[ml2waiting]

Okay, this is totally OT, but just out of curiosity...

I keep seeing all these trikes that have the age of 2+ on the box... However, my DD is completely lost when it comes to steering OR pedaling (though we try to show/tell her).

When did your child start riding a trike?

[JenC]

We got J as Radio Flyer bike for his 2nd birthday. It's not a trike, but a tiny 2 wheel bike w/ training wheels. Seriously, it's the smallest bike I've ever seen. He got the hang of steering after a while, but doesn't pedal yet - he uses his feet like the Flintstones! From all the other moms I know IRL and stuff I've seen online, pedaling takes some real skills and is more of a 3 yr old thing. My SIL they gym/health teacher told me that young 2's just don't have the muscle development in their legs needed yet to pedal. Her nearly 3 yr old just figured out how.

I just let Josh ride it like he does and I figure we'll tackle pedaling either later this fall or next spring!

[ToraMay]

its more of a 3 yr thing but the flinstones thing is good for kids to learn too

[Nevada Jen]

I agree. You shouldn't expect him to pedal until after he can walk up stair one foot at a time. I think my son was about 2.5 when he learned to pedal (and he's very advanced physically).

[Stormster]

E can't do it yet either. He flips it onto it's side and spins the tire!

I think they mean it's "safe" for the kid that can do it.

I was thinking when he's two i'll put it in the backyard so he can get used to sitting on it. Yikes that's in a month!

[cborsa7]

It will all depend on the child and if they are ready.
Our son (who is a very small 23 months)started out with a foot pushed vehicle when he was about 15 months. At 18 months he began using a power wheels 2 mph trike. He has recently moved to a pedaled trike and is attempting to pedal for short distances, steering he has no trouble with from using the power wheels. I don't think either of my other kids were close to 2 when doing either of these, especially at this size. I would say the norm is more like closer to 3.

[robandjulie]

We got the radio flyer scoot about (Radio Flyer : Trikes & Bikes) for our son about a month ago; about 2.5 years old. I really thought it was a mistake at first because he had SOOO much trouble figuring out how to make it go and couldn't steer--our walk was mostly just him plowing into one side of the grass or the other as we went down the sidewalk, then correcting and angling over to the other side. But in less than a week of him pushing himself around on the driveway he had it mastered and now I honestly have to jog after him to keep up. He motors around in tight circles to hit all the puddles, turns corners, etc.

He's fascinated by pedals (his big sis has an old pink trike and a new bike) but he can't reach them enough to use them yet. So for now he's getting lots of practice with speed handling and a little balance.

[sissyminsky]

We had a trike with a handle on the back for the adult to help steer and push. We got it for his 2nd birthday.

Radio Flyer : Trikes & Bikes
(Kettler and Radio Flyer make them) Ours makes a different sound when the child is not pedaling, too. We used it so we could make it all the way to the park even when he was small. Now he can pedal all the way there and back and controls most of the steering.

We are getting a real bike this weekend for his 4th birthday!

[aclee]

My niece got a bike and helmet when she was 2. She can pedal it backwards really fast!

[Whirled_Peas]

We got a trike for our son around his second birthday. He didn't know any other kids that were pedaling so we watched youtube videos of toddlers riding trikes and he quickly picked up the skill. I think a lot of the learning process is watching other kids do it. If you haven't seen it done, how can you know what to do?

At 29 months we made a balance bike out of a 10 inch pedal bike. Take off all chains, pedals, training wheels, etc. It become a frame, a seat, 2 wheels and handle bars. You just give it to the kid. (We also watched youtube.) In 5 1/2 weeks he was maintaining his balance as he rode down steepish grassy hills. You can buy balance bikes, we just did it this way to save money. He recently asked to have the pedals put on it, but he's afraid to ride it with the pedals.

As an aside, we were on the university campus taking pictures of him riding down hills on his balance bike when we got the call about our just born daughter. We were taking pictures of him for the local paper for an article on who had learned how to do something from watching youtube. We had taken a break from the photographing and were sitting on a bench under a glorious tree when we got "The" call. Our son was playing with our camera and got several pictures of me on the phone. Alas, I was so shocked that my expression is more "HUH?" than a breath of angels, but still, we have the pictures.