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Home » Cycling skills » Traffic » Riding with kids

Riding with kids


cycling with kids

It takes a different approach.

Cycling with kids can be a wonderful experience, and a great opportunity for a family to spend time—and get exercise—together. Whether children ride on their own, with you, on your bike, or in a trailer, there are some important considerations.

Is it easier for an adult to learn to ride safely in traffic, or a child? The fact is that each age group has its limitations and its strengths. The cycling community is fortunate to have access to the combined experience of many talented cycling instructors, as well as many important studies and observations. In teaching your child to cycle safely, or configuring a safe way for them to ride with you, you needn’t start from scratch.

You way want to read our article below. Following that is a list of resources we’ve compiled.

Some key differences

Clearly, adults have a better understanding of traffic—both the rules and the ways that people interpret, ignore, break or misunderstand them. In other words, the way traffic should work, and the way it actually works. However, adults often take a bit more time to learn bike handling skills such as shoulder-checking and braking. This is partly due to our not being as flexible as kids, and partly to our having learned a few lessons in our lives that make us more cautious.

Children are generally much quicker at picking up bike handling skills. When given a few helpful tips, they easily do a shoulder-check while riding in a straight line thanks to their flexibility.

Conversely, because of their age and experience levels, they also require greater supervision as well as consistent coaching on the fact that traffic can be very dangerous. The key here is instilling respect for the complexity and potential danger of traffic without instilling fear.

A child’s ability to judge speed and distance is generally much less developed than that of an adult. Their ability to determine the size of a gap in traffic needed to safely ride across a roadway is often undeveloped, and they may take too long to get started. This means that a gap sufficient for an adult to cross safely may be too short for a child to cross in time, and they may be unaware of this.

Other key challenges for children include more limited peripheral vision and a longer time required for focusing their eyes on an object. Being smaller, a child’s ability to see over objects is more limited, as is the ability of others to see them because of their size and height.

Knowledge of traffic rules and behaviour takes time to develop, but this knowledge can be gained in many ways other than riding in traffic.

Learning happens everywhere

One often-overlooked teaching opportunity is the time spent together in a vehicle. Ask your child to identify potential hazards when you’re driving, and to suggest ways of avoiding those hazards. What about the car pulling out of a driveway up ahead? Does (or can) the driver see us? Who’s driving behind us, and are they at a safe distance? If not, what options do we have?

The same thing can be done while cycling or walking together. Using your own experience, as well as skills learned in a cycling course (we have courses available online) or through a guide such as the Bike Sense manual link opens in new window, you can help pass on knowledge to your kids that can lead to a lifetime of safer and more enjoyable riding.

Of course, make sure that it’s done in a way that you’re neither distracting yourself nor distracting your child in their riding. When you’re on bikes, the best time to talk is when you’re stopped off the roadway.

Passing on the (correct) knowledge

It’s crucial to understand that, consciously or subconsciously, kids will mimic what we do. If we take risks when driving, they will too, either riding their bike or later on when they drive. Avoid passing on dangerous habits. This might entail brushing up on our driving skills. Review your state or province’s driver’s manual, and/or take a defensive driving course.

For many people, driving is a daily activity. When we’re driving, we can evaluate our actions—and attitudes—and challenge ourselves to keep improving. What we learned when we took our driver’s test may have changed. Certainly, the roadway configurations have. There are installations that may not have even existed here when we took our test, such as bike lanes, complex multi-roadway intersections, and roundabouts. Do we know how to handle them properly, and do we know how to handle our vehicle around cyclists? And then there’s what can be an ongoing task of curbing impatience, controlling our temper, remembering to be courteous… We all know there are ways to improve.

There are people watching and learning from—and responding to—everything we do. What do we want our kids, and everyone else we share the road with, to learn?

Questions? Feel free to contact The CCE. We can help.

"How do I choose the right bike for my child?”

Using the Woom bike(s) during our learn-to-ride lessons, we can discuss and demonstrate the elements surrounding the appropriate type(s) of bike and the sizing.

Sizing guide for kids’ bikes:
IceBike.org has an excellent, comprehensive guide on choosing the best size of bike for your child. I recommend reading this when you have a chance, and we can discuss the particulars before or after your young one’s bicycle lesson.

https://www.icebike.org/the-definitive-guide-to-kids-bike-sizes-dont-buy-the-wrong-bike/ link opens in new window


Helmet use

  • How to choose and adjust a bicycle helmet

Complimentary sections from our online courses. link opens in new window

  • Traffic skills
    • Changing lanes in traffic
    • Triggering a traffic light on your bike
    • Navigating traffic circles & roundabouts

  • Bike handling skills
    • Proper braking technique
    • Shifting gears

  • Equipment
    • Parts of the bike
    • Checking your bicycle for safety
    • Choosing & adjusting your bicycle helmet





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"Hello Allan,"I just completed the online bicycle course. I wanted to tell you that I found it really helpful and thorough. I have been a bike commuter for 6 years and recently got a ticket for running a red light on my bike. The information in this course is really valuable and I would love to see it made available to drivers as well. "I’m sure you know that many drivers (and cyclists) are not aware of Texas law regarding bicyclists’ roles on the road. It makes me happy to see the time and effort put into developing such an informative course like this. I just feel it important to tell you that the CCE and its staff are really appreciated. Thanks for spreading awareness and trying to improve the cyclist/driver relationship!"Thank you so much once again!"— Erica C. ... See MoreSee Less
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"Hi, Allan."I think the team is really learning a lot from your courses!! WE certainly appreciate all of the effort that went into making them!"Thanks so much. You really have been wonderful to work with!"— Rachelle G, Office Manager & HR Administrator, www.accelrobotics.com/, San Diego, CA ... See MoreSee Less

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"I am a paramedic with a municipal EMS in Saskatchewan. We are required to take this course if we want to pick up any shifts as bike medics. We have bikes equipped with emergency equipment that we can ride around at community events with. I thought the course was excellent and very detailed. Many things I can take with me while cycling. Not only that but many things that will make me a better driver in my car and on my motorbike as well. Thanks again,"— Caitlyn ... See MoreSee Less
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Just released: an expanded, fully-updated version of our 'Traffic Smarts for Cyclists' course!This is valuable for experienced riders and beginners.Detailed techniques for lane changes, approaching and going through intersections, lighting, locking your bike.Throughout, your rights (and duties) are outlined in a clear manner. Separate offerings for Canada and the USA.The price will be increasing soon--sign up now. 30-day money-back guarantee.Bulk-purchase discounts available for your organization.thecce.org/online-courses/ ... See MoreSee Less

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