To 'training wheel', or not to 'training wheel'? THAT IS THE QUESTION!

It dates back to way back when.. training wheels,… yes or no… when and how and IF?

Let's rock the boat and give you a little thought provoking content.

When your child starts to ride on a balance bike, they learn to use their bodies to control the bike. Their shoulders counter balance, their tummy muscles come into play, they guide the bike where they want it to go and in that, they use their weight and balance. They become the boss of their bikes. And it’s such an incredible moment to watch. Ok, yes, hair raising too, as some tiny humans go tearing around with no fear, but wow… look at them go and look at them balance while they go - wooohoooo!

So now they have done most of the work to 'learning to ride', turn, control, gain speed, confidence, balance, move forward, look forward, and enjoy the motion… It's time for a pedal bike, do you shift all this hard work to a bicycle with training wheels?

Simply put: HELL NO!!!!

Training wheels might seem easy, but they undo ALL THE HARD WORK your child has done learning on the balance bike. Cycling is about balance, right... balance bike is all about balance.. right - tah daaaahhhh - bike balance is ticked off the list and the pedal motion is the next task.

While training wheels make pedal motion 'easier' the rest of the work the child has done, gets scratched off the list. They start to leaaaannnn into the wheels to turn and the classic "training wheel tilt/lean' becomes a habit that needs to be unlearnt. They inevitably lift a shoulder cos they trying to compensate for the blasted add-ons to the bicycle that catch them when they turn, the body position becomes lazy and then it all disappears... the training wheels take away their balance and crossing the middle line. The counter balance they so beautifully learnt, is all gone. The confidence goes with it and let’s not go to what happens when the training wheels eventually need to come off… It’s a struggle and the struggle is real.

So for those superheroes that have started on a balance bike….. NO TRAINING WHEELS mom’s and dad’s please… NO TRAINING WHEELS…. It’s not good for my business model, but it’s better for your tiny human, and that’s what matters!

What if I’ve already done the training wheel route… well.. that’s where we come in. We blow a little magic, build a little confidence and get the tiny humans solo!