If your toddler goes a few months without biking, there is a chance they may forget how to start from a stand still by themselves as well as balance. In our case, we live in an area where it snows for several months of the year, so a few months after I taught him how to bike on 2 wheels, our toddler went several months without biking as it was either too cold, or he couldn't bike on the icy and slushy roads during the winter.
Once the roads were clear again and we tried biking, it was clear that he had forgotten how to start on his own, so I helped him using the biking activities below. 3 days later, he was biking on his own again (and clearly needed a bigger bike!).
Activity 1: Remember how to balance
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONE REACHED: Already knows how to ride a 2 wheel bike without training wheels
DURATION: 5-10 minutes
MATERIALS USED:
Strider / balance bike (2-wheel bike with no pedals)
Have your toddler ride the balance bike / strider again to help them remember how to balance.
You can have your toddler just do a few laps of an area to get your 5-minutes of practice in. In our case, I had Little Mr. ride the strider around the small block around our house which took between 5-10 minutes. We only needed to go around the block twice and it was clear he got his balance back (even though the strider was sized for his 2-year-old brother!).
Activity 2: Remember how to start
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONE REACHED: Already knows how to ride a 2 wheel bike without training wheels, remembers how to balance on a strider/balance bike
DURATION: 5-10 minutes
MATERIALS USED:
2 wheel pedal bike
Remind them of what to do to start from a stand still, and gradually reduce your help.
Tell your toddler to:
Put pedals in the right place (2 o'clock).
Put their toe on 2 o'clock pedal.
Tell them to remember to push really hard / fast with their foot on the ground AND keep their front wheel straight.
Keep your hands under their arms as they start as they'll probably lose their balance at first. As they regain their confidence and balancing ability, you can slowly reduce the amount of help you're giving: keep your hands under their arms without touching them, then run right behind/alongside them, then slowly get further and further away.
Our Little Mr. remembered how to stop just fine, but if your toddler also forgot how to stop, you can repeat Step 3) here to help them remember.
Activity options:
5-minute activity:
Activity 1: Do at least 3 laps on the strider.
When they are confident balancing on the strider, switch the 5-minute activity to:
Activity 2: Do 3 laps on on the pedal bike with help.
10 minute activity:
Combine Activities 1 and 2 into one activity:
1) Ride the strider around the block.
2) Then do 3 laps on the pedal bike with help.
I chose this option: it took about 5 minutes to go around the block on the strider, and less than 5 minutes to do 3 laps of our driveway. 3 days later, he was confident enough to bike on his own around our block again!
Comments