Since our son turned 5 we have been practicing riding a bicycle. We found a second hand bicycle that looked like the right size for a toddler, and it included a bag with support wheels. But having heard that those could slow down the learning process or actually make it more difficult, I decided to leave the support wheels off and practice for real from the start. At first I was holding the bike, walking behind to support my son, but it was quite hard for the back and I felt that there must be a better way of doing this. So after our summer break, when it was too hot to do much practicing, I saw a tip that holding a towel wrapped around the kid could be a good way of practicing, and that is what we started to do.
When the temperature got more comfortable again, we made it a habit to a few times a week after kindergarten do a couple of turns up and down the little road in front of our house. I was holding the towel, running, while my son was pedaling his bike. He got the hang of the balance part quite quickly, so then we focused on breaking and looking forward so we did not end up in the ditch. In Sweden the bike would have had a foot brake, but our bike only has two hand brakes, but after a while my son got used to braking as well and then I started to let go of the towel. And what a joy to see the excitement in his face the first few times he could ride the bicycle without any support. Now the challenge is to get him to slow down – I think he pedals too fast and he thinks his dad is to scared. But I an sure we will cross that hurdle too.