Learning to Ride a Bike

I learned to ride a bicycle first with a tricycle, then a bike with training wheels, and finally graduating when we took the training wheels off. There was a great innovation between then and when we taught our kids to ride. Balance bikes. In this path kids learn to scoot along and steer on a balance bike and then graduate to a pedal bike, skipping the training wheels entirely.

The skills needed to make use of a bike are steering, breaking, balancing, and pedaling. It turns out the balancing and steering are a better place to start than the pedaling.

Here's video of a 2yr old developing the balancing and turning skills with a balance bike. youtube

Here's a video of a 4yr old who had learned to use a balance bike and how easy the transition to pedals can be. (Also highlights learning how to stop.) youtube