{"id":1387,"date":"2022-08-29T01:44:47","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T01:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/?p=1387"},"modified":"2022-10-16T13:31:33","modified_gmt":"2022-10-16T13:31:33","slug":"teach-an-older-child-to-ride-a-bike-whats-different-and-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/teach-an-older-child-to-ride-a-bike-whats-different-and-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Teach an Older Child to Ride a Bike (Differences and Tips)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Kids can learn to ride bike at any age. Personally, I was a late bloomer. As much as my older brother tried to teach me to ride a bike, I just struggled. I still have the memory of him pushing me on my bike in our backyard and me crashing into a tree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that I\u2019m a dad, I realize I\u2019ve passed my bike riding struggles down to my oldest son. And since I can\u2019t remember exactly how I eventually did learn to ride a bike, I did what everyone else does, and Googled it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most kids learn to ride a bike between 2 and 8 years old. There are many great resources to help young kids to ride a bike, but what if my child is older? Is there a difference in how you learn to ride a bike if you\u2019re older? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The basic principles of learning to ride a bike are the same regardless of age. To ride a bike you must learn to balance, steer, and pedal, in that order. The difference is, an older bike rider may need more steps than a younger one because of differences in maturity and size.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s take a look at the differences between younger and older beginner bike rides. Then we will explore each step of the process to see just how easily you can teach your older beginner to ride a bike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the process of learning to ride a bike is essentially the same regardless of age, there are some differences to consider. The two biggest differences between older and younger beginner bike riders are psychological and physical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A younger child\u2019s brain is more elastic and can learn more quickly and often independently through immersion. Many studies have shown that young children can learn up to three languages without mixing them up. It also means really young kids can learn to navigate a balance bike with minimal teaching. <\/p>\n\n\n Brain plasticity is greater at younger ages, but that does not mean your child does cannot learn to ride a bike once they’re past a certain age. All it means is that they may need to encounter a task from different angles or more gradually. (This is not even getting into potential past experiences your child may have encountered that may interfere with their desire to ride a bike. But I\u2019m not a psychologist and this is making my head hurt.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other big difference is that your child is bigger than they were at 4 (I know, I\u2019m so smart). The implications of this is that their center of gravity is going to be very different than a 3 year old learning to ride on a balance bike with a really low center of gravity. Learning to balance may take a little more effort for an older child. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To complicate matters, your child is growing and still learning how their body works. I\u2019m sure you can remember bumping into furniture all the time as a kid when you just had a growth spurt. Your child is likely still learning to make sense of the longer limbs they now have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The first thing we\u2019re going to do is turn your child\u2019s pedal bike into a temporary pedal bike. There are three things you need to do to make a temporary balance bike. The first is to ditch the training wheels (check out 10 Reasons to NOT Use Training Wheels<\/a> if you want to know why), lower the seat height, and remove the pedals. <\/p>\n\n\n\nDifference Between Younger and Older Beginner Bike Riders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Setting Up a Bike to Learn to Balance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n