Bicycles, Your Kid, and You
Making their memories as good as your own

6-As soon as it is practical, show your child how to take care of the bicycle, starting with the safety checks. A great thing to do for this is to have a safety checklist, printed off your computer, that lists all the things the child should check – and at what intervals. Kids respond to the form, and checking something off shows they’ve accomplished something. They also won’t forget anything that’s important.

7-Until your child is old enough, and responsible enough, check the condition of your child's bike yourself from time to time. Checking tire wear, brakes, and chain condition is always a good thing to do. Again, when you do these checks, have your youngster there to watch and learn.

8-Your kid should wear bright clothing while riding – so as to be easily seen. White or fluorescent clothes are great for riding, especially at night. The need for bright clothing is greater when riding in areas without street lights and/or without bicycle lanes or sidewalks.

9-Bicycle riding footwear should adequately cover and protect the child’s feet. Sandals and flip-flops are roads to trouble. Laces can also be troublesome, and even dangerous. Kids frequently want to ride in their tennis shoes, so show them how to safely tuck away the laces – to prevent injury or damage. Some of the tennis shoes that are popular with kids today have excessively long laces, so be sure to cover this one.

10-Sloppy, loose-fitting pants are also in style with kids today. These styles of pants can also be distracting and dangerous to bicyclists. There are many ways around this, the most popular of which is one of the clips that hold the pants tightly to the leg. There are so many varieties of these available today, that even the most discriminating youngster can find one he or she won’t be embarrassed to wear.

11-Make sure that your child’s bicycle is equipped with a good, working headlight. A rear taillight and/or rear reflectors are also necessary. These are items to put on that checklist – is the headlight working?

12-Check to see if the rules are being followed from time to time; reinforce them in appropriate ways as you deem necessary. For example, you could take away bike-riding privileges for a day for an infraction, or you could only allow the child to wash and safety-check the bike. You know what’s best here.

By the way, most of the above items can be applied to adult bike-riders, too. Whether you're riding for fun, for a cardiovascular workout, to lose weight, or simply for cheap transportation, safety is still the name of the game.

Riding bikes with your child is one of the most enjoyable experiences a parent can have, and will give you the opportunity to teach by example. It’s real quality time, in a world where things to share with your kids are harder and harder to find. Not to mention that it gives a chance to recall the feeling of being young, carefree, and independent for a while again! Now, where are those playing cards?

Have a great ride!

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