What Are The Benefits of Learning to Ride a Kids Balance Bike?

If you’re the parent of a young child, you may be considering if it’s worth investing in a kids balance bike. After all, they are just beginning to walk, is it a good idea to introduce my little gem to a bike already?

Well, you may be pleasantly surprised to discover that there are numerous amazing developmental benefits to introducing your child to a balance bike as soon as they are taking their first steps.

From the more obvious physical benefits to the somewhat hidden emotional growth and everything in between, balance bikes are, quite simply, a developmental powerhouse on two wheels.

So, if you’re considering getting one for your child, or just curious about the benefits of learning to ride a kids balance bike, keep reading!

In this, our latest post we will be taking you through 10 key benefits of learning to ride a balance bike. To make things a little easier for you to digest, we have broken these down into three broad groups; the physical, social and emotional benefits.

Here’s a quick list of our 10 key benefits of learning to ride a balance bike.

Riding’s physical benefits

1. Develops balance and coordination

2. Improves strength

3. Reduces risk of injury

4. Improves motor control

Riding social rewards

5. Promotes social interactions

6. Develops socialization of emotions

7. Teaches social and emotional display rules

Riding’s emotional Influence

8. Supports emotional self-regulation

9. Develops pride, and

10. Promotes confidence

Are you ready? Great, now, let’s get into it!

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Riding’s Physical Benefits

1. Develops Balance and Coordination

Yes, their name is a dead giveaway, but perfectly applicable to these shiny little toys.

A balance bike has been designed to teach kids balance on a bike. These deliberately small, light, pedal less toys allow toddlers to have their little feet safely on the ground when seated and in doing so, helps to nurture control, balance and coordination of movement with ease.

Over time, children will develop the ability to run and glide, which encourages the correct motor skills to be switched on, allowing them to adjust their bodies to maintain balance and control.

All of this foster’s greater coordination on a bike and teaches kid’s the correct skills necessary when learning how to ride a pedal bike in future.

Personally, teaching our little girl how to ride a balance bike, learning the essential skills of balance and coordination has been made far easier by providing her with the lightest balance bike available in the world, the Cruzee Ultralight.

This has been dynamite in helping her to not only develop balance and coordination with ease, but to also have a blast on such an easy lightweight toy.

If you would like to learn more about the Cruzee, head over to our Cruzee balance bike review.

2. Improves Strength

With no pedals, balance bikes allow riders to power their speeds by pushing off the ground with their feet. Basically, they learn to walk, jog and eventually run along while seated. This provides a generous workout for those little legs, improving quad, glute, hamstring and calf strength.

In addition, learning to steer and manoeuvre their bodies in a smooth and coordinated fashion on a bike requires not only strength, but gross and fine motor control that all leads to a healthy, fit and stronger body.

3. Reduces Risk of Injury

Strong, healthy bodies are less prone to injury. The benefits of physical activity are widely known. One of these is the wonderful influence that being physically fit and strong has on reducing our potential risk of injury in all areas of life.

A kids balance bike is a master at helping to build stronger muscles and more efficient heart and lungs.

In addition, the small design and light frames create a safer way to learn how to ride. By having both feet easily capable of touching the ground, a low seat height position, and speeds controlled by their little feet, children are less likely to experience a fall and the severity is limited.

4. Improved Motor Control

This somewhat technical term, motor control, is quite simply a term used to explain our ability to regulate movement.

We are talking about the ability of our nervous system to integrate sensory (and proprioceptive) information to send out the correct signals and eventually recruit the right muscles to complete our goal. It includes our reflexes, as well as directed (purposeful) movements.

Our ability to control movement, like most adaptions for learning, requires practice.

Each time your little champion heads out the door to ride their balance bike, they are using this fun little toy as a means to not only learn and refine their bike riding skills but develop greater control and regulation of movement initiated at a neural level.

Importantly, a balance bike, as opposed to its older rivals (bikes with training wheels or tricycles), allows children to develop the correct motor patterns and control essential to riding a bike, without having restrictions on balance, steering, coordination and their ability to regulate their movements on a bike.

Successful motor control is not only crucial for our interacting with the world to reach our goals by coordinating balance, posture and stability, but these skills are fundamental for our little riding champions to develop as they are learning how to ride a bike.

Riding’s Social Rewards

5. Promotes Social Interactions

Riding a balance bike is a developmental powerhouse in its ability to provide the full inventory of positive interactional engagement with others.

The pre-school years are not only foundational for physical learning and developing a sense of independence and autonomy, but their waking hours provide wonderful opportunities for fun activities that nurture social interactions with other’s.

Each time your little rider heads out the door for a ride provides new opportunities for social engagement with kids, parents, caregivers, neighbors, grandparents and pets.

These wonderful social opportunities allow them to develop the capacity to relate to other’s in empathetic and pro social ways. Even better, this is all taking place while having a blast on a bike!

6. Improves a Child’s Socialization of Emotions

During the second year of a child’s life, a number of complex emotions begin to develop. Among these, is what is referred to in psychology as socialization of emotions.

For example, children learn about emotion by observing adults and other children. Their reactions either encourage or discourage certain forms of expression or behavior.

As children experience a diversity of social interactions, such as those when out riding a balance bike, they learn to foster empathy, improve language skills, practice concepts of teamwork and sharing and grow in confidence.

Riding a balance bike provides an abundance of new and exciting social experiences that almost magically serves to promote a healthy expression of emotions for children to learn and emulate.

Powerfully, this helps children to create friendships and learn how to respect others.

7. Teaches Social and Emotional Display Rules

Another key aspect directly related to a child’s learning of complex emotions is what is known in psychology as emotional display rules. In simplistic terms, these are culturally defined norms that govern how we are to express ourselves given a social context.

For our little rider’s getting out there on their balance bikes, parents are encouraging kids to not only pursue a healthy activity that will foster physical skills and fitness, but children are being introduced to new and varied social interactions with others that will nurture their learning of these important, culturally accepted social skills.

Riding’s Emotional Influence

8. Emotional self-regulation

For parents out there, this is a biggy. You know what I’m talking about here. Toddlers, as they attempt to navigate their big world and process what seems to be an overwhelming amount of stimulation, are emotionally unable to respond and monitor their behaviors like adults can (well, most adults).

But what does this have to do with my child riding a balance bike you might ask?

Well, quite simply, exposure to unique, challenging, and engaging activities that require a child to regulate their emotions can enhance their ability to remain focused and engaged in social interactions.

Learning to ride a bike is one such challenging skill that requires resilience, patience, determination, and a growth mindset that allows for failures and of course success. For children on balance bikes, the goal is to ride confidently and joyfully.

## Important note

Emotional competence and social competence are closely linked.

Therefore, improving one component can positively impact the other. This makes learning to ride a balance bike not only fun and rewarding but also beneficial for a child’s overall emotional and social development.

9. Develops a Sense of Pride

Pride can be described as a powerful feeling of deep satisfaction or fulfillment that follows achieving something that is difficult, valuable and personally meaningful.

Learning to ride a bike is a challenging task. Fortunately, balance bikes are making this task simpler for today’s children and in doing so, they are not only helping more children to learn how to ride a bike, but also providing children with a sense of pride and accomplishment as they progress in their bike riding abilities.

Another, closely related benefit children can experience from learning to ride a bike is improved confidence.

10. Boost’s a Child’s Confidence

Riding a balance bike has been proven by research to boost a rider’s confidence and in addition, reduce anxiety. These are powerful emotions and their importance to a child’s overall health and well-being cannot be underestimated.

Learning to ride a kid’s balance bike can improve a little rider’s confidence in several ways, here are three at the top of our list.

• Sense of accomplishment – learning any new skill requires persistence and patience. The sense of accomplishment experienced upon achieving a goal, such as learning to ride a balance bike provides an amazing degree of confidence that will permeate every aspect of a child’s life as they continue to explore and attempt new and exciting tasks.
• Independence – riding a bike foster’s powerful emotions such as a sense of independence and control over their own movements and ability to move around in the world. This new and exciting feeling of autonomy can do wonders for a child’s confidence as they learn to become more independent.
• Peer recognition – as your child learns to ride a bike, they will be introduced to other children experiencing the same challenges on colorful, shiny two-wheeled toys just like them. This creates a sense of community and camaraderie that foster’s encouragement and support. As a child gradually learns to ride a bike, alongside their peers this nurtures peer recognition, further enhancing a child’s sense of pride, self-esteem and confidence.

Overall ilovetoridemybike.com Conclusion

In conclusion, learning to ride a balance bike provides numerous physical, social and emotional developmental benefits for your child.

These include;

1. Improved balance and coordination

2. Greater strength

3. Reduces risk of injury

4. Improved motor control

5. Promotes social interactions

6. Improves a child’s socialization of emotions

7. Nurtures social and emotional display rules

8. Improves emotional self-regulation

9. Develops a sense of pride, and

10. Gives children a boost in confidence

If you would like to learn more about how to teach your child to ride a balance bike, or make that transition to a pedal bike, head on over to our posts, How to teach your child to ride a bike – Part I and Part II. We are certain you will find these articles most helpful.

In addition, some balance bikes that we highly recommend due to their quality design and features include the Woom 1, FirstBike Cross, Cruzee, Strider 12 Sport and Strider Pro, smarTrike 3-in-1 Xtend, GOMO, Vuly, Banana GT, Specialized Hotwalk and Norco Runner.

This list is not extensive but will certainly provide you with a nice overview of what’s out there.

We hope you enjoyed our post. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave these below. We are here to help and enjoy hearing how your child’s bike riding is progressing.

Until next time, happy riding!