Have you seen kids at the park riding around on a balance bike? Have you thought about getting one for your little one?
Before having kids, I remember seeing one kid on a balance bike. He was zooming through a parking lot and the drove smack into a wall. “Oops!” I thought to myself “those things don’t look safe!”. Fast forward five years and my parents and brother were buying my son his very own balance bike for his second birthday.
I had heard about the concept of having a balance bike. A child can walk themselves along on the bike until they eventually feel comfortable enough to lift up their feet and coast and cruise a little bit. Fundamentally, this teaches them the concept of balance before they are propelling themselves forward with pedals. I had even heard people talk about how when kids use these bikes, they can often avoid having to use training wheels when they transition to a bike with pedals.
I was skeptical about how easy this would make the transition to a full-size bike, but my oldest son, Aleksander, had SO much fun on his balance bike. And luckily, there were no wall smacks during his time on it. He loved it! Aleks even found a local place in Chandler (Chandler BMX) to race his balance bike against other toddlers on a modified BMX course. It was so much fun to watch, and it was great seeing Aleks’ develop more skill and a passion for competition from a young age.
After a year and a half of adventures on his balance bike, my family decided it was time to upgrade Aleksander to a bike with pedals. My brother who works in mountain adventure industry and has witnessed a lot of kids and he reminded us not to use the training wheels and to just trust the process. Aleksander did ask for the training wheels and said that he needed them, but we stuck our ground. I was amazed that within a week, our three-and-a-half-year-old was confidently riding his bike around the neighborhood… without training wheels.
If you are considering a balance bike for your little one, I definitely recommend them! I was amazed by how much skill they taught our oldest, and I love watching our youngest now try to keep up with his big brother on the balance bike that has since become his.
If you are looking for a fun Friday night activity for your little one, check out Chandler BMX, or any other local BMX tracks to see if they have balance bike competitions for toddlers. And if you do go out bike riding, be sure to tag us in your photos so we can see all the fun you’re having too!
