Bike

Check out Coop's new ride. For some time now (before Coop could even walk), Mark has been wanting to buy a Balance Bike for Cooper. A friend of his purchased one for his son who has been riding a bike (without training wheels) since he was 2 1/2 years old. Mark thought that was soooooo cool. I told him that we might be a little premature to purchase one before Cooper was even a year old. About a month ago, I found an awesome deal on one and decided to buy one for Cooper (Mark).

As I've mentioned in previous posts, Cooper is rather cautious. So what does any rational parent of an overly guarded 2yr old do? Put him on a bike without any sense of security at all! Actually, I'm quite surprised at how well he has done so far. The concept of these bikes is to:

"Develop a child’s balance and coordination by simply allowing the child to sit and walk or run with the bike by pushing with their feet. If the bike starts to fall, kids instinctively regain their balance using their feet. Once they’ve gained some momentum and balance control they can lift their feet up as they feel comfortable and start cruising! "

Coop has definitely figured out the balance and walking part. He mostly rides in our front room (thanks to our hardwood floors) and patio but has recently ventured to the garage and basement. He hasn't made it outside to the driveway just yet but considering that he hasn't driven any of his cars on the open road, I don't see that happening any time soon. Who knows, maybe the bike will be the push he needs to feel comfortable riding on the open road again. Click here to see a video clip demo I found on YouTube. Hopefully we'll have a video of Cooper riding soon. Until then, we will remain in heavy training mode (one step at a time).