The Future's So Bright, I Don't Have To Wear Shades

Based on the statistics I've seen, there's no doubt that bike commuting is on the rise in the U.S., and in Chicago in particular.  That's great, and necessary if cycling is to become better and safer.  However, there is another trend that concerns me.  The number of children who cycle seems to be declining rather precipitously in the U.S.  Here's what the consultant most used by the cycling industry says:

"Since 1996 the number of children, age 7-17, participating in bicycle riding 6 days or more in a year has declined 12,097,800 or 54.6%. To provide context to this decline, during the same period the total number of bicycling participants declined 17,700,000 or 33.2%.  Also, on a national basis, the total number of children 7-17 years old in 2014 was 45,567,000 compared to 41,695,000 in 1996 for an increase of 9.3%. In 1996 the number of children 7-17 represented 15.7% of the total U.S. population but in 2014 this age group represented 14.3%. - Elliot Gluskin"

Here's a slightly dated report that goes into more detail:

Gluskin Townley Group Report 2010

In my day (yawn!), in semi-rural Ohio, every kid learned to ride a bike as soon as he or she possibly could.  By the time I moved to Chicago, I was an experienced rider and more or less capable of coping with the difficult conditions I encountered.  But if kids don't start riding young, who's going to be riding in cities 20 years down the road?  I can't imagine too many people who have never ridden a bike are going to take up cycling in Chicago when they're 25.  Or am I wrong?  Do adults now start cycling from ground zero more than they used to?  And what can be done to encourage and enable kids to cycle safely in urban areas?  Where I live, on the south side, I see kids riding in McKinley Park and other parks all the time.  But I sure don't see many out on the streets, regardless of whether there are bike lanes.  I'm a believer in the safety by biking numbers concept.  I don't want the arrow to start pointing down as all those non-riding kids turn into adults.