[blindkid] Training Wheels or Not?

[Barbara Hammel]

I know I was probably six or seven when my dad took mine off.  We all got 
two-wheelers when we turned six and I don't know if it was that summer or 
the next when I did it.  We lived on a farm so I learned how to ride on the 
grassy yard beside the gravel driveway.  When you do it, my suggestion is to 
take her to a large open area where she feels comfortable with the 
parameters.
I was not a fast rider either and would usually push the bike with my feet 
because I couldn't see new sidewalks well enough to ride confidently.
I remember being so proud of myself about a year after we moved into our new 
house when I was eleven because I knew the block well enough that I could 
ride the whole thing without taking my feet off the pedals.
|Our real observant neighbor across the street didn't even know I was blind 
for years.  Maybe he was.  LOL.
Barbara

If wisdom's ways you wisely seek, five things observe with care:  of whom 
you speak, to whom you speak, and how and when and where.

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Merry-Noel Chamberlain" <lemonjuze at yahoo.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 28, 2009 4:54 PM
To: <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [blindkid] Training Wheels or Not?

> Hi everyone,
> My daughter, Ashleah, is ten-years-old and can see out of the corner of 
> her eye about as far as her elbow. I'm writing today to find out if I'm 
> just being an overly protective mother. (smile) We've only had our 
> daughter a year and a half as we've adopted her from China. My mother got 
> her a two-wheel bike (as she has done for all her grandchildren) and 
> Ashleah has been riding it with training wheels. My mother seems to think 
> that now is the time to remove the training wheels. I'm not so sure. 
> Ashleah doesn't ride her bike fast enough for the training wheels to leave 
> the ground. We've taken her to ride in large empty parking lots but 
> mostly, she likes to ride it on the sidewalk trails of the local park. She 
> never goes real fast and she can see the contrast of the sidewalk and the 
> grass edge. She does use a helmet when she rides. I can't remember at what 
> age we removed the training wheels for our older daughter who is sighted
> (It's been at least 20 years when she was as young as her little sister.) 
> I'm just curious, what are your thoughts/experiences when it comes to 
> training wheels for blind/very low vision children?
>
> Merry-Noel Chamberlain - A TVI and O&M instructor but never have faced 
> this before... :-)
>
>
>
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