Le Tour De Beonkey

We at Chez Beonkey take on seemingly basic family projects from time to time. One of longest running and most emotionally draining/scarring of these was teaching Jacob to ride his bike. He received an electric blue bicycle for his 6th birthday, decked out with next generation training wheels and a cool water bottle. It was love at first sight, however we quickly realized that he much preferred shooting down the driveway on his Razor scooter (thank you, Santa) to private “mom & pop” bike-riding lessons. Our once-peaceful cul-de-sac was filled with echoes of “Sit up straight!” “Keep pedaling!” “SIT! UP! STRAIGHT!!!” and retorts of “My legs hurt!” “I can’t do it!” “MY LEGS!!! THE PAIN!!!” The child is nothing if not dramatic.

Summer turned into fall, fall into winter, winter into spring. This specific family project was turning out to be a dismal failure. More than once we thought there really might be a problem with Jacob’s legs. And his back. Is there such a thing as bicycle-riding-induced scoliosis? We’re not trained medical professionals so how could we know for sure? All we DID know was that he couldn’t ride his bike WITH training wheels, let alone without them. And NOW he was almost seven.

Then one day, just after his seventh birthday, while practicing riding his bike under duress, Jacob’s grandmother said, “Jacob, I don’t think you need training wheels. Let’s take them off.” He agreed, and his FIRST attempt at riding without training wheels was an incredible – and baffling – success!

Now he wants to ride his bike everywhere! EV. REE. WHERE. To the park. To the pool. To his grandparents’ house…

The parenting lessons we have gleaned from this experience and would like to share with others are as follows:

1. Sometimes the safety nets parents put in place for their children are the very things that keep them from progress.
2. Sometimes nothing beats the wisdom of a grandparent.
3. Start budgeting early for a fleet of bikes for the family. It will sneak up on you when you least expect it.