1. How to motivate and help your child get in the saddle?
Spark your child's imagination, share special bonding moments on bikes, and organize outings to keep them motivated!
Supporting and motivating your child to ride a bike
New bike? Whether it's a balance bike or a 14"/16" cycle, here’s how to help your child start their two-wheeled adventure. We tell you everything!
For budding riders, big mountain bike trips are still a dream. For now, biking is just a game. To nurture this joy, use fun tips and create shared moments to keep learning fun.
Balance bike or first bicycle: create an imaginary world around two wheels.
A balance bike or first bicycle can be a true playmate. Spark your rider’s imagination: the bike becomes a motorcycle, a unicorn, or a steed. A cardboard box turns into a gas pump and the dog into a dragon! By creating a world they love, you naturally link fun to riding.
Sharing a family moment: “more than just a ride, a bonding experience”
Is the weather great and the temperature mild? Grab the bike or balance bike! Why not hop on your scooter or skates too? Heading out as a family, each with your own wheels, creates a unique bonding moment.
As Pauline Sterckeman, B’TWIN Kids Product Manager, puts it: “Parent and child start on equal footing. It’s rewarding for the little one to share this with Mom or Dad. When you show you’re having fun too, it builds their confidence. We move beyond teaching and just focus on having fun together."
Fun bike outings (with or without training wheels)?
Outings can have a goal: a quick errand, a visit, or the school run. Don't forget the basket for bread or a doll seat for their favorite companion! Vary the terrain to keep things exciting.
You can also turn these trips into scavenger hunts: ask them to find pinecones, flowers, or stones. From mini-orienteering to color hunts, use your imagination to keep them pedaling with joy!
Biking with friends: a collective learning experience
Whether for a birthday or just a playdate, encourage friends to bring their bikes. Set up a fun little course and let the magic happen! Between balance bikes and bicycles, children's imagination turns practice into a group game.
This natural peer motivation pushes them to improve and progress by following each other's lead. The joy of learning is multiplied through sharing.
From practice to theory: understanding how it works to ride better later
Finally, motivating your child also means explaining how their bike works. Show them the parts and explain the role of the handlebars or brakes. Let them help with maintenance: cleaning the frame, pumping the tires, or adjusting the seat. This fuels their curiosity and helps them truly understand their machine!
2. How to support them during their first rides and build their confidence?
How can parents build their child's confidence during those first pedals? We asked Karine, a psychomotrician for her advice. Here are tested and approved tips to give them a real boost.
Two principles for a child to gain confidence on a bike
Principle n°1: Respect the child's own pace
Explains Karine Roulin, psychomotrician.
You must absolutely avoid putting them in a situation they cannot control. This could create physical insecurity and a fear of failure.
Principle n°2 : For young children (around 2 years old), a balance bike can be a great way to get used to riding.
"They can start by simply walking with it. Then it's up to them to see if they want to go faster, run... and realize they can even, why not, push off with their legs and lift both feet at the same time," the psychomotrician continues. "This learning process is very similar to learning to walk: no one decides overnight that a child is ready to walk."
Protecting them and always encouraging progress
Unless they have an innate talent for cycling, chances are your apprentice rider will hesitate… and fall. Make sure they wear a helmet and encourage them as soon as they make a right move. By keeping at it, even if a fall happens, you'll have every reason to praise them because they held on for a few seconds longer, went a few meters further, or rode a little straighter…
Acknowledging fears
“I could get hurt… – Yes, that’s true. But did you get hurt the last time you fell?”
Obviously, you will have made sure that this was indeed the case, otherwise it could be counterproductive… But by not denying the child's fears and by being kind, you create a climate of trust.
After all, put yourself in their shoes: if you were afraid of heights and someone simply replied, "Oh come on, it's nothing," would you be convinced?
To ease the pressure, create games
Even if you think that at their age, they should be doing a bit better or going faster… Relax. In the end, everyone learns how to ride a bike. Invent games to teach them how to follow a path, use cones to create landscapes… let your imagination run wild!
Finally, don't forget the golden rule: respect your child's pace! If they have no desire at all to ride a bike, you have little chance of getting anywhere… Take it from a bike instructor.
3. And if they fall off their bike: how to react?
Every fall is a learning opportunity for your child, provided they are wearing a helmet, of course! Learning isn't a straight line; it is your child's perseverance and self-reflection, combined with your teaching and reassurance, that will help them get back in the saddle.
Analyzing the causes of the fall
In case of a fall, you can ask them what happened and if they know why they fell. By encouraging them to analyze it, they will be able to understand their mistakes on their own and correct them more easily.
You can also help them with their analysis. If they missed a step, recap it with them: “You gained some speed, that was good. You lifted your feet, that was good. And then, what do we do? You forgot to lift your feet to put them on the pedals!”.
Extra info: The sensitive periods according to Maria Montessori
Depending on the stage of their life, a child may be capable of "absorbing" certain types of knowledge over others. The order and steps of acquisition can vary from one child to another. Maria Montessori observed 6 sensitive periods during which a child is particularly sensitive to a specific activity: order, language, movement, sensory development, small objects and details, and social life.
If movement doesn't seem to be their thing at the exact moment you want to put your child on their brand-new balance bike, pay attention: they might simply be busy filling up on vocabulary...
Reassuring the apprentice cyclist
If your child tells you they are afraid of falling, don't underestimate that fear. Instead, try to use it to fuel their learning: "Okay, so what do we do if something feels wrong? We brake and put our feet on the ground."
Keep this in mind too: a simple "I'm staying right here with you" can sometimes change everything, so don't hesitate to slip it in here and there.
Getting the bikes out on the weekend...
...taking little green paths with happy, blooming children, coming back with cheeks rosy from laughter and fresh air…
Yes, in theory, that’s what the Sunday ride was supposed to look like.
But when you returned with flat tires, a starving child, and shaky legs after a haphazard route, you promised yourself: the next family bike ride would be different.
The app for your most beautiful rides
Take your child on the most beautiful rides near you thanks to the free Decathlon Outdoor app. Suitable for all skill levels, we offer the best routes, shared and rated by the community.
Don't worry about a thing. Start the navigation and enjoy the moment with your child, we’ll take care of everything, even without a signal.
No matter what, don't rush them! Just as no one ever learned to swim by being thrown in unexpectedly, make sure biking stays fun. If they want to stop for a flower, let them—it’s only two minutes.
