"I want to take my 18-month-old son on my bike, but how can I possibly lug him, his diaper bag, and a picnic lunch?"
"Our 5-year-old is visually handicapped. Is it true even blind kids can ride bikes?"
"How can I get my 15-year-old to ride safely?"
There are dozens of questions parents ask when thinking about introducing cycling to their children: "How do I ride with a baby?"; "What do I need to look for in a child's first bike?"; "How do I get my kids to wear a helmet, even when I'm not around?"; "How can I convince my children that it's not uncool to ride safely?" Drawing on her years of experience as well as from interviews with bicycle shop owners and mechanics, family cycling organizations, instructors, manufacturers, parents and kids, Bell answers all these questions, and many, many more.
Beginning with the basics of good features for a parent's bicycle, Bell moves on to cover such topics as: toddlers as bicycle passengers; parent-child tandem cycling; buying and caring for children's bikes; teaching kids to ride; teaching traffic safety; ideas for successful and creative family rides; and preventive riding techniques and handling injuries. A chapter on bicycling for children with challenges offers information on adaptive equipment and creative suggestions such as using a tandem cycle so a visually impaired child can ride with the family. For older children, Bell offers ideas and resources for racing, touring, cycling clubs, and even how to incorporate biking into a summer or weekend job. A bibliography provides parents with additional resources for each of the main topics.
