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Balance Bikes Teach Valuable Skills

Why are balance bikes so popular with toddlers and pre-schoolers? Cast your mind back, and remember the freedom you felt when you mastered bike riding as a kid?

Maybe you started with training wheels, and gradually they flipped up, and you were able to balance on two wheels. Eventually, you were able to ride to your friend’s house or school as confidence grew. But do you remember the spills you had? 

Learning about Balance

I remember thinking how skilled I was on my bicycle one minute, and then the wobbles came before a spectacular crash. Skinned elbows, skinned knees and lots of tears followed. I had lost control while trying to balance, steer and pedal a bike that was slightly too big for me.

It was my seventh birthday when I started learning to ride my two-wheeler. It was a second-hand rusty metal bike with training wheels that I would kick up thinking I didn’t need any extra help. Of course, I did because I continually fell off, losing equilibrium.

Thirty years later, I was terrified when my boys took up riding. As a mum, I worry about my kids hurting themselves more than I worried about falling while pedalling on their bikes. Balance bikes solve this worry. Our kids have the advantage of learning to balance before they have to learn to pedal a bicycle.

Balance Bikes at Kid Mart
Balance Bikes Teach Valuable Skills

Balance Bikes for Stability

An essential skill in cycling is learning to balance on two wheels. Kids are learning to master the technique and positioning that gives stability while moving forward or turning. Learning to balance means learning to ride on two wheels is much easier.

We commonly call them balance bikes, but you hear other names used for them too. Some people may refer to them as pre-bikes, run cycles, pushbikes, glide bikes, toddler bikes, or training bikes, and they are small and lightweight bikes without pedals that allow children to develop balancing skills.

Who can ride Balance Bikes?

Kids 18 months, or even younger if they desire, can learn how to focus their centre of gravity on a balance bike. If they regularly practice riding skills a couple of times a week, their stability and balance dramatically improve. Riding a bike helps kids learn body control.

Once they learn to balance themselves correctly, kids learn to pedal regular bikes with confidence.

The gross motor skills of a child learning to ride balance bikes dramatically improve. They are working out how to balance and steer, while riding is easier without pedals. Pedalling shifts body weight side to side, leading to wobbles, losing direction and becoming unstable. A balance bike is designed to be low to the ground and allows the rider to drop their feet quickly to the ground, steadying themselves not to fall.

Benefits of Balance Bikes

Balance bikes offer many advantages:

  • Cycling is an adventurous way for parents and children to explore the local parks.
  • Younger children can start learning balance.
  • Because of its size and weight, it’s easy for adults to carry.
  • Balance bikes encourage free play, imagination and exploration.
  • An excellent option for outdoor recreation and exercise.
  • It is easy to learn balance on two wheels, as feet can touch the ground quickly.
  • Transitioning to a two-wheeler is accessible without needing training wheels.

So, it’s all positive feedback here. What’s stopping you? Check out Kid Mart’s range of balance bikes, and let your child start mastering the riding fun.

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Kids Bookshelves: Get Kids Reading and Off Screens

What kids furniture gets kids reading? Kids Bookshelves help get them reading and off screens.

I know I’m not alone; parenting is hard. Am I right? I am the first to admit screens have played the role of babysitter any time I have wanted to have a conversation, get some work done, or have an uninterrupted trip to the bathroom. When my boys were younger, they would watch TV all day while I worked. They were happy, and I was delighted. If we were out and about, my phone occupied the kids.

Many of us solve complaints or behaviour with a screen. It’s our first response anytime we need a quick fix to entertain kids. But, unfortunately, it’s pretty common now to see toddlers with a phone or tablet – and they are getting addicted.

Toddlers and Screen Addiction

In truth, screens are addictive, and toddlers are not immune. A bit of online (on-screen) research reveals article after article addressing the phenomenon, with even two-year-olds hooked on screen time.

Have you noticed the tantrums start when we withhold a phone from our young children? Concentration on regular activities such as drawing pictures, building blocks, or reading decreases as screen addiction increases. Research even indicates higher amounts of screen time led to increased incidence of anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactive disorder and behavioural problems.

Kid Mart Kids Bookshelves and Kids Furniture

I’m not going to get started on what happens when you keep a 12-year-old away from their phone! Actually, I am because I am living that now. Screen rage was particularly noticeable this evening. We banned our three boys from screens because of their behaviour. Firstly, we had complaints, anger and fighting, but gradually something new and exciting developed. One child reached for the Atlas in desperation for entertainment, one reached for a book, and another started composing music on the keyboard piano. 

Go to the Bookshelf and Grab a Book to Read

Luckily, we have a collection of books, which we started well before having kids, so it makes it easy to tell the kids to go to the bookshelf, grab a book and read it. When our 12-year-old was a baby, I would read to him while he was in his cot, as he was falling asleep, hoping that he would develop a love for reading. Life got busy, so sadly, our second and third babies did not get the same attention.

Easy access to books can encourage kids to read. That is one reason we have such a range of styles in kids bookshelves at Kid Mart. The Nursery or kids bedroom should have a bookshelf to offer easy access to reading material. Some books become exceptional memories. I have a nursery rhyme book that is over forty years old. I would spend hours looking at the pictures. It was a treasure, and my dad had even written my name in it. Now when I see his handwriting, it brings back happy memories.

Refer to Kids Bookshelves to Entertain Your Children

Display books and games on a bookshelf or book box and allow kids to choose how they can entertain themselves. You can choose from traditionally styled shelving – shelves that will hold a kids library, a magazine rack that displays the front cover for younger kids, or a set to complement the modern styling of your playroom or kids library.

What shelving do you find your kids like best?