Cycling is one of the favorite pastimes of both very tiny toddlers who have barely learned to walk, and older children. This activity helps to strengthen the muscles of the legs, improve the functioning of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, as well as strengthen the immune system. You can start teaching your child how to ride a bike as early as a year.
Instructions
Step 1
The child's first bicycle is a tricycle. With its help, you need to teach the kid two completely new actions for him: steer and pedal.
Step 2
Small tricycles are best suited for riding in an apartment or in small, closed areas that have a flat, flat surface.
Step 3
Teach your child to steer first. Explain to him that if he turns the handlebars, for example, to the right, the bicycle will go to the right, and if he turns the handlebars to the left, the bicycle will go to the left. Take the baby for a ride around the apartment, letting him steer, choosing the direction of movement on his own.
Step 4
Only after the kid has mastered the steering, start teaching him how to use the pedals. Show your child how his feet should set the pedals in motion while holding the young cyclist by the hips.
Step 5
Feel free to transfer a child who has learned to ride a tricycle to a two-wheeled one. Now your main task is to teach your baby to keep balance.
Step 6
Choose a gentle slope no more than 5 m long as a platform for skiing. Once your child is on the bike, grab his shoulders or the saddle of a two-wheeled vehicle firmly. Do not under any circumstances hold the handlebars of the bike, otherwise the baby will not be able to learn how to maintain balance on its own.
Step 7
Let the baby start pushing off the ground with his feet as if he was riding a scooter. Having approached the slope in this way, let him quickly put his feet on the pedals, while making a couple of turns.
Step 8
If the bike continues to ride smoothly without wobbling, tell your child not to stop, but to keep moving forward while pedaling. If the baby “lost balance” and the bike started to stagger from side to side, advise the rider to switch to “scooter mode” again.
Step 9
With each such descent, the number of leg revolutions will increase. As a result, the child will take his feet off the pedals only at the end of the descent, and over time he will learn to drive further, turn in the right direction and brake when necessary.
