Tricycles

We are fast approaching the boys 2nd birthday next month and I am mentally preparing a gift list(for Christmas as well). When did your LO's like the tricycles? When did they get the hang of it? How long did they use them for? I'm not sure if we should ask for them now...or wait until NEXT October when they'll be turning 3. What do you think?

I don't want to buy them and they get one summer use out of them, kwim? But I also don't want to buy them and them not be able to use them yet due to developmental reasons, etc...

 

We bought the girls tricycles when they turned 2 in June. They are maybe just starting to "get" how to use them now. They can barely reach pedals right now, one dd is average size and the other is very small for her age. I have friends who are pediatric PT's and they told me developmentally, kids don't get how to use tricycles until age 3. What I don't know is how long they'll use them for but I think your boys would definitely use them next summer.

 

We got them for their 2nd B-day and one DD could not use it until age 3.5---one DD never really got it and then we purchased bikes/training wheels (which she can do). The STYLE of trike makes a difference, my DD with low trunk tone could not push teh pedals from a more reclining style trike (Hot wheels style), but could do an upright (think Radio Flyer)--but not well.

 

jazz could ride around three and rides great now. We have one of the old fashioned large metal trikes that she rides. Jessy has just gotten the hang of it. You might take them to tru and see if they can even reach the peddles. for the longest jessy couldn't and she's tall for her(with jazz being taller). plus used bikes are easier to peddle

 

Good idea on taking them to TRU. I should say Anthony is quite short. I could seriously put him in 6-9 mth pants! He'll be TWO next month! Poor kid! So I think he'd have a difficult time with the tricycle.

It just stinks their birthday is when it starts to get colder(in Mass)-so they may have a month use out of it-and then into the garage it goes. I would hate to miss the point where they would really enjoy them. They'll be 2.5 when next summer rolls around... Decisions decisions!

 

We never had tricycles..the girls got their first bikes on their second birthday. They were tiny bikes with training wheels. I was surprised but it took them no time to learn how to pedal. They loved them and can still ride them, a great buy for us.

 

We got trikes for the boys at 21 months and they still can't use them. They don't "get" how to pedal, even though they can mostly reach the pedals. I wish I had waited until they were at least 2.5... maybe even 3. At a minimum, I would say to get them for Christmas rather than their birthday. That way, they'll be sitting around for less time.

P.S. - Such a cute avi photo!

 

We have had cheapo plastic trikes for a couple of years now (the ones that used to have a parent handle for us to push). The girls 'got' pedalling and could reach the pedals around the age of 3 (Tal's rather little, Maia's average). Several people have told us that the upright bike with stabilisers is easier to pedal so we plan to go straight to that when we get around to it.

 

Mine learned to peddle at preschool when they were just over 2. We got trikes at 2.5. Any hill or slight bump would cause some frustration until they learned to scoot with their feet.

I would definitely take them to try and see which style works best.

 

We have this one & got it for the boys' 2nd Christmas (so they were 17 mos). While they love the 'rock' feature of it & pushing each other around, they still can't reach the pedals. Well, I shouldn't say that. They can reach them, but the second they have to turn them, it doesn't work. And both my boys are average height (although, I think Conner has short legs & a longer torso), but still have to sit WAY at the front of the seat to reach. Both do have the concept of pedaling though, and have done so independently for a few feet (straight, mind you). I think I'd probably wait a bit, if I were you.

 

Mine enjoyed riding their tricycles (with us pushing) starting around 18 months. (Get trikes with push bars! It will save your back & neck.) But they couldn't pedal on their own until after age 2, maybe 2.5. It depends on the trikes. The more upright ones can be tippy, but they also seem to be easier to pedal than the ones that are lower to the ground (like the Kettlers, which is what we had).

And when they were about 3.5, they started wanting real bikes (with training wheels). So most of our tricycle use was during the parent-pushing stage. This might be different if we had someplace (like a driveway) for them to ride, though. I don't feel safe having one parent and two kids riding on the sidewalk or bike path -- they just can't remember to stay to the right and look where they're going. So I have to drive them to a park to a ride, or we have to have both parents. This limits our riding time a lot, though they do ride at daycare too.

ETA: I've said this before, but if I had it to do over again, I'd skip the trikes and get balance bikes (with no pedals or training wheels). I've seen kids as young as two riding them, and I think it helps them learn how to ride a regular bike much more easily.

 

Ditto Alden. I'd get balance bikes instead. Our trikes are nice now but I never would have bought them. The boys couldn't even reach the pedals until 2.5 and the trikes are so very heavy that even now they struggle to control them if there is much of a hill. No pushbar on them either so my poor back trying to give them some time on their trikes that they got as a gift at 15 months (pushing two at once is NOT FUN!)

 

We had Kettler tricycles that the boys got for their second birthday, they rode them until they got bikes with training wheels for their 4th birthday. The Kettlers are great because they don't tip easily if at all, and are adjustable to help them reach the pedals. When they got them, we had them as small as they could be. By the time they got their bikes, they were extended as big as they could get. It took about a month or so of trying before they could really pedal them, and it didn't help that our driveway is a big downhill with very little flat area, and we live in the middle of a hill, so the sidewalk wasn't much good either.

 

We have these ones. DD has the same one but in pink. They were riding them really well by 2.5. My twins are on the smaller side and what worked great with these ones is they are not huge and they had no problem reaching the pedals. They are almost 4 and and they have just starting using 2 wheelers with training wheels. DS still rides his trike too alot. I think you will still get use out of a trike next summer.

 

My kids got their tricycles when they turned 3 and their bday is in December. I ended up letting them tool around on them up and down the hallway in the house b/c I felt bad they had no where to ride in the cold weather! It took them a couple weeks to get the hang of pedaling, but soon they were pros. I just sold them last week on Craiglist to another set of twins, I finally accepted that they were now just way too big for them!

 

The boys have classic red Radio flyer trikes. One of them was Ella's when she was little, and my parents bought another one for their birthday so they would each have one.

They love them. Boden is figuring out the pedals, but mostly they use their feet to push themselves around. We have a large cement pad in our backyard with our covered fire ring, and they love riding around that.

They have been great for them this summer.