“Why can’t parents teach their own kids cycling?”

We experienced two rather surreal encounters while Buddy was learning to cycle that is worth reflecting.

First, was when seeing our cautious little Buddy, cycling off on his own, barely 1 hour into his second session with Biking Singapore, oblivious to his parents’ claps and cheers as he peddled forward on his two-wheeler. He did it! Unbelievable but true. Our Buddy is finally cycling!

The second encounter was with a middle-aged lady who stood near us, lamenting to me,“ Why can’t parents teach their own kids cycling?” when she saw us cheering Buddy on. Meanwhile her very own 15-year-old teenaged son was struggling to learn cycling with his mother’s help, visibly exasperated and close to the verge of giving up.

“ Why can’t parents teach their own kids cycling?” Good question.

My husband David and I believe strongly that cycling is among the core life skills our kids should learn they are young. This is because when kids are young, they are far more nimble, adaptable and willing to take risks.

However, we are also aware that every child is different. While our eldest daughter is adventurous by nature, our 2nd child is a bit more cautious when attempting new experiences. So when the time came for him to learn cycling, we were careful to pick a cycling school that has good track record with children.

We were introduced to Biking Singapore who claims to be able to teach kids cycling in two 2-hour sessions, without falling and without tears. Knowing Buddy’s learning disposition, we knew we had to give Biking Singapore a try because past few attempts by Daddy to teach him cycling on our own had failed.

Why is it that we ourselves can’t teach our own kids cycling? For us, our main struggles are as follow:

1- Time: I supposed whether you’re working or not, time is always a constraint. Whether is it to meet work deadlines or to have some ‘me’ time, there’s always so much obligations screaming for our time.

2- Experience: A trained cycling instructor are familiar with the different learning needs in children and can adapt their teaching styles and methods to suit each child. For us parents, our teaching style may be limited to the number of kids we have and our own technique of learning cycling.

3- Expectations: Like it or not, all parents would have some level of expectations on our kids. Coupled with a lack of time, our expectations may rear its ugly head when we teach our kids resulting in frustration and tears. A trained cycling instructor would be far more knowledgeable, patient and hence more effective in teaching our kids.

The Biking Singapore Difference:

A good biking school with good coaches truly makes a world of difference. Here’s why we think of Biking Singapore is commendable:

• Experienced Coaches: Coach CT, the coach assigned to us, is very experienced with young children. He was extremely patient with Buddy, who talked non-stop and asked a lot of questions, which disrupted the pace of lesson. He was able to adapt his teaching style to suit Buddy’s inquisitive style of learning. He also cleverly motivated Buddy to continue the lessons with bite-sized incentives when Buddy threw a tantrum mid-lesson and refused to carry on.

Despite the young lad’s frustration and discouragement, Coach CT persuaded him to carry on learning by making the lesson non-threatening with achievable milestones. This was instrumental in the success.

• 1-to-1 Class: Every child is different. With Biking Singapore’s 1-to-1 classes, the teaching style of the coaches can be adapted to suit the specific child, as in the case of Buddy. With a more focused approached, the child learns better and faster. For the coach, it would help him to bond better with the kids.
• No Bikes, No Pads, No Falls: Amazing as it sounds, when we first engaged Biking Singapore, we were told that we do need to bring any knee or elbow guards as Buddy won’t fall. After going through 2 sessions, we can attest to that! In fact, even if you don’t have your own bike for the child, they can loan one to you for a very small fee.
• Two Sessions Assurance: Prior to attending Biking Singapore’s lessons, Buddy only knew how to ‘glide’ very short distance on his balancing bike. Coach CT assured us that Buddy would be cycling in 2 sessions and we were pleasantly surprised he delivered the promise! The only commitment on our end is that the 2 sessions should be ideally within a week, as he has to reinforce the bike techniques. Makes sense and the results show!
• All Weather Lesson: While Biking Singapore coaches can come to any venue to teach, their usual venue is reasonably weatherproof and offers a long and wide area for young would-be cyclists to safely glide and peddle on their own. This is important for continuity of lesson as the weather in Singapore can be unpredictable.

He is cycling!

So with that, in as a little as 2 two-hour sessions, Buddy was cycling! We can’t be more thankful because we can cycle and enjoy this sport as a family from now on.

Biking Singapore offers a range of lessons and cycling experiences for both adults and children, experienced and novice riders. See their website for details: https://www.bikingsingapore.com/

Disclaimer: Prior to learning cycling, Buddy had had sessions with daddy on his balancing bike as well pedaling on a 4-wheeler. Aside from that, the sessions he had with Biking Singapore was his first ever on a 2-wheeler.

SPECIAL PROMOTION

Biking Singapore is offering a 10% discount for our readers on the course fee to teach kids cycling. Use the code “bikingsingapore1609” to book your child’s course by 31 Oct, 2019 . Valid for 1 year from the date of deposit.