Besides the Kettler, what is a good trike for a 3 year old?

[kelly ann]

We already have a Kettler, but DS is still having trouble learning how to pedal. My mom would like to buy another trike for him, but I want to make sure whatever she buys will be easier for DS to pedal. He is on the petite side...maybe that is why he trouble on the Kettler.

Any recommendations? I like more of the traditional look. We had settled on a Radio Flyer trike, but then it looks like they get so-so reviews on the TRU website.

[brittone2]

How well can he reach the pedals? When I was working (worked in a preschool and early intervention system as a pediatric physical therapist before DS was born) when we had smaller kids, we used little blocks that hooked onto the pedals. They were plywood, layered if necessary, and they were foot shaped. They velcroed onto the pedals. Our "handyman" /maintenance man would make them for us.

In any case, we had about 3-4 trikes in the preschool and had to accomodate kids of different sizes. The wood blocks allowed the smaller ones to pedal a bit better. I don't know if they are commercially available but you might be able to rig something similar up?

I've heard the Kiddio (made by kettler) is a little lighter to pedal. I'm not sure how true this is but there is a Kiddio 1 available pretty inexpensively, and the Kiddio 4 is available at amazon for about $110 shipped. Still pricey but that includes a pushbar. The Kiddio 1 is much less expensive but no pushbar.

I wish I had better advice but I thought I'd suggest the pedal thingies in case it might help. Many kids don't pedal until 3ish so he may not be ready yet...

I think some TRU stores have the RF in stock. They don't get great reviews but you could have DS test drive one. If he pedals well on it....who cares what the reviews say :) If not, no loss.

[sdbc]

I second the idea of going to TRU and test -driving a few to see which fit him. You already have the kettler for later, so this one doesn't have to be ultra-long-lasting.

[hjdong]

I would recommend not the radio flyer. My DS was also 3 and having trouble with a trike (the radio flyer). his problem was less pedaling (although he's not the fastest pedaler on the block) but tipping over whenever he would get to a driveway, so there would be a slight hill.

We switch to a bike with training wheels; he does much better. I understand some parents aren't comfortable with that.

There was a really cool looking (reto style), solid looking trike the last time I was at Costco. You might want to check there too.

Good luck.