Scooter or bike for 4th bday?

[acmom]

My DD turns 4 at the end of the summer and I am thinking we may want to get her either a scooter or a bike. I want to start looking for sales, but not sure which would be a better gift for this age.

She has the Schwinn roadster trike and a plasma car, both of which she likes a lot, but she rides them only in the driveway and on our paths in the yard. We also have the Radio Flyer My 1st scooter, but that gets very little play anymore bc it is so slow and hard to steer. She did great on a rental 2 wheeler with training wheels on vacation (rode with us on bike paths some) and has expressed interest in both bikes and scooters. Ideally, I would like something that she can ride on the neighborhood roads (not just the driveway) or a bike path with us when we take a family walk with the dog and stroller for DS. I would also love it if it lasted a few years!

[smiles33]

I can't really strongly recommend one over the other, as they have different advantages/disadvantages. My 6 year old DD1 seems to prefer her bike when we go on weekly trips to the local park 4 blocks away. Yet she likes to play with the scooter on our driveway.

She does sometimes have trouble with turning the scooter. The turning radius is so severe that she sometimes over-turns and falls, which doesn't happen on a bike. You can turn the handlebars so they're nearly flush with the base, whereas on a bike it's usually 90 degrees or so. Yet the scooter is lower to the ground so it's much easier to step off of (and less of a fall when she does fall).

Personally, I prefer the bike because she can go faster and there's less equipment to put on (just a helmet versus elbow, knee, and wrist pads).

[crl]

What about a balance bike that converts to a regular bike?

Catherine

[acmom]

What about a balance bike that converts to a regular bike?

Catherine

I didn't know that balance bikes could convert and thought I may have missed the best age window for a balance bike. Do try all convert to a regular one or
just some brands? Any recommendations?

[Kindra178]

When ds1 turned 5 we took off the pedals of a Specialized Hotrock 16. A month or two later, we put them back on. That may work for you, espec because the there is a nice seat height adjustment on that bike. There is a chance though that the seat height on a 16 inch would be too high, especially to feel comfortable.

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