8 Top Tips for getting your Child pedalling like a Ninja

by Angela Reed-Fox

And breathe!

Teaching your child to pedal can be a challenge - but there are certain ways to make it easier. Here are our eight tips for making it stress and tantrum free (and that's just the parents!)

Ninja tip No 1: Stay relaxed

OK, it's easier said than done, and maybe it's not the best tip to be kicking off with - but it's where you need to start if you're going to be successful. Kids are finely tuned performance machines, and will smell your fear, as you probably already know. Chill. And read on.

Ninja tip No 2: Make it fun

It's never fun to stay too long at the party. Stop while it's still fun. Even if your child is super-close to pedalling, be restrained and change to a different activity before they tired, bored, frustrated, or worse! Allow them to be excited about carrying on tomorrow.

Ninja tip No. 3: Allow your child to get used to the bike

Knowing how the bike feels will give your child confidence. This means getting used to how the wheels feel, and what the movement feels like. Starting your child on a slope gives a false impression of speed which can be frightening for a budding cyclist, likewise, trying on grass (even though it seems like the right thing to do!) makes it harder to pedal and therefore wobblier for the child. The key is, if pedal-training is done properly, your child is highly unlikely to fall off, so a soft landing is unnecessary and will only hinder your child's confidence.

Ninja tip No. 4: Allow your child to control the bike

Again, at this stage in your child's cycling career, we're providing a safe environment for your little tiddler to take safe risks. Don't be tempted to hold the handlebars or the seat when your child is learning to pedal. Learning to control the bike is vital, and it's best done in the first stages before they start picking up speed! Just hold your little nipper at the top of the back, just between the shoulder blades - he/she can then feel confident you're there while getting used to the bike's movement.

Ninja tip No. 5: Make sure the bike is suitable

Heavy bikes are harder to pedal and to steer. It's not unusual for a child's bike to weigh more than half of the child's weight! That's like an adult trying to learn on a 30-40kg bike - and that would clearly be ridiculous, added to the fact that children's muscles are still developing. Make the process as easy as possible and ensure the bike is child-specific and lightweight. A light bike that provides a more ergonomic riding position is invaluable.

Ninja tip No. 6: Ditch stabilisers and pedals

Balance bikes are made for smaller children - if you can get a suitable one, great. If not, just remove stabilisers (obviously!) from their existing bike, as well as the entire bottom bracket - pedals, crank arms, everything. Drop the saddle so that while astride the bike, your child's feet are flat on the floor with a slight bend to the knee. You can't start with balance bikes too early; they help to improve all the core stability, muscle strength and tone  and balance required for safe pedalling.

Ninja tip No. 7: Allow your little tyke to make friends with the bike

Encourage your little'un to keep his/her bottom on the saddle and just paddle around getting used to the motion of the bike. Some children need more time at this stage than others. This is fine and normal. The important thing is for the child not to feel rushed.

Ninja tip No. 8: Encourage gliding

When your little nipper is more confident dashing about using one leg then the other to cover more ground, encourage him/her to lift both feet and glide for short distances. As he/she builds confidence, successful gliding round a corner demonstrates readiness for pedalling. Don't introduce pedals until this point.

And there we are - those are our eight tips for getting your tiddler pedalling like a ninja. At Fox Cycling, we developed the Cyclekids programme and have taughts hundreds of children to pedal. Click below to see what people think of us:

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