes at 3yo. Our girls didn't start lifting up their feet until well after their 4th birthday - they are extremely cautious children though, so if your DD is anything like that, I wouldn't be surprised if it took her much longer to gain the confidence to lift up her feet.

DS is 4.5 and has had his BB for a little over a year. He was doing just as you described and nothing more. I finally gave up this week and bought him a regular bike with training wheels and he took right off. The balance bike just wasn't for him unfortunately. I'm hoping maybe once he gets used to a peddle bike he'll want to try the BB again. Now DS2 is only 1, but judging by his personali I think he's going to be a terror on the Bb as soon as he's old enough.

I'd give it a bit longer. DS (who has always been very adventurous, coordinates, and advanced in terms of gross motor skills) figured it out at 2.5. But he broke his arm right before he turned 3 (on his balance bike...he wasn't really even moving, just fell strange) and he wasn't able to ride the balance bike much. And he was apprehensive about it the rest of the summer. It took him a good month to re-figure it out this spring (at 3.5). I think it can take a while if the child is cautious.

We got DS2 the Balance bike at 18 months. He shuffled along for A LONG TIME, gradually getting faster and more confident. I have had to carry it home more times than I care to count. HOWEVER...he was on a two-wheeler WITH NO training wheels at 3 years, 4 months. The biggest worry I had was that he refused to use the brakes and kept putting his feet down to stop! He got over that pretty quickly though. People stare at him every time we go for a ride!

This is how my daughter started out and as she got better and better at balancing she lifted her feet, then lifted both feet together, and now will place her feet on the foot rests. Each step took a few weeks to master and she rides her bike for what must total an hour per day over four separate rides. She doesn't tend to walk - she rides everywhere. She just turned 3 but had the balance bike for a year and was riding it outside the house from about 2.5.

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Originally Posted by twowhat?

It wasn't a matter of not knowing what to do...it was a confidence and comfort level thing. And if she is shuffling at a decent pace with her weight on the seat, she is likely learning balance - it takes practice to keep the bike vertical.

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:yeahthat:

Yes, exactly. We actually got DS his balance bike (the cheap $30 Chicco one from Costco) a while back, for his 2nd birthday. He was mostly too young for it then (even though he's fairly tall he wasn't tall enough to really ride it even at the lowest setting. He didn't start riding it around the house until he was about 2.5-3. Even then, he did just as you describe..just shuffling his feet around, never lifting both feet..i think it takes some level of balance just to walk around on it and not fall over.

Well, it's funny you posted this thread today, as today was literally the first day DS dared to lift both feet while riding his bike! He did it inside the house first, then begged to go outside to ride it. So we went outside, but at first he was still pretty cautious and would not do it the whole 10 minute walk/ride to the park. But then as we were leaving to go home he got some confidence and tried it..and he lifted his feet HIGH, it was nuts! So the balance must have been building there somehow all this time!! Definitely do not lose hope at all.

Don't know if this will work but i've put a URL link here of DS riding his bike and lifting his feet today. DS will be 3.5 in July.

http://flic.kr/p/ev6Bco

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Originally Posted by PMJ

We have a BB - DD has not been using it a whole lot, but say for 6 weeks on/off. I guess we are at fault here b/c we are not regular about it. BUT, when she does use it, she just keeps her feet on the ground and shuffles -- so she's not really practicing balance IMO, but maybe I'm wrong.

Is there anything we could do to help her w/this?

FWIW - DD can't pedal on a regular sized bike... I don't know why, it's peculiar. She'll do the same thing and just keep her legs on the ground and use her feet to keep the bike moving.

Have I doomed my child?!

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I think 6 weeks is too short to say "working" or "not working". For DS I thought it took a while before he would glide for a distance. We were not very consistent either as both of us were WOHP and we have seasonal allergies, so we don't like being outside very much.

You said that she cannot pedal a regular sized bike. Do you a bike with training wheels or a tricycle? If she cannot pedal a trike, then I would say that she is not comfortable having her feet off the ground. It is more "uncomfortable" with a balance bike as the bike will wobble more than a trike.

Show her the youtube videos of children on balance bikes, or Ms. Pacman's son's video and give her time.

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Originally Posted by twowhat?

She may just need more time. We got our balance bikes at 3yo. Our girls didn't start lifting up their feet until well after their 4th birthday - they are extremely cautious children though, so if your DD is anything like that, I wouldn't be surprised if it took her much longer to gain the confidence to lift up her feet.

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Must be a GIRL thing! :) thanks!

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Originally Posted by stefani

You said that she cannot pedal a regular sized bike. Do you a bike with training wheels or a tricycle? If she cannot pedal a trike, then I would say that she is not comfortable having her feet off the ground. It is more "uncomfortable" with a balance bike as the bike will wobble more than a trike.

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I think you are right. I might try to find a cheap trike on craigs or something and get her to practice with "pedals"...

You need to give it a lot more time. DS started the balance bike at 2.5 years. He used to shuffle for a long time, finally started lifting his feet at 3 years. By 3.5 he was zooming around with his feet up, turning and everything smoothly/fast. Now, at 4.5 he can ride his real bike without training wheels. He was probably ready to ride his real bike without training wheels at 4 but not sure why DH waited so long to take them (probably laziness, didn't want to have to put them back on). Once they get the hang of it, watch out!!! Those things can go fast!