Isaac's trike
When we gave Isaac a trike for his 3rd birthday, I was a little wary of how the whole trike-riding scenario was going to operate. Our driveway is short and gently sloped towards the street; riding it there was out of the question. At first, Isaac's trike-riding adventures were limited to the small paved walk going around half our house. Very occasionally some wild idea would pop into his head about riding his trike to the park. Each time, I said no, or that he had to ask Dada to help us when he came home, and by then trike-riding would have escaped Isaac's mind. I admit I have a bit of a problem, in that when things involve us leaving the house to do something brand new, I become more than a little nervous of how l can possibly ensure that neither Isaac nor his squirmy and opinionated brother are going to bite it. So the poor red trike, it sat in our covered back patio for two months, mostly unused except as an occasional noisemaker when the babies would remember its pretty bell.
This all changed when we met AnthonyCarlos at the park a few days in a row 6 weeks ago. Each time, those boys would bring their scooters, and Isaac was in raptures with the idea of using wheels to propel his body this way and that. One day, we visited AnthonyCarlos at their house, and, knowing we would be going to their neighborhood park (accompanied by an additional pair of adult eyes in AnthonyCarlos's mommy), Isaac and I schemed to bring his trike along.
As you might have guessed, my visions of him whizzing past with his friends on their bikes were pretty far off from reality. Turtles might have beaten a trike-riding Isaac to the park, and I kept up a constant verbal stream of "encouragement" to get him to go faster. I was so, so impatient with him. Why wouldn't he even try to go faster? I wondered. At one point I actually pushed with Jacob's stroller for most of the short distance, just so we might remain within a line-of-sight of the AnthonyCarlos family. And then, as the park began, the walking trail we rode on dipped sharply 6 or so feet down a cute little hill. Accomplished daredevils AnthonyCarlos zipped down the slope. Seeing them, I thought of how easy it would be, and how much fun he would have, going fast down a hill. And if they can do it, why can't my boy? "Of course you can go, Isaac," I said when he asked.
As soon as he started down the slope I realized how dangerously far my ridiculous trike fantasy had taken me from reality. Isaac probably made it three feet down the hill, not steering, before he ran off the road and flew forward off the trike, his face planted in the grass. The helmet proved pretty useless with that kind of impact. He was freaked out but miraculously unhurt in any physical way, and as his spirits recovered remarkably quickly as I thanked every known deity that he had not landed on the pavement. Isaac was actually really cool after this hideous incident, the memory of which causes me to hang my head in stupid-mom shame, and about which I still haven't told Dada about (hi Dada!). He lost interest in the trike for a few weeks afterward, but talked with a hint of amusement about his "crash on the hill".
Last week, when he again brought up riding his trike to the park, I saw it as a chance to be brave and redeem myself, to him and to me. His helmet on, his brother firmly buckled into our wagon, we set off. He rode the whole way to the park by himself, in the most slow and cautious way possible.
This time, my head firmly planted in reality, I did not push him, verbally or physically. When he wanted to go slow, I let him. When he said he was scared of the hills, I held on to his trike and helped him down them. When he wanted to get off and ride in the wagon, I drug or carried his heavy stinkin' trike all the way home, including once in the rain. Dada has helped with positive encouragements invoking the Einsteins, wondering "Can you go presto, buddy?" Over the course of the last week, and a good four trips to the park, Isaac's trike confidence has exploded. I have to walk briskly to keep up with him, and, after I taught him how to stop himself on the hills with both his pedals and his feet, he has ridden the entire round trip to and from the park all by himself. It always amazes me, with the babies, what they can accomplish, given a little patience (and humility) on my part.
This all changed when we met AnthonyCarlos at the park a few days in a row 6 weeks ago. Each time, those boys would bring their scooters, and Isaac was in raptures with the idea of using wheels to propel his body this way and that. One day, we visited AnthonyCarlos at their house, and, knowing we would be going to their neighborhood park (accompanied by an additional pair of adult eyes in AnthonyCarlos's mommy), Isaac and I schemed to bring his trike along.
As you might have guessed, my visions of him whizzing past with his friends on their bikes were pretty far off from reality. Turtles might have beaten a trike-riding Isaac to the park, and I kept up a constant verbal stream of "encouragement" to get him to go faster. I was so, so impatient with him. Why wouldn't he even try to go faster? I wondered. At one point I actually pushed with Jacob's stroller for most of the short distance, just so we might remain within a line-of-sight of the AnthonyCarlos family. And then, as the park began, the walking trail we rode on dipped sharply 6 or so feet down a cute little hill. Accomplished daredevils AnthonyCarlos zipped down the slope. Seeing them, I thought of how easy it would be, and how much fun he would have, going fast down a hill. And if they can do it, why can't my boy? "Of course you can go, Isaac," I said when he asked.
As soon as he started down the slope I realized how dangerously far my ridiculous trike fantasy had taken me from reality. Isaac probably made it three feet down the hill, not steering, before he ran off the road and flew forward off the trike, his face planted in the grass. The helmet proved pretty useless with that kind of impact. He was freaked out but miraculously unhurt in any physical way, and as his spirits recovered remarkably quickly as I thanked every known deity that he had not landed on the pavement. Isaac was actually really cool after this hideous incident, the memory of which causes me to hang my head in stupid-mom shame, and about which I still haven't told Dada about (hi Dada!). He lost interest in the trike for a few weeks afterward, but talked with a hint of amusement about his "crash on the hill".
Last week, when he again brought up riding his trike to the park, I saw it as a chance to be brave and redeem myself, to him and to me. His helmet on, his brother firmly buckled into our wagon, we set off. He rode the whole way to the park by himself, in the most slow and cautious way possible.
This time, my head firmly planted in reality, I did not push him, verbally or physically. When he wanted to go slow, I let him. When he said he was scared of the hills, I held on to his trike and helped him down them. When he wanted to get off and ride in the wagon, I drug or carried his heavy stinkin' trike all the way home, including once in the rain. Dada has helped with positive encouragements invoking the Einsteins, wondering "Can you go presto, buddy?" Over the course of the last week, and a good four trips to the park, Isaac's trike confidence has exploded. I have to walk briskly to keep up with him, and, after I taught him how to stop himself on the hills with both his pedals and his feet, he has ridden the entire round trip to and from the park all by himself. It always amazes me, with the babies, what they can accomplish, given a little patience (and humility) on my part.
posted by Claire at 11:08 PM
3 Comments:
I am so relieved to read this post. Jake (was 3 in May) is not riding his bike with the training wheels. The other boys (give or take a few weeks of him) are cruising around and are literally doing "stunts" on their bikes. I was panicking. Thanks for sharing this!
~Lynn
Oooo!!! We have this bike! Ben got it for his 3rd bday as well and we JUST the past few weeks have seen him take an interest in it... very weird how sudden it was. And he pedals!! Fast! He's taken a few spills because he tries to take turns a little too quickly... but gone are the days when he had no interest in the bike and broke mommy's heart because she so lovingly picked it out. ;)
Erin, I can't wait to hear of Ben's trike adventures!
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