My Child Struggles To Ride A Bike

by Edith Stewart
(Mcomb, MI)

It is amazing what we take for granted. I have 5 children and when my fifth child couldn't manage to pedal a bike, it was heart breaking. When she is outside with her older siblings on a bike she scoots along on a scooter. It is heart breaking to watch her struggle. Though I must admit it more of a struggle for me. She just scoots right along. But then on the rides she often gets tired and then someone ends up carrying her home.

And I’ve been talking to her doctor about this for over a year and they seem to play it down. I even went into a high end bike shop thinking that if she has a “better” bike, she would learn to ride. We are now scheduled to receive OT and PT for these skills. But is hard watching your baby and realizing that she can do that simple thing.

She is a great athlete. She runs and jumps. And this girl is so fast. But she is really “stiff” too which is why I guess we are doing the OT/PT. Again something that I had brought up during her visits to the doctors. And it doesn’t stop there; she has a fine motors skills delay. She is so bright and when in school knows all the answers to EVERYTHING I mean she’s really a bright girl but struggles with handwriting.

I am hopeful by the time she starts kindergarten that things are easier for her. She always tries and we have some activities that she does at home with the support of her teacher she is also doing in school. But we’ve got a road ahead of us. She’s enrolled in ballet now and realizes likely for the first time that she doesn’t move very smoothly. But we’re going to stick with it until we can get it corrected.