3.5 year old on hills...what to buy?

[maylips]

We live in in the mountains, so it's hilly around here to say the least. But we're moving to a house with a long paved driveway so we want to get something for DD to be able to ride on outside (our paved drive was too short to ride on at our old house and we lived on a gravel road).

What should we plan to get her? A balance bike? Bike with training wheels? A scooter? Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks!

[brittone2]

So the driveway won't be super hilly? Gradual hill? Flat?

We had a longish gravel driveway at our last house with a very gradual downhill and my kids rode the balance bike down that once they got the hang of it. They also rode in our cul de sac (paved) a lot. eta: they also used scooters in the cul de sac. If your driveway is pretty flat that is another good option.

[maylips]

The bottom on the driveway is flat (going into the garage and space for probably 2-3 cars). But the long driveway goes up a pretty steep hill and the paved road in the neighborhood goes up and down. I'm not sure I'd want to rollerblade it if that tells you anything!

She has said she wants a bike so I do want to get her something that moves. Just not sure what would get the most use in that type of terrain.

[justlearning]

We also live on a steep hill but we're in a neighborhood with sidewalks. So my boys have to stay on the sidewalk to get down to the park (i.e., they're not riding in a wide area like your driveway would be).

DS1 never rode down our street with his bike with training wheels when he was 3 1/2 years old--it was way too fast for him, and he didn't feel in control at all. He probably only started being comfortable enough to ride his bike down the hill on the sidewalk when he was 5 1/2 or 6.

With DS2, we bought a Strider running bike when he was 2 1/2 and he was able to ride down our street with it at that age without any problems (I ran next to him to make sure he was safe). With the running bike, you can control your speed much more.

We haven't owned a Scooter so I can't comment on that, but I'd think it'd be much more dangerous than a running bike if your hill is as steep as ours. Sometimes neighborhood teenagers ride down our street on skateboards, but they go VERY fast and usually end up taking a tumble.