If you are ready to begin teaching your child to ride a bike, you’ll certainly want to have a large store of patience.  Not every child learns to balance at the same age, and it’s very important to understand this process and to recognize your child’s individual needs.  In general, children learn basic balancing skills around 6, but the variation ranges from 4 to 9.

While you may be impatient for your child to start cycling already, you need to be patient and trust your child’s process.  If you push too hard, you may find that your child becomes turned off to cycling or resentful of your pressure.  Certainly, you should encourage the activity and help your child along the way, but you don’t want to push them before they are ready.