There a couple of parts of parenthood that I was not looking forward to. No not poopy diapers, late nights, the first "I hate you Mommy", homework, or even trips to the grocery store.
Nope.
The parts I was terrified of...well they are the parts that would most likely prove I have absolutely NO clue what I am doing. They would prove I have just been flying by the seat of my pants.
Three of those things I can think of right off the bat are-
potty-training
pulling a loose tooth
and...
teaching a child to ride a bike
Potty training has come and gone twice...they aren't permanently damaged and now I feel better...just slightly...about the process.
I have had to pull three loose teeth...still hate it and cringe inside every time, but I get 'er done.
Teaching a child to ride a bike...that one was turning out to be an utter failure and a completely frustrating experience. We just couldn't seem to get the concepts taught. We tried pushing him down a hill (not a really hard push...). We tried holding on to the back of his seat and letting go (horrible experience...does this really work?). We tried encouraging..."you are a smart kid, you can do it". We tried tough love "get up of the driveway, shake it off". I am ashamed to admit we even used the "you don't want to be the only kid who can't ride their bike" ...insert head hanging in shame now...
Nothing worked. Especially with my child who has a little anxiety (sorry son, you get that from me).
Nothing worked until we got some advice from my SIL's parents (they live here). Their advice was something I had never heard of. It was worth a try...
Well guess who is riding a bike now?!?!
I tell you what...just after finally getting in this house this is the next most exciting thing in our lives right now. After almost a year of trying off and on to help Oldest ride his bike, he is now a full-fledged bike riding machine.
AND Middle is just behind him.
Now we have two little bike riders in our household.
SO now that I have shared my woes and joys, I want to share with you our new teaching a child to ride a bike method.
The big secret...take the pedals OFF the bike. Yup. Take those suckers off. Take them off and lower the seat down as low as it will go.
Then you let your learner first just scoot around on his bike. Seriously, just let them scoot and glide.
'Cause you know what? The hardest part of learning and teaching to ride a bike is balance. This method totally accomplishes that.
For day or two let your little one roll around on their bike. We started our boys on a slight hill (our driveway) and let them glide down it. Once they started getting the hang of it, we challenged them to see how far they could glide with out their feet touching.
Once they could do that comfortably (for Oldest a long afternoon for Middle it took a couple of days), put the pedals back on.
NO joke, in the very first try with the pedals Oldest was off and pedaling.
AH-mazing.
It took a little longer with Middle, BUT it still worked.
Now we have two very happy bike riders. Now we have another way to encourage them to be active. Now they have another way to play with the neighborhood kids.
Now they have a relieved and ecstatic mom and dad.
Now we just need to work on stopping, a little...just a little.
That's nothing though.
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