Riding with your Kids
Children usually have sufficient basic motor skills
to be able to operate a bicycle by around age 5. At that point, they
should be able to balance their bikes, start and stop their bikes on
their own, and be comfortable turning in both directions. Parents
should keep in mind that up until this point, children have only been
passengers in their parents' vehicles, and they don't know or
understand the rules of traffic for themselves. For this reason,
parents should be sure that their children learn basic traffic skills,
such as how to safely enter a roadway (stop, look left, look right,
look left again), and that they have plenty of practice riding their
bikes in a straight and predictable manner, before they ride on their
own in traffic. By the age of about 10, children with sufficient
training and practice should be able to ride safely on their own in
residential neighborhoods, but parents should continue to monitor their
child's skills and emphasize to the child that bicyclists are required
to follow the rules of the road, just like cars. Remember that a
bicycle is your child's first vehicle.
For more information
about teaching your child to bicycle safely, visit the bike league website.
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