14 Ways to Motivate Kids to Ride a Bike
Kristina
—Sep 07, 2024
Riding a bike gives a child the feeling of freedom. Now he or she can hop on their bike and go! Don’t underestimate the self confidence this skill will have on your child. My three kids all enjoy riding and we have worked hard to foster their love for riding.
My husband and I spent a lot of time on our bikes before having kids. We cycled toured countries and there were days we spent 8+ hours a day on a bike. When having kids we were hyped about them starting to ride and had to set ourselves up for success.
Now, as parents who are already in love with an activity, whether it be hiking, biking or a particular sport, it is possible to be a little too excited for your child to start an activity. In our case we got a balance bike before our first child could even walk; needless to say it was a bit premature.
Now we have gone through 3 kids and taught them each to start with the balance bike. In our opinion it really is the best way to start a 1 or 2 year old on a bike. When you start with a balance bike you can eliminate training wheels altogether. Both my boys went straight from a balance bike to a pedal bike sans training wheels. My daughter is almost 2 so I'm waiting for her to make the transition next year.
Read Teach a Kid to Ride A Bike Without Training Wheels if you want to know the simple methods I used.
Below you will find my tried and tested tips to motivate your kid to ride bikes and fall in love with cycling.
Make Sure the Bike is the Right Fit
The most important step is to ensure your child has the right bike for their height and dimensions. Starting a kid on too big a bike will often mean they have a hard time getting on and off causing them to fall more often.
A bike which is too small means their body feels cramped when cycling and it's hard to get the full pedal rotation.
Buy Fun Bike Gear
Kids love to accessorize their belongings. No matter if they are a boy or a girl, letting your child pick out their favorite color helmet or bike bell is a big deal.
Each state has their own law on helmets and kids, but overall helmets should be worn by all kids. PA law is all kids under age of 12 must wear a helmet. If you have to get one anymore make sure your child is on board with it and excited about it!
Other fun accessories can be glasses, bells, bike lights, tassels or a basket.
In winter gloves are essentia! If your child hands are too cold they will not enjoy riding their bike.
Be an Example and Ride Your Bike
Kids emulate what adults do. You notice this from a very young child up to older children. If your child sees you riding your bike they will be more likely to want to ride their bikes.
So many times we have paid for a sitter to come watch our kids so my husband and I can go on a long bike ride. Our kids see us off and guess what? All they wanted to do while we were away was ride their own bikes!
Another good way for them to see you ride your bike is by having your child ride with you on your bike. Have a rear bike seat for your child or a trailer attached to your bike to take two kids. The trailer even works for slightly older children. I have the Hamax on rack mounts for my bike.
Check out How to Start Cycling with a Toddler to learn more.
Influence Kids by Being Around Other Kids Riding Bikes
Not only are kids influenced by adults, but maybe even more so by kids their own age. If your child sees other kids their age out riding bikes I bet you they will want to go get their bike.
I am lucky to live in a cul-de-sac. The neighbors are similar ages to my kids and often go out and ride in the circle. When my kids see them from our window riding bikes they are already running for their shoes to hop on and ride too.
Take Your Kid to the Bike Pump Tracks
Bike Tracks or pump tracks are awesome! They can be dirt or paved tracks that kids and adults can use to bike on. The paved tracks can be used for scooters as well.
The track gives your child a fun new environment to bike on. They can learn to tackle large ramps and curves and the best part is that they are free! Your child can start slow and build up to larger ramps or if a dare devil rides straight in.
Bike to Local Playgrounds
Biking doesn’t always have to be the main activity. You can introduce biking as a means of getting to another destination instead of walking or riding in the car.
We have a couple parks we can bike to safely with kids on bike paths. My kids will say they want to go to the park and I say okay let’s bike there. For my 2 year old I will bike with her on the back of my bike.
Before long they will be asking to bike to new locations and seeing how far they can explore by bike!
Looking for best bike for a toddler read, Best Toddler Bikes.
Build Bike Courses at Home with Chalk
Chalk is amazing. The amount of games and fun you can have with simply drawing on pavement is endless. One of our favorite uses is making bike tracks in our cul-d-sac or driveway.
We can make large bike tracks down our street, sometimes with lots of turns other times with long straight aways. The neighbor kids normally join in to ride the tracks, or even to race the track! Just be prepared for fierce competition if your child is competitive.
My sons love to tell me they need to do 10 more laps before they can stop! They are training.
Find Local Bike Events to Watch and Partake In
Bike events are great motivators for kids. Sign your kid up for a local bike race or bike parade. Leading up to the event your child will be motivated to ride their bike more to practice and get ready for the event. Most events allow kids to start on balance bike or trikes!
We have a pro bike race come through our town once a year. Before the pros go they hold a kids race on the track. My kids love partaking and then watching the pros race.
Other events are kids triathlons and sometimes fourth of July bike parades. Googling bike events for kids in your area is a way to start finding the local bike events. Or you can ask the local bike shop if they know of any kid events.
Some great events to watch are the Tour de France in the summer or other large classic races. Highlights might capture your child's mind better than the full multiple hour race!
Read Books about Biking
Kids learn a lot through books. Stocking up on some books about biking will keep biking on their mind.
Some of our favorite bike books based on age are:
Toddler Favorites
School Age Kid Favorites
Family Inspiring Favorites
Read 9 Best Books about Bikes for Toddlers to find some more great picks for young kids.
Take the Kids' Bikes on Vacation
Bikes on vacation are a great family activity. Biking along the boardwalk is seen as a classic. One of our favorite places to bring our bikes is when we are staying at state parks. Lots of the PA state parks have bike trails my kids can access from our cabins that provide lots of fun.
Our favorite location for bikes was Ricketts Glen State Park. My kids loved to ride to the restrooms, ride to the beach and just ride around when there was some downtime at the cabin.
Bike Ride to Fun Destinations
Everyone can get in a rut and bored of the same thing all the time. A good way to spice things up for a kid riding their bike is to ride in new locations. Take the bikes on the car to a fun canal path to ride, or a bike path to a fun location (maybe ice cream shop).
We live close to a nice bike path on the Delaware canal that takes us to towns with ice cream shops, cafes and shops. My older kids can ride and my youngest can ride on my bike.
A great state park to bike on a tow path is Ohiopyle State Park near Pittsburgh PA. It has the Great Allegheny Trail go through the park which is phenomenal.
Plan for Bike Breaks: Don't Push It
Biking needs to be seen as fun, not just for exercise. Don’t force rules of how long a kid can ride before breaking or push them past their limits. I have naively made this mistake and it takes the fun out of the ride for everyone.
The goal is to build up positive experiences on their bike until they have fully fallen in love with their bikes. Forcing your child to ride will only build resistance in them to the idea of riding their bike.
If your bike ride is too far for your child let them ride in a trailer or don’t take them. Overall you have to let your child set the pace for bike riding!
Ride Bikes with Family and Friends
Another idea to motivate your kid to ride their bike is to invite their friends over to ride bikes. Having positive bike riding experiences with their favorite people go a long way. Your child will then talk to them about the times they all rode bikes, or even ask to ride bikes with them more!
You can also have other adult influences ride bikes with them. The more they see people they like ride bikes the more interested they will become in riding bikes themselves.
Give Your Child Lots of Praise and Encouragement
Kids live for praise and attention. Ever know a kid to act up solely because they want attention? Giving your child positive attention for the actions you want them to do will reinforce that behavior.
Words of encouragement go a long way. Even as adults we love to hear it! Build your child up when they ride their bike and watch how they light up.
The main way you can motivate your kid to ride their bike is to make sure you are creating a fun positive environment for your child around bikes.