At what point do/did you give up getting DC to use a balance bike?

[smiles33]

I bought the Skuut for DD1. She refused to use it for the longest time and then, around 4 she would reluctantly climb on and WALK it everywhere. Needless to say, she never learned to balance on it so she's on a Trek Mystic with training wheels now, even at age 6.

DD2 is 3 and won't even straddle the Skuut. So I have this nearly brand new Skuut sitting in my garage. I'm tempted to sell it and just buy a 12" bike with training wheels for DD2 (who tries to climb on the 16" bike DD1 has but it's way too big for her).

WWYD? Did you find your DC either loved the balance bike immediately or hated it, too? Did your DC ever warm up to it later?

[edurnemk]

Have you showed her the videos of other kids using them? I had DS watch the videos on the Strider website so he could get theidea of whatnit was for, how to use it and get excited about doing the same "tricks".

[abh5e8]

i found (with dd, now 5.5 and ds 3.5) that if given the option of trike or bike c training wheels, they would ALWAYS pick that over the strider(like skut). because its much easier. so i gave them only the option of the striker or kazam (i think thats what our other one is called) and they LOVE them. they will sometimes still ask for the trike or big bike (16" specialized with training wheels) and mama always says no.

so yesterday, dd is riding her 2 wheel 12" bike with no training wheels, all up and down the street. i'm sure she learned so easily and well - not yet had a big crash/fall/skinned knee - due to her time with the strider. i also encouraged her to take the "pedal bike" as we call it, and start by waking, then gliding just like she did on the strider. it was a great way to learn, and ds is not far behind.

also, dd did not really feel comfortable on the kazam/strider until she was 4 but picked it up easily and quickly.

some might say i'm mean...but i really wanted them to learn easily to ride a bike, and when you take away the easy option, they will indeed learn quickly! i also had a dbf who's daughter is almost 9 and still can't ride a bike, dbf feels largly because they spent hours and hours biking as a family and their dd rode the tag along all the time. now, since she is older/bigger, she is having a much harder time learning to balence.

one more thing...go with a SMALL 2 wheel pedal bike. its so much easier to learn to balance and catch yourself on. dd "measures" big enough for the 16" bike (at the local bike store" but she is very comfortable and learned easily on the 12" bike (that i grabbed for $5 at goodwill last summer.) i'm sure she will soon grow into her bigger bike, but for learning, the small is great.

[smiles33]

I had DD1 climb on the Skuut to show DD2, so DD1 lifted her legs and coasted down the driveway. DD1 is too big to really use it now, so there wasn't anything particularly exciting about the display but maybe I should find some YouTube videos.

It may also just be that I have timid kids. I thought the balance bikes looked so cool when I first learned about them. I can't believe they're not eager to jump on!

ETA: Cross-posted with abh5e! Hmm, that's an interesting point. I didn't have the 2 wheeled bike until DD1 turned 5 as I figured she wasn't having fun walking the Skuut the 4 blocks to the park every weekend. But you're right, she never chose the Skuut again after I got it. DD2 insists on climbing on her Kettle tricycle still, but maybe I should just sell it on Craigslist and give her the choice of Skuut or walking.

[abh5e8]

do they have trikes? the balance bike feels very different, and takes a while to become comfortable...vs trike (or bike with training wheels) that you just sit on and pedal.

[twowhat?]

It may also just be that I have timid kids. I thought the balance bikes looked so cool when I first learned about them. I can't believe they're not eager to jump on!


This is my theory for my girls. Our pretty pink Striders sit there and collect dust. They won't even ride their trikes down the sidewalk anymore because one of them tipped over going around an uneven corner. Hmph. This is when I keep repeating to myself: It is not a bad thing to have timid kids. It is not a bad thing to have timid kids. :) But it is so frustrating because if they had even a speck of daredevil in them, they would have so much more fun.

[roseyloxs]

My ds chose to ride his balance bike even though he always had the choice between that and his kettler trike or his radio flyer scooter. He is fearless though and was even on a pedal bike by the age of three. The balance bike has been handed down to dd but she has walked with it maybe 3 times. She doesn't like riding the trike or scooter either. She is much more cautious.

I refuse to buy training wheels since they don't train anyone on how to ride a bike. After ds learned how to ride a pedal bike he tried using a friend's bike with training wheels and literally could not get it to work. He couldn't lean at all, it was eye opening to how backwards training wheels really are. If dd wants to learn then she will have to use a balance bike. Right now she doesn't. I only see training wheels on base though.. no Germans use them, all toddlers are on balance bikes.

If training wheels don't bother you and dd2 wants to keep up with dd1 then go ahead and get her a 12" bike. Another option would be to sell the skutt and get a metal balance bike since they look more like standard bikes. Maybe that would be more appealing to dd2. Add some streamers to the handles, maybe a bell too, whatever floats her boat.

[wellyes]

Training wheels work for a lot of kids, they're just not "backwards compatible".

I'd give up on the balance bikes. My experience is that parents like them more than kids, usually. SOME kids love them, but most could take them or leave them, at best.

[wendibird22]

I'd try some youtube videos if you haven't yet. DD1 got hers at 3yo and wouldn't do much with it that first summer. Then the summer she was 4yo she did really well with it. However, she's very timid and so now that she's onto a larger bike we got one with training wheels because she won't try it w/out them...kind of defeats the purpose of the balance bike.

DD2 is 2.5yo and gliding down our hilled driveway like a speed racer. We showed her a few videos and that was it. She keeps trying to go faster and faster. After ~2mos on it she can now glide from the top of our driveway to the bottom and we have a pretty long driveway.

[sweet_pea]

I agree with the PPs who suggested showing some videos to your DC. We got DD a Strider a couple of months ago (she's almost 3) but before we got it, we watched several videos of kids riding balance bikes and talked about how it's different from her tricycle and what to expect ("there will be no pedals," "you'll be pushing off with your feet," "after a while you'll be able to lift up your feet while riding.") Seemed to work because DD will try to do things she saw in the videos, so she must remember them and be excited about being able to do those things herself. Good luck!

[mnosky1]

I have 4 and 9 year old (bday today) girls. My 9 year old is very timid and learned to ride at the end of last summer and she liked using her little sisters strider on the highest setting but she's tall so it was super helpful.
My 4 year old has no interest in her strider but we haven't found a great place to ride and she really prefers her mini kick scooter which she does great on.
I think a unused strider could make a comeback when the child is more ready to ride a 2 wheeler. And FYI we were not able no matter how we tried to get the pedal off my DDs regular 16" bike to convert it. So we are keeping ours for that purpose and also so my DH doesn't make fun of me for a wasted purchase (!).

[arivecchi]

Training wheels work for a lot of kids.

I'd give up on the balance bikes. My experience is that parents like them more than kids, usually. SOME kids love them, but most could take them or leave them, at best.:yeahthat:

I bought one for my boys because people talk about them so much here. Complete bust and had to sell it at a deep discount. We had a Specialized Hotwalk. We have been MUCH happier with the Specialized Hotrock with training wheels as it gets a lot of use.

[elektra]

I wouldn't force it either. I personally don't understand the anti-training wheels sentiment! So what if your kid needs/wants them? My DD loved her "big girl" bike that had training wheels and it was fun having her pedal along side us. She did end up using DS's balance bike for maybe 2 weeks before giving it a go without her training wheels on her regular bike. She had more fun and was less frustrated by being able to do the training wheels bike. And she still was able to ride without training wheels before her 5th birthday. However I would have had no problem if it took her a few more years with them on.

[roseyloxs]

Training wheels work for a lot of kids, they're just not "backwards compatible".

Training wheels work to keep the bike upright they don't work to teach a kid how to ride a bike. When you take the training wheels off is when the kid learns how to ride. My dd can wait as long as she would like to learn to ride a bike and I will not force a balance bike on her but I also will not be buying her a bike with so called training wheels. She has a trike, scooter, balance bike, stroller and a bike trailer to choose from. The girl has choices so she is definitely not deprived.

[Momit]

My DS started by walking on his balance bike, too. He did that for weeks, maybe even months, then all of a sudden he went down a very small slope on the sidewalk and lifted his feet and "got" it. But that was literally about 9 months after he got the bike for his second birthday (some of that delay was because of wintertime).

Now it's a year later and he is unstoppable. He absolutely loves his balance bike and I can't imagine not having it. So glad we didn't go the training wheels route.

[fedoragirl]

We're in the phase of walking everywhere with the balance bike too. DD got it for her 2nd birthday and is just now using it since the weather has been better.
I am not forcing the issue about walking the bike since it's important to learn that feel of something under you--IMO. She also got a trike when she was 18 months and has ridden it 4-5 times because she has the longest legs and just doesn't fit on the trike. I am secretly relieved because MIL had her pedalling along the main road with no helmet...and I was a nervous wreck.
We won't be getting any other bike for DD till she's ready for a big girl bike.

[Binkandabee]

I wouldn't force the issue if she's not happy on it. I'd worry you'd be instilling a fear instead of helping her like you want to.

I agree with other posters that a balance bike is one of those things that we as parents want our kids to like more than the kids actually like it.

[hillview]

My 4 year old wouldn't use one for a while. He recently used the balance bike for about 3 weeks and then the next week rode off himself in a bike with no training wheels. He will be 5 later this summer.

[kochh2]

my son was a balance bike user, and learned to ride a two wheeler without TW at about 4.5. DD, ont he other hand, is more cautious, smaller, and generally less likely to try new things- so she has refused. Of course, I was not going to be stubborn back, as i wanted he to be able to ride and get stronger, etc... but we will go back to it and work on balancing on it eventually-- i will pull up the videos, too.. that might motivate her to try it again someday!!

[twowhat?]

OK, so I took PPs suggestions to have the girls watch videos and I just have to bump this for an update...

I'd really given up on the balance bikes but after watching some youtube clips (there are some really good Japanese ones, LOL) the girls were inspired to try!!! And in just TWO short evening sessions, they actually figured out the concept!!!!:cheerleader1: It helped to ride on a slight downhill sidewalk to help gain a little speed but they are now lifting their feet off the ground for half a second at a time - enough to coast a couple of feet and sometimes a few feet - and I am seriously so impressed because our girls are SERIOUS klutzes, slow to pick up on gross motor skills, etc.

Anyway I just had to share - I am so excited about this, and more importantly - THEY are SO EXCITED about this newfound ability!!! The look on DD1's face when she first lifted her feet and coasted for a fraction of a second was PRICELESS. It was the biggest grin I've ever seen. My faith has been restored!!! Even DH was beaming over it!

Dunno if it matters, but we have Striders. I do think the light weight is a huge help - the girls can easily handle and even lift the bikes themselves and when they get too tired trekking back up the hill, I'm happy to carry it since it's so light:)

[pastrygirl]

Great update! I'll have to try videos, because balance bikes get no love here.