MoPleasure
Answer
You always get them when you're a kid, just as a matter of course. Your parents had them when they were kids, and so you must. You grow to be very comfortable with them. Then one day, someone says, you don't need those, you'll be just fine without them. All you have to do is try. Then there is inevitably screaming and crying, carrying on about how you know you can't get by without them, that you will fall. So you go on, pedaling merrily along with that comfortable safety blanket, until one day, either voluntarily out of curiosity, or by force, they are gone. And you try to ride. One of two things will happen: You will fall, just like you said you would, so you put the wheels back on, and there they will stay, and you spend your life wobbling safely back and forth on the driveway, never knowing or caring what else might be down the road and around the corner. Or...you ride without the wheels, and it's ok. It's hard at first, you might doubt a little of yourself, but pretty soon, you figure out that the wheels were just there as a guide, and you don't really need them. You come to trust in yourself, and in the laws of nature to keep you upright, and pretty soon you're going all over town, and you meet people you never would have known otherwise, see things you never knew existed, and up that high mountain trail, you get that epic view of the world that takes your breath away. You realize that your bicycle, unhindered by training wheels, represents freedom! And sometimes, as you're coasting happily down the road, you glance back at some poor, grown man still hopelessly dedicated to his training wheels, afraid to skin his knees. And he looks at you, with a mixture of disdain and envy, thinking how reckless you must be to go cruising down the street with nothing to hold you up but some vague scientific mumbo jumbo about gravity, inertia, momentum, yadda yadda yadda, best not to concern himself with that, when he's just fine with his trusty training wheels to keep him safe and sound. But at the same time, some small part of him thinks that it sure must be fun to fly down the road on two wheels.
You always get them when you're a kid, just as a matter of course. Your parents had them when they were kids, and so you must. You grow to be very comfortable with them. Then one day, someone says, you don't need those, you'll be just fine without them. All you have to do is try. Then there is inevitably screaming and crying, carrying on about how you know you can't get by without them, that you will fall. So you go on, pedaling merrily along with that comfortable safety blanket, until one day, either voluntarily out of curiosity, or by force, they are gone. And you try to ride. One of two things will happen: You will fall, just like you said you would, so you put the wheels back on, and there they will stay, and you spend your life wobbling safely back and forth on the driveway, never knowing or caring what else might be down the road and around the corner. Or...you ride without the wheels, and it's ok. It's hard at first, you might doubt a little of yourself, but pretty soon, you figure out that the wheels were just there as a guide, and you don't really need them. You come to trust in yourself, and in the laws of nature to keep you upright, and pretty soon you're going all over town, and you meet people you never would have known otherwise, see things you never knew existed, and up that high mountain trail, you get that epic view of the world that takes your breath away. You realize that your bicycle, unhindered by training wheels, represents freedom! And sometimes, as you're coasting happily down the road, you glance back at some poor, grown man still hopelessly dedicated to his training wheels, afraid to skin his knees. And he looks at you, with a mixture of disdain and envy, thinking how reckless you must be to go cruising down the street with nothing to hold you up but some vague scientific mumbo jumbo about gravity, inertia, momentum, yadda yadda yadda, best not to concern himself with that, when he's just fine with his trusty training wheels to keep him safe and sound. But at the same time, some small part of him thinks that it sure must be fun to fly down the road on two wheels.
At about what age should a child try to ride a bicycle without training wheels?
Laura in N
My son is 5 and doesn't really want to try to ride without them. Is that normal?
Answer
Hi, Laura! I'd say your son is totally in the normal range! It is a milestone, and I understand your worry. He'll catch on, though! We've had a couple neighbor kids ride without training wheels early--like around 3 1/2 to 4 years old--but our son was your son's age when he learned to ride a two-wheeler. Our daughter was 6. She learned during the summer before 1st grade. Even then, she didn't really want to try, but we worked with her and she finally got it. Do you have a nice, smooth street in front of your house with room for your son to practice? You could try raising the training wheels a little as he zips around out there. It's early in the season. He'll get it!
Hi, Laura! I'd say your son is totally in the normal range! It is a milestone, and I understand your worry. He'll catch on, though! We've had a couple neighbor kids ride without training wheels early--like around 3 1/2 to 4 years old--but our son was your son's age when he learned to ride a two-wheeler. Our daughter was 6. She learned during the summer before 1st grade. Even then, she didn't really want to try, but we worked with her and she finally got it. Do you have a nice, smooth street in front of your house with room for your son to practice? You could try raising the training wheels a little as he zips around out there. It's early in the season. He'll get it!
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