Teaching your child how to ride a bike is an investment in their physical and emotional well-being. It’s an experience that can promote a healthy and active lifestyle, encourage independence and confidence, and develop essential motor skills. With this in mind, we’ve put together a few super useful tips to help your kid get ready for the joys of riding a bike for the first time.
Riding a bike is an important skill for any child to have. It can teach your little one how to become more independent, give them a sense of freedom- and of course help them let off some steam through exercise
Getting started
What you'll need
A bike without stabilisers
Stabilisers can be helpful when you’re trying to familiarise your child with pedalling, but the most important part of riding a bike is getting a feel for the balance of the bike itself.
A pedal spanner
You’ll need this to remove the pedals and reattach them as you move through the various stages of teaching.
A helmet for your child
It’s important that you kit them out with the right helmet for their safety. Check out our Before You Ride page for information to help you choose the correct helmet.
Top tips for starting out
Teaching a child how to ride a bike can be an exciting but daunting task. To make the process smoother, we’ve put together our top tips for starting out…
- Show them how to use their brakes.
- Get your child to move forward, pushing themselves along by scooting & taking their feet off the ground (gliding).
- Get them to practice using the brakes.
- Once your child has mastered gliding put the pedals back on the bike (or move to a bike with pedals). Set your child off and lightly hold their clothes on the shoulders, then release them allowing them to ride a short distance before shouting stop. They can then practise using their brakes.
- Repeat over short distances a few times until your child gets the hang of it.
- Remind your child to keep their head up and keep looking forward.
- It’s tempting to focus on getting the pedalling right from the start, however, the biggest challenge when learning to ride a bike is the balance.
Learn to Ride with British Cycling - Video
Looking for additional support?
Look no further than the cycle training options available in the Wakefield District. With supportive environments and expert instructors, these programs offer a comprehensive range of training options to help your child learn how to ride correctly and safely. Whether your child is just starting out or looking to develop their cycling skills further, our programs provide a fun and engaging way to help them achieve their cycling goals.