The Miracle of the Strider Bike

One of the results (for lack of a better term) of Mariah's trauma-sensitive brain development is that her left and right hemispheres do not communicate normally. We've worked on it, and she's doing much better. Anything that requires alternating left and right, like stairs or pedaling or steering a bike, were very hard for Mariah to learn. She still has to focus really hard when descending stairs, thinking to herself, "one foot, then the other," and she still sometimes just turns around and goes down on her belly.

About a year and a half ago, we got her a Strider bike. If you're not familiar with them, they're amazing. Very small, very light weight, no pedals, no training wheels. The kids learn very quickly to propel themselves with their feet, and they quickly learn to balance and glide. The transition, then, to a normal bike is much easier than trying to ween a kid from training wheels.

Well, Mariah liked the Strider from the get-go, but she was very slow to learn. She walked the bike for a long time, and took several weeks to learn how to steer. Too much brain-to-body communication necessary. Just in the last few months, she has really gotten into going fast, gliding, and steering has become second nature. And she's outgrown the Strider. I've been looking for an inexpensive used bike for her, with no luck.

We went to Marian's for a couple days this past week, and she offered to let Mariah borrow Elsa's old bike that's too big for Alice. Mariah was so excited. It even has a My Little Pony helmet to go with it! I worked with her for about 20 minutes that day, and then Marian helped her for a few minutes as well. She kind of freaked out at first and was a total spaz. All brain-to-body communication stopped. She couldn't steer and had no idea what to do with the pedals. I was worried we'd have to get her on a bigwheel just to learn how to pedal. But I had a talk with her about how just like other things, her body and brain would have to learn a new way of doing something, and she would have to practice practice practice and be patient. She was able to calm down, and by the end of the 20 minutes, I could tell she was going to get it sometime.

The next day was too cold, but we were back at home yesterday, and it was warm enough. I worked with her for about 5 minutes, teaching her how to start herself, and she got it! Under 30 minutes total, and she's riding a bike. Crazy!

We got Elaine a Strider for her birthday last summer, and she cruises. She picked it up more quickly (normally) than Mariah, and I actually think she's ready for the transition. I might look for a little bit bigger bike for Mariah and let Elaine learn too. And little Sal thinks she's ready for the Strider. I don't have a baby anymore.

(I just watched these videos again, and I seriously get a little teary when I see Mariah doing such a normal 5-year-old thing.)