[blindkid] Training wheels

[Andy & Sally Thomas]

I agree with so many of the posters.  It can be a personality issue.  My 
blind son (adopted) and sighted daughter (one year younger, adopted) both 
went without training wheels at the same time.  My son was 6 and my daughter 
5.  My son took to it immediately.  I don't know how he manages but he has a 
good sense of where things are.  My daughter was very distressed about her 
"performance" without the training wheels.  She is the one who ran into the 
back of a parked car!  Now she's a great rider.  She just had way more fear 
than her brother.  Having both a sighted and blind child I can sometimes get 
a glimpse of what are personality issues more than disability issues. 
Finding the right balance with any kid can be a challenge but as you see 
from these folks, it boils down to what each individual kid needs to be 
successful.

Sally Thomas

P.S.  We are currently looking into getting a tandem for longer rides.  Both 
my son and husband want to get more exercise so we are hoping that will be a 
good solution.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carlton Anne Cook Walker" <attorneywalker at gmail.com>
To: <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2009 5:13 PM
Subject: [blindkid] Training wheels


> Merry-Noel,
>
> Like others, I believe that this should be child-driven -- to an extent.
>
> Personally, as a fully-sighted individual, I did not graduate from 
> training
> wheels until I was 12 or 13.  This caused my father and grandparents great
> distress -- distress and disappointment of which I was fully aware.
> Luckily, my mother shielded me (as much as she could) from them.
> Eventually, I got it.  I simply was not physically ready (as a result of
> poor balance) until I got older.  From then on, I was fine.  However, I
> still can feel the disappointment that I caused my father and 
> grandparents.
> Their feelings towards me made me feel like a failure.
>
>
> Please tell grandmom to LAY OFF!  Children know when they disappoint 
> adults
> in their lives -- and the pain of being a disappointment does not ease 
> with
> time.  Even now, when I see Anna Catherine skipping around, I can hear my
> grandmother (who was honestly a loving and wonderful woman) complaining 
> that
> I was unable to skip at age 11 (despite many, many hours she spent trying 
> to
> teach me).  Please feel free to share my story with grandmom to show her 
> how
> pain does not wash away over time.
>
>
> Now, I said it should be child-driven "within reason."  I say this because
> sometimes a child will want to rid him/herself of training wheels too 
> soon.
> Peer pressure is pushing Anna Catherine toward this.  We may experiment 
> with
> Holly's no pedal technique in the grass this summer.  I am not so 
> concerned
> about Anna Catherine getting hurt physically -- I am concerned that she 
> will
> quit riding her bike at all if she cannot do it as a to-wheeler.  So long 
> as
> (1) the child truly wants to ride 2-wheeled, (2) the child is physically
> capable of sustaining speed/balance to accomplish this, and (3) the child 
> is
> emotionally resilient enough to recover from "failure" if s/he is not yet
> ready to ride 2-wheeled, I see no problems with experimenting with 
> 2-wheeled
> bicycling.
>
>
> Above all, I advise against pushing a child when s/he is not yet ready.
> Doing so can cause unnecessary damage to the child and his/her 
> self-esteem.
>
>
>
> Carlton
>
>
> -- 
> Carlton Anne Cook Walker
> 213 North First Street
> McConnellsburg, PA    17233
> Voice: 717-485-4529
> Cell: 717-658-9894
> Twitter: braillemom
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