A balance bike is a training bicycle that is designed to teach young children how to balance and steer. It looks like a normal bike without the pedals. The bike do not have the crank, chain or training wheels as well.
Children would have to push the ground with their feet to make it move. With a balance bike, the rider learns to balance first and pedal last.
The primary design of the balance bike focuses to allow children to develop their gross motor skills. Learning to balance and steer is much easier without pedals. The up and down movement of pedaling causes the child to shift their body weight from side to side throwing them off balance making them lose direction and riding stability. Balance bikes are more safe as it allow the child to drop their feet to the ground when they feel they are losing balance, quickly steadying themselves and preventing a fall. The transition is also faster to riding a real pedal bike.
Purpose-built balance bikes are either wooden, metal or Composite bikes/ plastic balance bikes. Ofcourse, it can be made from a normal bicycle, with pedals and some parts removed. It was hubby who introduced this to me because he wants Gab to have one.
And so, did we got one? Yes, thanks to Lolo for Gab’s blue strider. I’m still nervous at seeing Gab riding his bike but as long as he puts his safety gears on and as long as he is on a safe riding place, I’m trying to manage that fear.
Regardless of what bike you choose, getting kids on bicycle one of the best things you can do for their development. No matter what kind of bike your kids start out on – balance bike, a bike with a training wheel, is still better than sitting around watching TV, or playing gadgets.
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