Balance Bikes: The Best Way to Teach Your Child to Ride A Bike

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We are now done teaching child #3 how to (successfully) ride his bike… at the ripe age of 4. In fact he just turned 4 almost exactly 1 month ago. We had #2 riding her bike at the age of about 4.5. And our first was riding at the age of 3!!!

No, we don’t spend an extraordinary amount of time riding. No we don’t go out every day. And no it doesn’t take longer than about 30 minutes to get it down.

The secret? Balance Bikes!!!!

There are different brands you can use. Strider bikes (which is what we have), Shwinn, Banana and more. But, I don’t really think it matters as long as it is big enough for them to grow into and use up until you get a bike to ride with pedals.

I don’t recommend training wheels as I think they act as the “pull ups” of bike riding. The safety net really takes away from a quick process and allowing the transition to happen seamlessly without messing up their mobility.

Balance bikes help them learn the hardest part of riding a bike, the balancing without them even realizing it. By the time you throw in the pedals they are able to simply take off!

We start with a balance bike super young. At around 2.5 years old (although I know people who start their kids at about the same age as when they start walking). And they are TERRIBLE! Almost without a doubt they can barely move on that thing. And no, they aren’t riding or balancing. But we use it on walks or to play for a couple of minutes most days. As they get better, I let them take it to the mailbox. Then we start riding down the drive-way or taking it the park, or skate ramp. They learn to hold it steady and go fast all while maintaining their balance. And you would be surprised to see how quickly kids learn to move on those things.

Once we introduce the pedals it is a simple process. They already don’t fear the speed, they know how to turn and balance; so the process of doing everything at the same time comes fast and naturally.

My best advice to teaching your child how to ride a bike is invest in a balance bike! Pay attention to the size/age as that will be the most important factor in choosing a bike right for your child.

My top recommendations:

Strider is kind of the big name in balance bikes. They have a nice style and are easy for kids to manage because of how they are set up.

This bike has a similar look without the well known name, but should get the job done just as well!

If you have a child like mine (who loves Unicorns and all things related) this one might get them excited about the prospect of riding.

If your child is much older and still struggling, this is a larger one to give them the same feel of the bike just without pedals. Just because you didn’t start them young does not mean it will be a challenge to teach them!!!

GOOD LUCK!