Who knew teaching a kid to ride a bike was going to be such a pain! We took Maddie out the end of May with training wheels on. She was emotional and anxious---and that made her mean! I tried to be as patient as possible, but our first 2 lessons were pretty frustrating. She would go slow and freak out at anything. 
We realized the 3rd time that the training wheels seemed to be a problem. They were not the original training wheels and they seemed to tilt the bike and it freaked her out. So I wanted to give her the easy way out and go buy a new one. (I got this princess one for $5 at a yard sale, so I didn't think it was a big deal to purchase a new one) Rob decided that we both learned without training wheels, so she should give it a try. I hated seeing her scared and worried out of my mind about her.
That's when I officially stepped down and let Daddy train her. My dad trained me and I assumed it was the dad's job anyway:) I just can't seem to let her go on her own, and Rob is better at the tough love. We made it a goal to take her out whenever Rob got home at a decent hour. So after 2 weeks of taking her out, she cruises around like a pro. We went to the church parking lot as a family and watched her go around and around, and got her on camcorder.
Besides learning the skills to ride a bike, I learned a lot about other strengths she has. Even when she continually tipped over, got frustrated, screamed and cried, she would tell Rob "I am not done practicing yet!" Her determination to ride was amazing! I love to see how proud she is now that she stuck with it.
2 comments:
way to go Maddie! that's awesome
That is great! I want to get Stella riding her bike without training wheels. Maybe we will try it tomorrow...
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