TEACHING YOUR CHILD HOW TO RIDE A BICYCLE / EASY AS 2-2-2!

Blood, tears and sweat

In his first speech to the House of Commons back in 1940, 

Winston Churchill probably hadn't planned for these three words to so well describe 

one of the major milestones in today's parenthood.

Teaching your child how to ride their first bicycle can become quite an experience, 

for both the child and the parent.

We want to be patient and supportive, yet we want to push them to persevere and succeed. 

We want them to be strong, yet we're scared that they'll get hurt

Today I'm sharing with you a simple technique borrowed from my friend Hélène

It worked so well that all the kids on her street learned how to ride a bicycle in a day!

So here are the steps, which I've renamed as the 2-2-2 technique, referring to the number of wheels required in each phase

Phase 1: Balance is key / 2 wheels

- Get your child's balance bike, or if you don't have one, remove the pedals from your child's bicycle;

- Adjust the saddle height so your child's feet lay flat on the floor when standing up;

- Find a path with a slight slope (We used our driveway);

- Guide your child to run down the slope while balancing the bike and keeping his chin up;

- As your child gets more comfortable keeping his bike straight, encourage him to use less and less his legs so that he rides down the whole path with his legs up;

- Practice, practice, practice!

- Once he has full control of his balance, he's ready for the next Phase, learning how to pedal.

Phase 2: Pedal Pusher / 2 wheels

- Install the pedals on your child's bicycle;

- On a flat surface, get him to practice the concept of pedaling, pushing one leg after the other;

- Once he knows how to pedal, he's ready for the final phase. Bravo!

Phase 3: La Totale / 2 wheels

- Guide your child to go down the hill on his bicycle and to pedal at the same time;

- Be there to encourage your child and get your camera ready (and tissues in my case, damn you hormones) before he rides off to the nearest ice cream shop!

If it were up to me, Pride should have been the last word in Winston Churchill's quote. 
Good job Parent, have fun out there and don't forget your helmet!

xo

Kim-Anh.

Photo credits: Words of Wismom