This tiny cyclist deserves to go viral!

[radacrider]

That's cute. My "little sister" from Big Brothers Big Sisters is 6 and just got a bike without training wheels and has a helmet. I told her mom I'd help her learn how to ride. Any suggestions????

For my son, we talked about first being comfortable with balance, then worry about pedalling. We went to the school yard and they had a small berm and the grassy area was a long gentle slope from there.

I said he could leave his feet off the pedals (greater feeling of security) and just feel keeping balance. First run he coasted nearly 100 yds. 2 more times and he wanted to try pedalling. 1 pedalling on the grass and he wanted to try on the paved area. He's been riding ever since.

Part of that was explaining that the bike needs to go a certain speed so the wheels can help keep balance. Some time before that I had shown him how the bike wheel when spinning is like a gyroscope.

ETA: The large field also alleviated fear of dealing with stopping, the grass slowed the bike down, again, allowing him to focus on one thing at a time in a safe area.

Anyway, coasting on the field helped him to not worry about the hard pavement and made it more comfortable to go fast enough to feel what balancing on the bike feels like, separate from also having to learn to pedal.