Riding bikes is a good way to pass a Saturday afternoon in the park or along trails in your neighborhood. It is fun for the entire family. Keep your children protected while they ride their bikes with you or with their friends.
Wear safety gear. Fatal injuries sustained in bicycle accidents are due to the rider not wearing a helmet for protection. Helmets come in all sizes and colors so they can be stylish for the discerning young rider. Helmets should fit the child without being too snug. A loose fitting helmet could turn during wear and block the child?s vision leading to an accident. Children should wear elbow and knee pads as well. This is especially important for a new rider who is not completely comfortable with their balance on a bike. Sandals and other open toed shoes should not be worn during bike rides. Any shoe that has a slippery sole that cannot grip the pedal should be avoided. For children?s bikes, the brakes are controlled by pushing the pedals backwards. Improper shoes may prohibit braking which creates a dangerous situation for your child. Safety gear should be worn each time the child rides their bike.
Make sure that the bicycle is adjusted well for the child. The child should be able to reach the handlebars without leaning forward. Leaning forward puts undue strain on the lower back. The bicycle seat should be tightened to where it doesn?t swivel and should be at a height where the child can place their feet flat on the ground when they are sitting still. The chain should be secured and not in danger of coming loose and falling off. Bicycle tires should be inflated to the proper pressure for safe riding on all terrain.
Your child should wear white or a light color if they will be out late riding their bike. Bicycle riders are knocked off of their bikes by motorists when the motorist can?t see them in the dim light of the evening. To increase their visibility, wearing light colored clothing is recommended. Bikes should be outfitted with reflectors on the front and the back. Safety vests with reflective strips can be purchased for wear during the evening.
When bike riding with traffic or in a neighborhood, it is important to know the rules concerning how one should ride. Never cross an intersection or busy street without looking both ways. A car that comes suddenly around a corner may not see your child?s bike in the road until it is too late. If your road has a designated bicycle lane, use it. It is there to keep you out of harm?s way from the passing cars. Bicycle riders should stay in a single file line when riding on the side of the street. Make sure that your child does not ride too close to parked cars. A motorist may open a door suddenly or back up and knock your child off of their bike.
Do not ride against the flow of traffic. Know proper hand signals. Where there are no traffic lights, your hand signals will let motorists know that you are about to make a turn. The signal for a left turn is to extend the left arm straight out to the side with the palm facing forward. A right turn signal uses the left arm again only it is bent upwards at the elbow with the palm facing forward. A right turn can be signaled with the right hand extended and the palm down. The sign for stop is made with the left arm bent at the elbow in a downward position with the palm facing the rear.
Bike riding provides family time as well as exercise for your child. To keep the fun going, make sure that they take all safety precautions when riding. Teach them to ride with others in mind.
About the Author:
Nicole Dean invites you to http://www.ShowKidstheFun.com — a free website filled with activities to make memories with your children and http://www.ShowKidstheMoney.com — a fun and informative resource for moms who want to help their kids make money.
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Every child should be entitled to the joys and frustrations of learning how to ride a bicycle. It is one of those beautiful things you inevitably seem to associate with childhood in one way or another. Kids? bikes may have evolved a lot from the days gone by but the general idea behind the design and production of these kids? bikes remains the same till today.
Bicycle manufacturers all try to make sure that their bikes made for kids are as visually arresting to children as possible. Once you have captured the imagination of the child, you can consider it as half the battle being won. Colors- especially in their most vibrant and eye catching forms are what seem to attract kids a lot when it comes to their choice of bicycles.
The age group in between which the potential users of kids? bikes could fall in to is understandably flexible. Kids? cycles for the very young children are understandably much more flashy and don?t really contend to do as much for performance as for safety and colorful looks. On the other hand kids? bikes become a little more sober and performance oriented once they are meant to be for older children.
Parents will obviously be concerned for the safety of their children and they would not want them to be unduly injured all the time by riding on their bicycles. Therefore, if the kids have not really learned how to ride a proper bicycle, their bicycles are fitted with additional supporters to help them balance. Gradually, once they have learned how to ride a bicycle properly, the support wheels can be taken off or a new proper bicycle bought altogether. That choice is of course up to all the parents.
The bicycles for the slightly older children come equipped with coaster brakes. The ones for very small children obviously do not require any brakes at all as they would not reach a speed that would require braking in the first place. Attractive looking stickers on the bikes are also used by kids? bicycle manufacturers. These stickers would invariably vary greatly for boys and girls. While boys would want some thing flashy and boyish with cool looking accessories girl children on the other hand would go in for a very feminine look with maybe stickers of flowers and little basket in front of the cycle. All in all, nowadays you can get kids? bicycles in every conceivable shape, size and color.
About the Author:
James Brown writes about Bikes Coupon Codes, Strollers and Promo Codes.
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