Tips for encouraging our kids

[Crackle]

Make cycling, fun, do some singletrack, encourage them to jump their bikes and go fast downhill. Taking your children 20 miles along a cycle track while you and the wife natter away together looking at the scenery is going to be slow and tedious for them, kids like adventure, ride to get somewhere interesting, follow unknown paths through woods to see where they go etc.

For me when I was a child I would be out on my BMX from sun up to sundown. We would build jumps from bricks and wooden planks off curbs onto landing ramps and try and jump it further and further each time. Or we would ride to the top of treacherous slopes and fly down them... the more excitement, danger and adventure you give them, the more interested they will be in it.

This has been my experience. Cycling has to have a purpose, be a means to an end, an adventure as SWJ says. Right from the beginning both mine were far more interested in tricks, stunts and messing about going to stunt parks and skills areas. Of course an interest in bikes came first and we've always used bike to do little things, all holidays invariably had some kind of bike involvement even if it was just buzzing around a campsite, riding to the beach or cycling out for dinner, so bikes went everywhere with us, which isn't always easy but once they become something that is just natural to get onto rather than a special effort, you've cracked it, the rest follows.

Right now, trail centres are the thing, I expect that will change in the future but what is so fantastic to see is just how natural it is to them.

 

[ColinJ]

Funny how quickly things change, isn't it ...?

I was talking to potsy on a forum ride on Sunday about how I pestered my parents to buy me a bike when I was 8 or 9 years old. They were what I would call very protective parents, but I'm talking 1960s-protective, not 2012-protective. All it took to persuade them was a promise to pass my cycling proficiency test, which I did, and after that I was free to cycle on A-roads and B-roads unaccompanied! (Yes, I know that there was probably only 1/3 of the traffic in those days, but getting hit by a bus would still have hurt ... )

They didn't have to encourage me to cycle - I couldn't wait to get out of the house and go out to explore so I just got on my bike and my mates got on their bikes and off we went! My family didn't own a car in those days, so having a bike meant that I didn't have to walk, run or catch buses, which to my way of thinking was pretty damn great.

One day, I heard rumours of sandstone cliffs at Corley - sandstone cliffs! - so obviously, we just had to go and check 'em out. I was pretty impressed when I saw them the first time. Okay, they weren't hundreds of feet high, but they towered over me and that was what mattered. (I paid homage to that childhood ride a couple of years ago and rode my singlespeed bike to Corley to revisit the rocks. The memories came flooding back.)

I don't have children, but if I did I'm sure that they too would probably prefer to text their mates or mess about on Facebook than ride bikes. And I'd be too worried to allow them to ride in traffic without me, even if they did want to cycle. I think it is a shame that free-wheeling childhoods are something of the past for most kids now ...

 

[Speedywheelsjeans]

Thats the worst thing, it was my generation who were the last of the outdoors kids, I was born in 1990 and was always out... my brother was born in 1996 and hes a playstation kid. Within 6 years games consoles advanced enough to keep kids indoors for hours on end. Admittedly I spend a fair bit of time on games consoles as a teenager, but much preferred being outdoors riding, playing sports or getting ASBO's

My brother will spend most of his evening looking at a computer screen that has the same facebook page on it ... doing nothing!

When I have children of my own I hope they will follow my example and enjoy being muddy on singletrack, or climbing mountain roads on their nice expensive road bikes! ... Dad can we get an xbox for christmas, No but you can get a pinarello.

 

[Boris Bajic]

I am no expert, but we have three children and they all love to ride bicycles.

There was no exhortation or encouragement; they just saw me riding and it seemed like a natural thing to do.

The children of musical parents tend to try playing music; the children of artists etc etc...

My impression is that children pick up far more by example than by any other means.

If you ride, they will ride. It helps if there is a bicycle for them to ride.

Similarly, if they see you fixing bikes they might ask if they can have a go.

This does not always extend to cooking, hoovering or washing up.

We didn't go in for all this scooting around on a balance-thingy from the age of three weeks (or similar). All of them sort of got into riding at around five or six. That seems fine to me. I'm not entirely comfortable with the way some parents seem terribly keen to say (boast?) how unbelievably young little Alfie was when he first rode a bike/swam with sharks/drove for McLaren.

It's just a childhood and they will get into some things as and when they want to.

I hope this comes across as helpful guidance rather than a hectoring rant. Good luck with the cycling thing.

 

[rollinstok]

If kids dont want to do something its very difficult to convince them otherwise
I agree with the promise of something good either at the half way point or when they get back
A bit of bribery here and there will teach them about the real world.. they may even end up as politicians

 

[Doseone]

I am no expert, but we have three children and they all love to ride bicycles.

There was no exhortation or encouragement; they just saw me riding and it seemed like a natural thing to do.

The children of musical parents tend to try playing music; the children of artists etc etc...

My impression is that children pick up far more by example than by any other means.

If you ride, they will ride. It helps if there is a bicycle for them to ride.

Similarly, if they see you fixing bikes they might ask if they can have a go.

This does not always extend to cooking, hoovering or washing up.

We didn't go in for all this scooting around on a balance-thingy from the age of three weeks (or similar). All of them sort of got into riding at around five or six. That seems fine to me. I'm not entirely comfortable with the way some parents seem terribly keen to say (boast?) how unbelievably young little Alfie was when he first rode a bike/swam with sharks/drove for McLaren.

It's just a childhood and they will get into some things as and when they want to.

I hope this comes across as helpful guidance rather than a hectoring rant. Good luck with the cycling thing.

Yes, thank you, I do take your point. The frustrating thing is we do ride, both my wife and I ride and whilst our daughter really enjoys riding our son who is 9 has not been so keen. He does plenty of other sport though so I have no problems with his lifestyle.

Anyway I'm pleased to report progress - we went out last Sunday and took the bikes to a big common near us and for the first time there were no complaints from our son and I think he actually enjoyed himself. I'm convinced it's a confidence thing - as he gets better at riding so his enjoyment will improve. Equally, if he genuinely doesn't enjoy it I'm not going to force it on him.

 

[Butterfly]

Ice cream is my usual bribe. Not too long rides punctuated with ice cream vans (and whichever ice cream they want, even if it is the double cone 99 that I know they won't finish (I'll eat it up)

Another thing to try is borrowing a tandem - if they can rest a bit when they want, they don't mind going further - and the lack of confidence isn't a problem anymore. I got my first tandem because my asthmatic charge wasn't enjoying rides and the others were leaving us behind - it was a great solution.

A normal rule along the lines of 'no screens before bath time unless someone is ill', means that they are more likely to go out as you aren't dragging them away from playstation/wii/tv/gameboy etc and they are going to be bored in the house anyway.

The track at Herne Hill was what gave our lad the confidence to ride more. It'll come.

 

[Michael Halliday]

Doe's your sons school run any Bikeability courses, this is when usually outside instructors come in and teach the up to date version of Cycling proficiency. Different providers do this in different ways but up in Northumberland we take children in small groups, cover level 1 on the playground which is basic skills and dead easy then we take then out onto real roads (carefully chosen) to teach level 2 which involves handling junctions. I've seen some kids start off very nervous but after just four sessions of around one and a half hours they're brimming with confidence and enthusiasm. If your son is in year 5 or older it's worth asking the school if they do this, most councils provide Bikeability and is fully funded by The department For Transport so won't cost the parents a penny.

 

[Doseone]

Ice cream is my usual bribe. Not too long rides punctuated with ice cream vans (and whichever ice cream they want, even if it is the double cone 99 that I know they won't finish (I'll eat it up)

Another thing to try is borrowing a tandem - if they can rest a bit when they want, they don't mind going further - and the lack of confidence isn't a problem anymore. I got my first tandem because my asthmatic charge wasn't enjoying rides and the others were leaving us behind - it was a great solution.

A normal rule along the lines of 'no screens before bath time unless someone is ill', means that they are more likely to go out as you aren't dragging them away from playstation/wii/tv/gameboy etc and they are going to be bored in the house anyway.

The track at Herne Hill was what gave our lad the confidence to ride more. It'll come.

I like the idea of a bit of bribery , but along the lines of "lets ride to (wherever) and get an ice cream". I can see that working.

Doe's your sons school run any Bikeability courses, this is when usually outside instructors come in and teach the up to date version of Cycling proficiency. Different providers do this in different ways but up in Northumberland we take children in small groups, cover level 1 on the playground which is basic skills and dead easy then we take then out onto real roads (carefully chosen) to teach level 2 which involves handling junctions. I've seen some kids start off very nervous but after just four sessions of around one and a half hours they're brimming with confidence and enthusiasm. If your son is in year 5 or older it's worth asking the school if they do this, most councils provide Bikeability and is fully funded by The department For Transport so won't cost the parents a penny.

Thanks, I think the school does - I seem to remember taking my daughter's bike to school when she was at primary, he's in yr4 but they haven't done it yet.