Learn to Ride a Bike

What's on your summer bucket list? For many kids, it's learning to ride a bike. This is one play-based skill that most parents struggle with teaching their child. In this post, Creative Beginnings will help grown ups understand the complexity of bike riding and how to teach balance bike riding. In addition to learning on the right size bike, core strength to visual processing to motor planning influence balancing, steering and gliding on the bicycle.

5 OT TIPS for Balance Bike Riding for Kids

Tip 1: When teaching balance on a bike for the first time, try finding a flat lawn. The grass offers more resistance, which is greater feedback for the foot than the smoother surface of a parking lot. 

Tip 2: Consider the pathway you offer the child. A traditional sidewalk or grass path may be too narrow for beginners and cause unnecessary strain on the visual processing system.

Tip 3: Use a balance bike which has no pedals and allows the child to focus on maintaining balance and steering. To increase comfort of the bike moving, demonstrate how to push off with the feet to glide, using their legs to maintain balance.

Tip 4: Consider coordination play off of the bike. Use a balance board, practice yoga, jumping jacks or wall ball.

Tip 5: Children struggling with balance in the everyday environment may not be a candidate yet for bike riding. Retained primitive reflexes may be an underlying cause of their balance and discoordination. Contact OTKellyB at creativebeginnings.net if you’re interested in having your child assessed by an occupational therapist 

Grab your child’s helmet and balance bike to give it a try! We’d love to hear from you if these tips were helpful.