Children and Young Peoples Occupational Therapy - Bike Group

Learning to ride a bike can be a frustrating business. Children who lack confidence in movement, or who have poor balance are often afraid to attempt this activity. Some children may manage with stabilisers on but are often afraid to have the stabilisers removed yet want to keep up with their peer group.

The following ideas may prove helpful for such children.

Before attempting the bike consider the following. 

• what is their balance like?
  can they do other balance activities i.e. use a scooter, walk on a balance beam or negotiate steppingstones?
• how does the child feel about movement? 
  do they like roundabouts, swings, and seesaws?

It can be beneficial to do some balance activities before getting on the bike, for example, practicing steppingstones, throwing and catching a ball while sitting on a large ball or going on a swing.

Getting started on the bike:

Stage 1

• take the stabilisers off the bike
• encourage your child to practice putting on his/her own helmet, as it can be difficult to fasten the strap, so start with one side longer to avoid catching any skin. This is a good activity to get them to practice at home in front of a mirror
• before sitting on the bike it is a good idea if your child is confident walking beside the bike while holding on to the handlebars. Practice walking in straight lines and also turning the bike. Start the 1^st couple of sessions with this activity, as it will helps them get a feel for the bike
• make sure that your child’s feet are flat on the ground when seated on the bike. This increases feelings of security for children with poor balance
• starting on the flat encourage your child to walk their feet along the ground looking ahead. Make sure they are sitting on the bike seat not standing
• when they master straight lines move on to turning the bike while seated still using their feet on the ground to walk

Stage 2

• once your child masters stage 1 try to find a slight slope to work on. Have the child walk on the bike down the slope. Teach them to use their feet as brakes i.e. by putting both feet flat on the ground if they feel they are speeding up too much
• when you feel your child is confident on the bike encourage him/her to put 1 foot on a pedal and use the other foot to push off the ground. This allows them to get the feel of the pedals. Make sure they continue to look ahead and not at their feet. They need to increase their confidence in putting their feet on/off the pedals without looking so it becomes a natural movement
• this eventually will lead to your child putting their other foot on the pedal, and hopefully start pedalling. By this stage they are keen to do it themselves and you can encourage them by holding onto the back of the seat and run along beside them while they practice pedalling. It’s a good idea to find a flat grass area just in case!
• this stage requires lots of praise and encouragement to boost their confidence
• the last stages are just practising cornering and remember to encourage them to use their brakes. This will save the soles on their shoes!

It can be a long and slightly boring process just walking the bike round but they really gain their confidence and their balance improves. After several weeks of persistence it should just click into place and children just takes off and can ride their bike!

GOOD LUCK!

Kim Carruthers                                         Katie Crooks

Paediatric Occupational Therapist               Paediatric Therapy T.I

Macintyre C (2001) Dyspraxia 5-11 A Practical Guide  David Fulton Publisher Ltd, London

Useful Video tutorials.

http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/teach-child-to-ride-a-bike.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6SNCvIN4EI