Neither of my boys have been keen on riding a bike. It’s been a source of contention with the pediatrician and I over the last couple years. I honestly think that quite frankly we have bigger fish to fry with the whole autism thing going. Sure, I’d love for my boys to ride bikes like all the other kids in the neighborhood, but reality check – my thoughts of them doing anything like all the other kids went out the window a long time ago.
I had given up on Zach riding since he’s now 10, but Aaron’s only 4. He absolutely loves to ride the old toddler bikes we have that he’s long outgrown due to his height. We have a Big Wheel that Zach really enjoyed while he fit on it, but Aaron’s not keen on the whole pedal/feet off the ground concept. Enter the Boot Scoot Balance Bike. Not only could Aaron practice on a “big boy” bike, but he could keep his feet on the ground. We could work on the whole balancing thing, and then move on to pedals.
A month later, Aaron likes the Balance Bike OK enough, but he has to be in the mood to ride. I think it’s still an assault on his senses. He has the most sensory issues of anyone in our house. What I didn’t account for was that having been told that he’s too big for the Balance Bike, Zach would grab the bike we had in the shed for him for the last 2 years and learn how to ride it in a weekend!
While we’re still working on it, I can see how the Balance Bike is chipping away at Aaron’s sensory issues, and teaching him balance – just slower than most other kids, and that’s OK. Each boy has a BCBA that comes to the house, and they have both commented on what a great product the Balance Bike is to make that transition to a bike.
About Amanda
Both my kids have Sensory Issues as well. My daughter (8) still cant ride a bike. She has never really taken much interest in it. My son (4) wont even use the pedals on his big wheel.
There both small for their ages as well which doesn’t help being able to reach pedals and ride bikes correctly.
I have seen these bikes around the internet they look pretty cool.
My oldest will be 10 next week. Before he saw his brother working towards learning to ride a bike, he had zero interest. He was happy on his scooter. My 4yo is like yours. He won’t use the pedals on the big wheel either. He HAS to have his feet down. I have a feeling we’ll be using the balance bike for awhile, but that’s ok. Even that was a step for him to take.
I am so glad to see him making progress and have thought about getting one of these for my youngest. He basically has been using a tricycle as the same thing, but he is way to big for that now. He never used the pedals on it though, he always just pushed along with his feet.
It’s fabulous that he likes it so much. It must be nice to just have another activity to keep them entertained a while!