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For those of us who learned to ride a bike, it probably involved an adult running beside us as we took our first, wobbly ride down the sidewalk. But learning to ride a bike today looks a liiiiittle bit different than when we were kids.
Yup, we’re talking about balance bikes. Balance bikes aren’t just all the rage on social media, their design is actually rooted in new motor development insights. They build upon and teach skills in a way that aligns with a child’s natural development. We’re here to share what benefits balance bikes offer PLUS we’ve partnered with woom, one of our favorite balance bike brands to score an exclusive offer.
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BUT FIRST...
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What is a balance bike?
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Basically, a balance bike is a smaller, lighter bike without pedals. They are designed to teach children as young as 18 months how to balance and steer in an intuitive and safe way that ultimately makes transitioning to a pedal bike a faster and smoother process.
To move forward on a balance bike, your child pushes off the ground with their feet. Once they go fast enough, they can lift their feet up and balance on the bike as it glides along. To stop, your child can simply put their feet back on the ground, or start to practice using their hand brake.
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What are the benefits of balance bikes?
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They’re less overwhelming to learn.
Because balance bikes are self-directed, your child is able to move and progress at the pace they feel comfortable with. The speed and the difficulty of the ride are entirely within your child’s control, and the whole learning process is built on a motion they are already familiar with — walking! At first, your child will likely walk while sitting on the bike, ultimately walking faster and faster as they feel more confident. From there, gradually raise up the seatpost, and they will start to pick their legs up and glide for longer and longer distances.
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They teach balance first.
When we learned to ride bikes, we learned how to push ourselves forward using pedals, then steer, then finally balance without training wheels. With balance bikes, though, the balancing comes first, followed quickly by steering. Then, once your child is older and more coordinated, introduce pedaling.
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They allow children to start younger.
While training wheels are typically designed for older toddlers and young kids, balance bikes can be used as early as 18 months. That’s because these bikes are lighter and smaller than traditional bikes and build on the fundamental skill of walking. This allows you to introduce bike riding early and gives your budding toddler the chance to explore the world in new ways.
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They create an easier transition to pedal bikes.
Rather than teaching balance last, balance bikes put balance first, followed by steering. With these skills under their belt, the transition to pedals is much easier when they are older since pedaling relies more on coordination and leg strength, both of which come more naturally with age.
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They build confidence.
As you probably know, toddlers love doing things by themselves, and they really will have tremendous pride in seeing (and feeling!) their skill progression and knowing they did it “all by myself.” It also gives them a safe level of independence while they are out on walks, as opposed to remaining confined in a stroller. And when it comes to toddlers, giving them a little more independence in one area can mean greater cooperation in another (we’re looking at you, morning routine!).
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Choosing a Balancing Bike
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If you are choosing a first balance bike, you want to consider 3 things: size, weight, and safety. We love the balance bikes from woom because they really nail it in all 3 aspects.
For a child around 18 months or 2 years old, pick a 12-inch bike that is lightweight and easy for your toddler to pick up and maneuver all by themselves. The woom 1 checks both these boxes, clocking in at just 6.6 pounds!
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The woom 1 also has a steering limiter that you can use in the early days, which prevents crashes due to accidental overturning and instills more confidence as your child is learning. It also has a super comfortable, ergonomic seat, air-filled tires, and an innovative rear brake on the handle, so you can teach braking early.
We used the woom 1 from 18 months until around 3, then upgraded to the woom 2, and eventually the woom 3 as our kids approached preschool and kindergarten!
Throughout the entire process, woom has really been there for us and helped our kids learn to really love biking. That’s why we are so excited to have an exclusive offer for our email subscribers. Use the code TINY15 and get 15% off ALL new bikes.
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| Get riding |
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Terms & Conditions: Offer expires Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 11:59 PM PT. This offer is exclusive to the Tinyhood community and valid on new bikes only . Code does NOT combine with other offers or cash-back offers from Honey/Rakuten. One use per customer (US and Canada).
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