How did you learn to ride a bike? If you're like most people of a certain generation, you started off learning to peddle with training wheels attached at the back to stop the bike from toppling. Then, when you were ready, the training wheels were taken off, and off you went (with maybe a few tumbles on the way as you learned to balance).

    Times have now changed. The days of learning to peddle with training wheels first seem to be fading. Nowadays, more and more children are learning to ride a bike for the first time using a balance bike.

What is a balance bike?

Balance bikes look like normal little bikes, but with a few key differences.

• First,there are no peddles, and definitely no training wheels.
• Second, the seat is much lower to the ground than it would be on a peddle bike. The idea is that kids will use their feet to push themselves along and to stabilse themselves as they learn to balance.

What are the benefits of using a balance bike?

    There are a few key benefits of choosing a balance bike as a gift for your preschooler instead of a peddle bike.

• 1) Kids learn the hardest part first. Learning to balance on two wheels is definitely the hardest step in learning to ride a bike. Peddling is pretty intuitive. With a balance bike, your child will spend a long time focusing on getting the balancing part just right. This means that when they upgrade to a peddle bike later on, they will pick it up much, much faster because all they will need to learn is how to peddle. You won't need to add training wheels to the peddle bike at all because your child will already know how to balance, so you can skip that step completely.
• 2) It helps them to gain confidence. By using their feet to push themselves along, and because the seat is so much lower to the ground, your child will have much more control over the bike. This will help build their confidence ready for when it's time to move onto the real thing.
• 3) They are safer. Because the seat is so much closer to the ground, if your child falls off, they won't fall as far. As well as this, because your child is pushing themselves along with their feet, they won't be able to build up the sort of speed that they would be able to with peddles. This means that if they do crash, it should only be a bump.
• 4) They are compact. Balance bikes are small and convenient to transport. They don't have training wheels sticking out of the side or even peddles. This means that they are easy to throw in the car on your way to the park and they won't take up very much room.

    If you are looking for toys to buy for your preschooler this year as a gift, you can't go wrong with giving them the ability to ride on two wheels with confidence by going for a balance bike. 

    For more product purchase information, please refer to Balance bike