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This is my ethos. I have two young boys--one 4 year-old and one 18 months--and this is how they are growing up. My four year old was riding without training w

This is my ethos. I have two young boys--one 4 year-old and one 18 months--and this is how they are growing up. My four year old was riding without training wheels by two and on skate ramps by three [1]. My wife was initially against it but through my stubborn insistence, she's come around. As I mentioned in another comment, my sister and I grew up doing all sorts of dangerous shit and I will forever be grateful to my parents for not raising pansies. We build a rickety tree fort high in a tree and threw balls of mud and rocks at each other and the other neighborhood kids who played with us. We rode our bikes across major streets, we made homemade fireworks, and we had a trampoline in the neighbors' yard and a skate ramp in the driveway. It was an amazing childhood and it's exactly what I want for my boys. When we moved out here to small-town Kansas from the Seattle area, we spent time looking for the right street and we found it. Packs of kids roam unsupervised and there are few backyard fences. It's perfect. I hope that "playborhood" does become a thing again because there's no better way, IMHO, to raise kids. [1] https://www.instagram.com/p/BHNBJqmhM5T/?taken-by=christopherjsnell&hl=en https://www.instagram.com/p/BHNBJqmhM5T/?taken-by=christophe...

Icedcool 10y ago
Good for you!
llimllib 10y ago
Where did you find a bike that fit a two year old? I have a balance bike for my kid but he can't stand over it yet
- chrissnell 10y ago
  The bike in the Instagram video is a Diamondback Mini Viper. He got a balance bike (the Strider) for his second birthday and like your son, he also had a tough time standing over it. But, he grew and was able to get up on it pretty quickly. First, we practiced locomotion and later, coasting with his feet up on the stays behind the seat. Once he was flying around on that bike, we switched to the pedal bike. We had the same problem--he wasn't quite tall enough--but he grew again and could straddle it, sort of. The actual transition from balance bike to pedal bike went really quickly. Main thing they have to learn is the coaster brake. Good luck.
Grishnakh 10y ago
Why on earth would you move to Kansas from Seattle if you want your kids to be able to go outside and play? The PacNW has a far superior climate, where you can go outside just about any time of year. The Midwest, by contrast, has hot summers and brutal winters. I get that Seattle may be too urban, but there's plenty of parts of the area that aren't nearly as built-up.

Icedcool 10y ago

Good for you!

llimllib 10y ago

Where did you find a bike that fit a two year old? I have a balance bike for my kid but he can't stand over it yet

chrissnell 10y ago
The bike in the Instagram video is a Diamondback Mini Viper. He got a balance bike (the Strider) for his second birthday and like your son, he also had a tough time standing over it. But, he grew and was able to get up on it pretty quickly. First, we practiced locomotion and later, coasting with his feet up on the stays behind the seat. Once he was flying around on that bike, we switched to the pedal bike. We had the same problem--he wasn't quite tall enough--but he grew again and could straddle it, sort of. The actual transition from balance bike to pedal bike went really quickly. Main thing they have to learn is the coaster brake. Good luck.

Grishnakh 10y ago

Why on earth would you move to Kansas from Seattle if you want your kids to be able to go outside and play? The PacNW has a far superior climate, where you can go outside just about any time of year. The Midwest, by contrast, has hot summers and brutal winters. I get that Seattle may be too urban, but there's plenty of parts of the area that aren't nearly as built-up.