As parents, there is no greater amount of joy than to see your child learn new things, such as riding a bike. However, not all kids are open to the idea of riding a bike because some are scared to do it. So, how to teach a scared child to ride a bike? Check out different tips below to help your child get into biking without being scared or anxious.
Make Your Child Feel Safe and Protected
The best way to combat fear and anxiety in riding a bike is to let the child know they are safe and protected during the learning process. But how will you do it? You need to provide the child with complete protective gear to make them feel safe and protected.
Protective helmets and elbow pads can make the kid realize that they are safe during the entire learning process. These protective gear can also help them build their confidence and reduce their fear.
Make Them Volunteer To Learn
One way to erase the fear of learning to ride a bike is to avoid forcing them. You can make them excited about the process of learning by bringing them to the bike shop when you are buying the kid with a new bike. You can even let them choose their favorite bike to give them the confidence they need.
Doing this action will erase their fear and let them volunteer to learn and ride the bike. Having their favorite bike in practice will make them strive to learn and be excited about riding the bike alone.
Make Them Realize that Biking is Fun
Another way to eliminate the fear of riding a bike is to let the child understand that learning how to do it is fun. As the trainer, you need to let them realize that learning can be difficult, but the ultimate prize of riding the bike will be a fun experience.
It is also your responsibility to instill the benefits of riding a bicycle in their minds. It is not only for the purpose of having fun but the other benefits it can give to the child. For example, the child may get excited that he will be spending much time outside the moment he learns to ride a bike.
Always Assure Them During the Learning Process
Do not force the kid if you feel that the child is too scared even to try the bike. You can do some baby steps like reassuring the child that you only want him to sit and feel what it’s like sitting on a bike. You do not even need to leave the house when doing this baby step.
Have the kid sit first with both feet on the ground. Make the child comfortable by constantly reassuring him that he is safe and everything will be alright. Once the child gets comfortable, you can encourage him to walk slowly forward with the bike. Once he gets comfortable doing that, tell him to walk faster.
As he gets more comfortable with the bike, you can start adding training wheels or other accessories that will help him begin the learning process. What is essential is that the fear and the anxiety has been eliminated with the comfort the child feels in riding the bike.
Start Training Them While They are Young
The older a person starts learning how to ride a bike, the more difficult it is to learn. Teaching the kids to bike as early as possible is the right thing to do. If you ask me what age can a child ride a bike with training wheels? It should be around 3 to 6 years old. In this age bracket, kids are very curious to learn new things, and the fear and the anxiety they have in learning will not be as serious as the other age bracket.
Always Keep an Eye on the Prize
When I started learning how to teach an older child to ride a bike, I realized that everyone, including adults, tends to be out of control at the beginning of the learning process. Anyone starting to learn biking always tends to look downward for potholes, rocks, and other imperfections on the road.
To eliminate their fear, you need to make them realize it is better for them to keep their eyes straight on where they want to go. Inform them that instead of looking up or down, it is better to focus on the things we fear to eliminate them eventually.
Always Stay Positive and Set Realistic Expectations
Always stay positive during the entire learning process. Whether you are just supporting or teaching the child yourself, provide a lot of positivity to the child. Remember, learning to ride the bike will have so many ups and downs which means whatever positive vibes you will give to the kid will help him overcome fear and anxiety.
You also need to set realistic expectations during the learning process. Riding can be fun, but inform the kid that learning will not be easy at all. There will be bumps, bruises, and other challenges that will come along the way of learning how to ride a bike. The most important thing is that the child understands it and knows what is expected from him.
Always Get Help
Teaching a scared child to ride a bike is a challenging task that you need all the help you can get. If you can enroll your child in a bike class, it is much better to do it on your own. Professional teachers have better knowledge in teaching the kid to bike while eliminating the fear and anxiety they feel.
Conclusion
Learning how to teach a scared child to ride a bike is challenging but doable. You can do many things not only to help the child overcome their fear but also to get them excited to undergo the learning process of learning how to bike. Also, do not hesitate to ask for help if you feel that it will be hard for you to do it as others can help you. The most important thing is to keep the child safe while undergoing the learning process.