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Permalink Reply by Tom Z on September 12, 2016 at 2:30pm

You'll know when she is ready... When she seems to master scooting around on the push toy, maybe let her try a balance bike.

Important thing is to make sure her feet are flat on the ground when she's on the seat.

You want her to feel comfortable and confident she can catch herself by putting her feet down.

Also, Once she masters the balance bike DON'T have training wheels on her first pedal bike.

 

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Permalink Reply by JMinHP on September 13, 2016 at 3:52am

We (I) started our son on his balance bike on softer surfaces like grass at 14 months, around this time last year. I just wanted to have him get a feel for it before the winter. Perhaps I was a little eager, but over the winter we brought it inside and he would grab it and ride (more like walk with it between his legs) up and down hallways over the winter. This summer at 2 years old he's cruising around and able to go about a mile before he tires.

So, TLDR - 14 months is not too early, but it's more about the child and their readiness.

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Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on September 13, 2016 at 5:06am

My son got started on a balance bike pretty much when he was capable of walking. 

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Permalink Reply by Koltraned on September 14, 2016 at 5:23pm

I think it depends on how excited they are to move around on things (scooter, push toy, etc). Some kids aren't really into it, some kids love it.  Most balance bike websites I've seen recommend around 18-24 months  to start, so a bit after walking is well established.  But, if your kid started walking at 10mos and is really adventurous, you could start earlier by pushing them around on the bike. In that instance, you'd have to support/hold them while in the seat, to ensure they don't fall off, as their feet won't be able to touch the ground . If they are more timid, and don't really like moving/riding objects, I'd wait till their coordination is a bit better and their feet can touch the ground before introducing.    

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Permalink Reply by Maurice on September 15, 2016 at 7:19am

I took a slightly different approach.  My kids always liked scooting around on everything and pedaling trikes.  Even now that they're older, they each have their own bike, scooter, and skateboard, but I never bought them a balance bike.  Instead, I put them on the smallest available regular bike as soon as they were tall enough.

 

I started initially with training wheels (shudder) so they could get the pedaling pattern into their muscle memory.  After a few weeks, I pulled off the pedals and lowered the seat, essentially converting the bike that they were already used to riding into a balance bike.  After one more week, I put the pedals back on and gradually increased the seat height.  Each transition was smooth.

 

Several progressively larger bikes that I purchased for them after that all came with training wheels in the box, but I never attached them.  Last year, I bought my oldest his first bike that didn't come with training wheels in the box.  He was 10. 

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