Balancing on a scooter and riding it without anyone’s assistance can be one of the first fantasies of your kids. If you bought a scooter for the kid, then the next thing you should do is teach him how to ride it. A scooter is a straightforward ride-on toy, but it can be dangerous when driven incorrectly. Every year, several kids require to go to the hospital emergency room due to scooter-related injuries. So, it’s necessary to let the kid know how to ride the toy vehicle.
10 Simple Steps to Ride a Scooter
Today, we will let you know how to teach a child to ride a scooter. We discussed the whole procedure of learning the toy with easy steps below.
Start with the basics
The first thing you require to do is introduce the scooter to the child as he may not be familiar with the toy. Let him know about different parts briefly and what functionalities they serve in the operation of the scooter. Give him the introduction in a simple way so that he can understand everything easily. Let him know how to use the components of the scooter depending on the situation.
Choose the right scooter
Choosing the right scooter is a significant step as it can help the kid to acquire the skill quickly. The suitable scooter should come with the right handle size, which suits the kid’s height. Besides, the deck should be bigger enough to accommodate the kid’s feet. It also needs to be strong enough to carry the kid’s weight. The wheels should be optimized for better traction on different surfaces. Overall, the scooter must offer the kid easy, comfortable, and smooth rides.
Show them by riding
Teaching your kid about various features and their works is not enough to let the kid on the scooter. You will need to show him by practically riding the vehicle. Perhaps, it is one of the most important parts as the kids understand things better while shown practically. Moreover, they love to copy the elders. You can also show them video tutorials of learning scooters to make the whole process easier for them.
Teach them balancing
Balancing on the scooter is easy, as well as necessary. Unless the kid learns to balance, they will find it hard to stay on the scooter and may encounter injuries by falling. At first, ask him to stand aside from the scooter while holding the handlebar without standing on the deck. This will help him to develop confidence in riding gradually. Let him practice it for a while.
Teach them turning
Turning or changing direction is another important thing that the kid should learn before riding a scooter. Show him how the handlebar helps to change the direction of the scooter while riding. Show the procedure practically so that he can understand easily.
Let them practice indoor
It doesn’t matter how tough you try, the kid can never fully enhance his riding skill until you let him practice adequately. The kid should practice indoors at first as they may feel shy on the outside or get bullied. Besides, practicing outside also tends to be riskier. Let the kid practice slowly indoor for a few days, and then you can take him outside for practice.
Begin the indoor practice by teaching the procedure of balancing and turning. After that, ask him to left foot on the deck and push opposite to the ground using the right foot. In the meantime, his vision should be in the front direction, and he should put both hands on the handlebar.
Time to practice outdoor
Practicing outdoor home is one of the final steps of teaching the child scooter riding. However, you will need to choose a proper place for doing so. The location should be flat, smooth, and also not too hard. Such places will let them ride easily as well as include less risk of injuries in case of fall. Avoid roads and sideways, which include a lot of traffics.
Another vital thing that you should consider is equipping the kid with proper safety gear to be assured of safety. The basic and most important safety gear is a helmet, which can resist any head injuries in case of falling. Other safety equipment may include knee pads, goggles, gloves, etc. They should be lightweight and fit cloth along with grip shoes or sandals while doing so.
Teach them braking
Currently, most of the scooters include a brake, which helps to control the speed as needed. Introduce the braking mechanism to the kids and then show them how to use it. Let them know what to do and what not to do while using the brake. At first, the kid may find it hard to balance after braking, but eventually, he will be able to use the brake efficiently.
Let them go slow
Childs may get tired after riding a while. Don’t force them to ride while they get want a break. Let them take breaks periodically while riding to recharge. Also, they shouldn’t ride for an extended period in a day, to be exact, not more than one hour. Short practices regularly instead of practicing a long time at a day work better.
Encourage the kids
One thing you may know about the kid is that they can get demotivated as like as they get excited about things very quickly. You shouldn’t let it happens to your kid. Encourage him to continue learning. Track their progress to analyze how they are developing the skill day by day. Also, keep the whole procedure fun-filled so that the kid doesn’t get tired mentally.
One thing you can do is engage in riding with the child. It will make the sessions enjoyable for them and at the same time, provide you physical activities. You may purchase an adult kick scooter to start riding with the kid.
FAQs about Toddlers Scooter
Here are some questions and their answers which may arrive at your mind while teaching the kid scooter riding.
What age can a kid ride a scooter?
Kids can start riding kick scooters from an early age. As the toy comes with a simple mechanism, a toddler who can balance and walk on his own can ride a scooter. Different kids can develop those skills at different ages, so that is a little hard to guess the proper age. However, according to various sources, most of the kids develop these skills with 2 to 5 years old. So, you can say that kids within this age range can start riding a scooter.
How do you fold a kid’s scooter?
Different scooter arrives with different mechanisms of folding. However, most of them include a quick-release button or lock which releases the handlebar, and you can turn it down then. Some of the scooters may come with a removable handlebar, which will be removed using a button.
How do you safe on a scooter?
Here are some measures that you can take to ensure safety on the scooter:
- Wear a helmet and other safety gear. Use shoes or sandal, which has a better grip.
- Know the proper ways of braking, turning, and overtaking.
- Avoid using the scooter on a busy road until you are experienced.
- Check the scooter every time before start riding to ensure it doesn’t have a problem.
Which foot do you push on a scooter?
Usually, the dominant foot is used to push the scooter. That is because the dominant foot allows you to push harder to go at a faster speed. The less dominant foot is held on the deck.
Conclusion
Riding a scooter is not something difficult to learn, but teaching it to your little kid can be hard. We will recommend you keep teaching them with patience to end up with a satisfactory result. We hope that the above guidelines will be helpful for you to prepare your kid scooting.