The Benefits of Teaching Your Child to Ride a Bike — And How to Do So Safely

This is a partnered post.

Fewer children are riding and buying bikes than before, making it clear that bike riding is losing its popularity among younger generations. However, there are a number of reasons why you should teach your child how to ride a bike. From the many benefits to staying safe during the learning process, here’s a few things that you should know in order to teach your children how to ride a bike properly so that they can succeed in no time at all.

Photo by Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash

The benefits

There’s no doubt that riding a bike is a great way to stay fit, but teaching your kid how to do so early on in life can be a major building block when it comes to staying healthy and active throughout life. In fact, a report done by the World Health Organization (WHO) actually found that worldwide, 80% of kids between the ages of 11 and 17 aren’t physically active enough — proving that learning to ride a bike can be a step in the right direction. Additionally, teaching your child to do so can also be a great bonding activity as well, and can become something that the entire family can enjoy together.

Making smart bike-shopping choices

When it comes to teaching your child to learn how to ride a bike, purchasing a bicycle for them is the first step, and choosing the right one can make all the difference in the learning process. With that in mind, it’s important to make smart choices in order to choose the right one, and it doesn’t have to be stressful. For example, it’s necessary to ensure that the bike is the right size for your child’s height and age. In fact, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go bike shopping together, as you can allow him or her to try out the bikes to see which one is the most comfortable. Choosing one with features such as a bell, or one that doesn’t have handlebar brakes (and brakes by backpedaling instead) can be something to consider in terms of making the bike safer and easier for your child to manage.

Staying safe

Perhaps one of the most important things about teaching your child to ride a bike is to keep them safe when doing so. With that in mind, it’s necessary that you ensure that the learning environment is as safe as possible — choosing a place that is open, without many people (such as a level field, grassy area, or empty parking lot), can be a great idea. Additionally, teaching your child about the importance of wearing a helmet beforehand can further ensure their safety and help to implement proper safety values.

Throughout the learning process, it’s imperative that you offer support and guidance — for example, holding on to the bike and your child can be a great way to get them started after taking off the training wheels. It’s also necessary that you provide an abundance of encouragement as well — especially if he or she falls down a few times at first. In doing so, you can provide your child with everything they need in order to feel safe and to keep trying until they’re riding their bike like a pro.

Teaching your child to learn how to ride a bike is no easy task, but it doesn’t have to be stressful. In fact, by making smart choices when purchasing a bike to keeping them safe throughout the learning prices, you can ensure that your child will learn and succeed in no time.