A tenth of children don't know how to ride a bike

megilleland

Article in the Daily Mail today highlighting that one in ten children do not know how to ride a bike as worried parents refuse to let them spend enough time outdoors, 'due to parents' fears about strangers'.

I am the only member of my household who cycles. My partner says she would if it was along a safeguarded route, but my partner's two daughters (in their twenties) have never rode a bike and have no intention of doing so. All they were interested in is passing that driving test and getting a car - which one has done and the other is taking her test today.

bompington

And the daily mail wouldn't be doing anything to stoke up those fears, would it?

plowmar

Trust the D M to put a negative slant on something that is life enhancing.

How about " 90% of children know how to ride a bike despite worries from parents"

Or " Common sense overrides irrational fear"

megilleland

All they were interested in is passing that driving test and getting a car - which one has done and the other is taking her test today.

My partner's daughter has just returned and failed her driving test again. Still no thoughts of a bike. The cost of two tests and driving lessons would have brought her a top of the range bike by now. If people had to ride a bike for a year before taking driving lessons maybe that would be a good thing for cyclist awareness.

Frank the tank

I still believe every motorist should be made (once a year) to ride a bike on a busy road.

Cressers

Where do kids go to leasrn how to ride a bike these days? All the playing fields are gated or turned into flats, many more families are crammed into modern house-hutches or flats with no garden for the kids to try those first wobbly pedal strokes, the tyranny of the car has made even the minor streets a rat-run, the local waste ground has been tuned into another Lego estate...

...along with the other fearmongering trends in our society it's no suprise that so few kids are riding bikes, the suprise is that the non-riding statistic is so low.

How to reverse it is a very difficult knot to unpick...

Anonymous

When I was a kid I never rode my bike to school as there was no provision to leave them anywhere.

Since my eldest daughter started school I have been pleasantly surprised at how many kids ride in...

LittleB0b

So 9 out of 10 children do know how to ride a bike....

teulk

My son is almost 12 and has had numerous bikes bought for him over the years and he still cant ride a bike - he absolutely hates them and shows no interest what so ever in wanting to learn everytime we try to teach him.

Porgy

Frank the tank wrote:

I still believe every motorist should be made (once a year) to ride a bike on a busy road.

One way of keeping numbers down I suppose.

Let's have an annual motorists cull - culled by other motorists.



I was pleased to see 9 out of 10 kids can ride a bike - i thought it would have been less. does the DM think there was a golden time when 100% of kids rode bikes? Somehow I doubt it.

Frank the tank

The DM should come with a government health warning 'cos everyone I know that reads it ends up with blood pressure through the roof and wanting to kill somebody/anybody.

mugs

teulk wrote:

My son is almost 12 and has had numerous bikes bought for him over the years and he still cant ride a bike - he absolutely hates them and shows no interest what so ever in wanting to learn everytime we try to teach him.

Mine is exactly the same, although only 5 (nearly 6) I bought him a brand new bike earlier this year in the hope that it might pique his interest but no, gets on, turns the pedals once and then throws himself off and refuses to get back on. Next time I'll gaffa tape him to the seat and he can stay on the blessed thing until he gets the hang of it.

The annoyance is that all his pals ride, and there are plenty of safe spots in the village where they can hang out, I know he'd love it if he put the effort in, but he's got no interest whatsoever.

ColinJ

NapoleonD wrote:

When I was a kid I never rode my bike to school as there was no provision to leave them anywhere.

When I was a kid I rode my bike to school as there were rows and rows of bike sheds for our bikes.














Then some bastard sneaked into the school yard and stole my bike! :evil: It was 20 years before I bought another one.

Porgy

I remember my shcool being slightly confused about what to do when I cycled to school in the early 80s. I was the first - but others soon started as well.

There was no-one else cycling - no sheds or anywhere to lock them up officially. I ended up chaining it to the railing inside the school yard - which every so often someone would question but I was never asked to stop - i think the school in the end didn;t want to be seen to be deterring kids form cycling even if they thought the actual bikes were a bit of an eyesore - personally i thought the junk heaps the teachers used to turn up in, parked round the front of the school, were the major eyesore!

beverick

I'd have said 9/10 was quite high actually.

I'd have guessed 7 or 8.

Bob

MattC59

I've had a bike for as long as I can remember. My kids will be the same