Just Like Riding a Bike

Drew is eight years old. Drew is not exactly like other kids. If completely left to his own devices, he would eat snacks and watch TV or play video games all...day...long. He prefers to stay home, and he prefers to play by himself. He is eight years old, but he has never learned to tie a shoe. He also does not ride a bike.

During the summer months it's hard for me to get the other two kids indoors, but it's even harder to get Drew to go outside. Sometimes he pokes his head out to see what's going on. Sometimes he even plays on the swing set for a few minutes. He used to ride his little bike with training wheels when he was younger. Then he turned 6 and we bought him a bigger bike. He got on it once (with the training wheels still on), tried it, and got off. He hasn't got on since.

Drew is not very physically coordinated. He is also not very persistent. When something is difficult, he just gives up and refuses to do it again. We are working on this. We have been begging him to ride his bike for two years. The other day we were at my dad's house and he was playing with some boys, who took off on their bikes. Drew sat in the grass and cried. I went to him, and he told me he was upset because he had no one to play with. I suggested we try the bike again.

The next day we dug it out of the shed and he got on. I don't know what the deal is, but pedaling is really hard for him. He just can't get it...and he gets so upset. That first day was horrible. At first he seemed to be doing okay..."Mom, I'm getting the hang of it!" he said with a grin. And then it got hard. He couldn't push the pedal down, and couldn't figure out that if he stood up it would help. He threw the bike down in the middle of the road, screamed hysterically, used the "F" word, got grounded, said he didn't care, and sulked by the side of the road. I remained calm, and eventually he put the bike away.

I never imagined I would have to teach a kid how to pedal a bike. Garrett has been doing it on his own since he was three. A few minutes ago, Grace was literally riding circles around Drew with her little bike.

But something is happening. Drew just asked me if he could go out and ride his bike. And he's doing it! It's slowly but surely happening for him. And I can see how excited he is about this. He is ready to ride it the park, to his friend Nick's house, anywhere. He is outside, enjoying the summer. Who cares if he still has training wheels on? They will come off eventually.

Time to go back out there and cheer for him! :)