"Look at this!" I called to Lucas. I showed him a video of his cousin- his cousin who is a few months younger than he is riding a bike- without training wheels. "We should try again, you could do it too" I encouraged; it had been well over a year since he last tried riding his bike without training wheels.
"Okay let's do it." he agreed.
But a few weeks passed and when the opportunities would arise he always chose to ride his scooter instead.
"Look at this!" I once again called to Lucas- now showing him the video of his cousin who is a year younger riding his bike.
But once again- his anxiety won and he chose his scooter instead.
Alex decided she wanted to ride, two weeks ago we went out into the culd-du-sac and held onto the back of her bike as she tried to ride around without training wheels. After several spills and falls she finally made it about five feet without someone holding on.
A week later, this last Monday, while my parents were here visiting, Alex said she wanted to try again. We headed to the local park with a big empty parking lot so she would have more room to try. She hopped on her bike, I held onto the back and she peddled. "Okay, I am going to let go now." I said. I let go and she did it! She almost fell a few times and could not turn for corners at first but about ten minutes after that she was riding everywhere.
Right here.
He didn't want to try and brought his scooter to the park and spent his time on the swings. I knew he just needed to get out of his head and try it and he would be awesome.
That evening when Eric got home we all headed again to the park; Alex riding her bike there- Lucas pushing his bike-the training wheels removed- he said he was ready.
As soon as we were there Alex hopped on her bike and was riding circles around Lucas, even standing up at times and giving Eric a high-five as she went by. Lucas' anxiety got the best of him and he was not going to try.
Eric asked him, what are you afraid of? Finally Lucas admitted falling. Eric promised he would not let Lucas fall.
And then he tried- soon Eric let go and he was doing it!! Lucas was so stable and steady while Alex still wobbled a bit at her much faster pace.
I was so happy for both of my kids! They learned to ride on bikes without training wheels on the same day. Now Eric and I need to get some bikes.
And here is a little video I made of the day
What is your Proud Mommy Moment this week?
that's awesome my kid is 12 and still won't ride a two wheel bike
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome!! I know you have to be super proud of Lucas for overcoming his fear and doing it.
ReplyDeleteWe're trying to teach Buster to ride without training wheels right now. He hardly uses them when he rides his bike, so we took them off. He's also afraid of falling though.
yaya!! What I love about this story is that they both pretty much learned to do it so close together- inspiring each other in their own sort of way. Good for Lucas to get over his fears!!!
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome!!! Such a big step for them!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome. I remember how scary that was! I think I learned in grass so if I fell it would hurt less :)
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome! Congrats to your kids and especially to Lucas for overcoming his anxiety and doing it! My 7-year-old can't ride on two wheels yet and is very anxious about falling and holding his balance on a bike. I wish he had a younger sibling to show him how it's done! We'll keep working on it until he gets it!
ReplyDeleteCool! That was a proud day I'm sure. Learning how to ride a bike AND overcoming fears. Great feats!
ReplyDeleteSo fun when they learn that!! :)
ReplyDeleteAWESOME!
ReplyDeleteI love that Alex is a show off!
My boy got a new bike while I was in California. I'm so excited for him to learn to ride this summer.
Woohoo!! Go Lucas go!!!! He conquered a big fear that day. Talk about growing up!!! He did some awesome growing that day. :) And yeah...Alex is just a little bit of a show off. hahaha.
ReplyDeleteSo awesome!!! Now they can ride together!
ReplyDeleteThat is just so cool that it happened on the same day!
ReplyDeleteYay!! I knew he could do it! Scooters makes learning bikes so much easier! And that's just so cool that they both can now. That video just made me smile!
ReplyDeleteWas that awesome, or what! That Alex...she has some kind of athletic talent...SERIOUS! And Lucas...good job identifying what you were afraid of, but trying it anyway. I just laughed and cheered while watching the kids ride. Incredible age we live it...I live hundreds of miles away and I didn't miss it. Good job kiddos! I love you! Thanks Emily...thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteIt's just so funny, when they are ready, they are ready... Wyatt has been off training wheels for a couple years, Henry the same... though they are 3 years apart :)
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures and video!
Yay for no training wheels! Monkey still hasn't gotten there yet, but things are so busy the poor kids almost never have time to ride! When will life just slow down already?
ReplyDeleteLove the video!
Way to go kids! That is awesome they got it down and no training wheels.
ReplyDeleteAllison has the same bike as Alex but she won't ride it.
Yay!! We went through this last year and it was all a mental game. The fear of falling is a powerful one but he ended up learning once we found a method that helped him feel more in control. It was so empowering to watch him overcome that fear and learn. Yay for Lucas and Alex!
ReplyDeleteHooray, they did it. So glad Lucas finally decided to try it. He's a natural.
ReplyDeleteWhat a huge milestone for them both! I was so excited, giddy, & yes even tears ran down my face as my girl learned last year. I am definitely going to be a wreck when my youngest learns & I won't have any more to teach. Uggghhh this growing up thing is so tough on the mamas. :)
ReplyDeleteVery impressive! That is a hard skill to learn :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's brilliant they did it on the same day and great that Lucas had another go. Well done Mummy and Daddy! Hope you have loads of fun family bike rides together xx
ReplyDeleteAww - how special that they both learned on the same day and you captured it! So many of our successes in life are simply making the decision that falling is worth it! :)
ReplyDelete