One of the most memorable things you will ever give to your child is their very first bicycle. With this one gift you literally open up the world to them. Suddenly they have the means to go places without having to hitch a ride with their parent's. The bike will keep the child happy until they are finally old enough to drive. The more things a parent knows about buying childrens bikes the more likely they are to make the perfect choice.
Parents want to make sure that they purchase a bike that their child is going to use. By the time a parent thinks that their child is old enough for their own bike, the parent should have a pretty good grasp on their personality.
It is very rare for a child, especially one who is very young, to understand the concept of taking care of their possessions. Since it is going to get used and abused many parents look for used models which are usually easy to find and less expensive.
The bike is going to get left out in the rain and snow. It might even be left in the middle of road and get run over by a car. Since the bike is going to be damaged, the parents might want to look for a good quality used child's bike which will not cost as much.
Some parents opt to purchase new one for their young child but then try to save money by purchasing one that needs to be assembled. Sometimes this turns out to be a bad idea. The first problem is that the assembly process never seems to go as smoothly as everyone expected. The second problem is that there is always a chance that a piece has been improperly installed or that bolts are not tight enough and the bike disintegrates as the child is riding down the side of the road.
Most kids do just fine when they have a 12 inch bike. The 12 inch bike is small enough for them to mount and steer easily. Some parents try purchasing a 16 inch bike thinking that their child will grow into it. More often than not the 16 inch size proves to much for the child to handle and they end up crashing, and quickly stop riding their bike. In addition to making sure that the bike is small enough for the child to handle, parents also need to make sure that the seat is set low enough that the child can reach the ground easily.
The worse thing a parent can do is give a child a new bike and not instruct their child on how to ride it. If the child has never ridden anything but a tricycle, the parents need to attach training wheels to the bike and make sure that the child is comfortable with the new bike before detaching the training wheels. When the training wheels do come off, the parents need to supervise whenever the child is riding.
A child's helmet needs to be purchased for the child at the same time as the parents are buying childrens bikes. Making sure that the helmet fits the child properly is even more important than making sure they can handle the bike. Parents need to make it very clear to the child that they are not allowed to ride their bike unless the helmet is firmly strapped to their head.
Author Resource:-
Get the exclusive low down on important facts about buying childrens bikes now in our guide to the best kids bike in Oz.