Luke learns to ride a bike!
When Luke decides to do something, he gets it done. He waited until he was 3 to potty train, but the minute he tried it, he was done with diapers and pullups and stayed dry through the night right away. He waited until just before turning 6 to embrace the water and take swimming lessons, but once he took his first lesson this March, he started going under water in the bathtub, blowing out through his nose, and now swimming across the shallow end of our pool.
The same now can be said about riding a bike. He has not been interested in bike riding and when I'd push him, he wouldn't respond positively. In fact, he once told me "I will probably learn to ride a bike when I am 8 or 9, Mom." Well, last night we decided to encourage him a bit and he got on a little strider bike (no pedals...the concept is to use your feet to push yourself forward and then pick them up and glide - learning the concept of balance without pedals, chain, or training wheels). After a few times down our drive way, he was balancing like a champ. See the first video from last night.
This morning, he woke up and headed back for the strider bike and perfected the driveway run. We couldn't find the pedals for that little bike (Paul misplaced them when he took them off) and so we found another bike in our garage, a little bigger, with pedals and a chain, where Luke could still touch the ground with his feet and use it as a strider bike. It was bigger and faster than the little one from last night, so the first few times he tried it, he went a lot faster than normal. But after 2-3 times down the driveway he was balancing easily on the new bike. I told him to try just placing his feet on the pedals as he glided down the driveway, just to get the feel of it. Well, instead of just putting his feet on the pedals, he just went straight to it and started pedaling. See the second video.
He's been biking ever since! We are SO proud of this guy. He was really coachable and listened to Paul's ideas and instruction and instantly adjusted to what Paul recommended. And it's no fluke, we took him down to the lake road tonight and went for a bike ride! I felt like the true test was leaving the driveway.
True to Luke's style, he waited until he was ready, and then put his mind to it and with great determination figured it out in just 12 hours from start to finish. What a little champ. He loves riding, like we knew he would. I am looking forward to a lot of bike rides with him and some runs (for me) while he bikes along with me (thank goodness! I can't push all three of the kids in the triple jogger stroller anymore...it's too much weight. Luke 53lbs, Ben 46.5lbs, Meredith 28lbs).
Good night from the Hannig house!
The same now can be said about riding a bike. He has not been interested in bike riding and when I'd push him, he wouldn't respond positively. In fact, he once told me "I will probably learn to ride a bike when I am 8 or 9, Mom." Well, last night we decided to encourage him a bit and he got on a little strider bike (no pedals...the concept is to use your feet to push yourself forward and then pick them up and glide - learning the concept of balance without pedals, chain, or training wheels). After a few times down our drive way, he was balancing like a champ. See the first video from last night.
This morning, he woke up and headed back for the strider bike and perfected the driveway run. We couldn't find the pedals for that little bike (Paul misplaced them when he took them off) and so we found another bike in our garage, a little bigger, with pedals and a chain, where Luke could still touch the ground with his feet and use it as a strider bike. It was bigger and faster than the little one from last night, so the first few times he tried it, he went a lot faster than normal. But after 2-3 times down the driveway he was balancing easily on the new bike. I told him to try just placing his feet on the pedals as he glided down the driveway, just to get the feel of it. Well, instead of just putting his feet on the pedals, he just went straight to it and started pedaling. See the second video.
He's been biking ever since! We are SO proud of this guy. He was really coachable and listened to Paul's ideas and instruction and instantly adjusted to what Paul recommended. And it's no fluke, we took him down to the lake road tonight and went for a bike ride! I felt like the true test was leaving the driveway.
True to Luke's style, he waited until he was ready, and then put his mind to it and with great determination figured it out in just 12 hours from start to finish. What a little champ. He loves riding, like we knew he would. I am looking forward to a lot of bike rides with him and some runs (for me) while he bikes along with me (thank goodness! I can't push all three of the kids in the triple jogger stroller anymore...it's too much weight. Luke 53lbs, Ben 46.5lbs, Meredith 28lbs).
Good night from the Hannig house!
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