5 Tips to Teach Risk Adverse Kids to Bike

Look, I thought I was going to be that parent that casually bragged, “and just like that, he took off on his own the first time we tried teaching him!” But I have a super risk adverse and cautious kid, and our journey has been a big longer.

I guess I’ll start by admitting my mistakes. I did that exact thing I know not to do. After not being able to find any used high quality kids bikes in our area, I went to target and got the cheapest and smallest bike in stock. It was still too big for Huck, and weighed nearly as much as my full suspension mountain bike. Huck was so excited to see a new bike, but quickly came to resent it. It was too big for him, was heavy and clunky, and crushed his spirits every time he tried to ride.

I fought it for about a year. Our neighbor just up and took off on a heavy, bulky bike, after all! But it just wasn’t working for Huck. After seeing how much he was starting to hate the idea of biking, I decided it was time to invest in a high quality kids bike that Huck could use for 2-3 years before we pass it down to Tatum. I spent a few months comparing kid’s bikes, and landed on Woom. I kept reading blog post after blog post from parents like me, and they all swore by Woom. I had never heard of this Austrian bike company, but after doing some research I learned that they focus on building lightweight bikes with child specific geometry. That’s another post for another day. This is about Huck.

Huck was super hesitant our first day out. He had nothing but bad experiences on pedal bikes- and this one didn’t have training wheels! But after 3 short sessions, he was up and riding on his own! And feeling confident! This is a HUGE DIFFERENCE from our year of struggling. Before heading out for our first session, I watched a few videos and read a few blogs. Here is what worked!

1. Master Balance Bikes

Several people suggest taking the pedals off of your kiddos bike to let them get used to the balance aspect of biking. Huck had mastered balance bikes, so I was less concerned about spending much time on this. Instead I took a tip from Casey Albert who teaches kids how to ride bikes. She suggested having Huck thrust his bike forward with his feet as far as he could go, and gliding on his bike (similar to a balance bike) with his feet on his pedals. This massively helped. Casey cautions against training wheels, and swears by balance bikes.

2. Hands Off the Handlebars

I was tempted to hold one of Huck’s handlebars with my hands to get him going, but this video cautioned against it. I was surprised to see that this instructor also suggests not even holding onto the bike seat. This was super helpful for us. I actually used a lot of tips from this video. Worth a watch!

3. Finding the Path of Least Resistance

The first afternoon out, I noticed Huck was struggling to pedal. Our neighbor across the street was watching, and pointed out that we were on a slight incline. After we switched direction to going slightly downhill, Huck totally got the motion of pedaling. Even though the street appears to be flat, I still notice that Huck has a much easier time going the way that is slightly downhill than slightly uphill.

4. Keep it Light and Fun

Instead of hunkering down for an intensive session, I decided to follow Huck’s lead (much like when we ski). He can get frustrated with himself if he doesn’t pick something up right away. I notice that he closes off to learning when he is frustrated. We had a few mini sessions, where we played with his bike in the street for 15 mins or so, and ended on a high. This is necessary for Huck. I’ve seen him really spiral into feeling bad about himself when I’ve “encouraged” him too far out of his comfort level.

5. Step Back

This is the hardest part for me. When I can tell that Huck is anxious, I don’t want to let him fall and feel worse about himself. But Casey suggests trying NOT to help your child, and only stepping in if they need a confidence boost. This might have been the biggest part of what was holding us back earlier. I can be hard for a parent to give your kid room to fly or fall. On our third session out, I was running right along side the bike, pretending to be ready to catch him. He was wobbling back and forth a bit. After I stopped running next to his bike, and cheered from a ways behind, he totally straightened up and took off!

This bike was gifted to our family by Woom. We genuinely love this bike, and wanted to tell you why it was such a game changer for our son This is not a “sponsored” post, and all thoughts and views are mine.