How Do You Teach Your Kids to Bike Safely?

This week the JP Patch Moms Council discusses bike safety for kids. Please chime in below in the comments section with your own thoughts and questions.

: It's tricky to be carfree here, but way more fun to be carlight.

The minute our daughter our daughter was old enough to be on the bike (age one is the rule for wearing a helmet), we had her riding with us. We do have a car, but with a schedule so tight with work and daycare, we try to family bike commute as much as we can. It's a lot more fun than sitting in traffic through Forest Hills everyday and a great chance to spend lots of time outside. Even in the rain.

Every year we look forward to the JP Bikes Spring Roll . It's great to see so many other families out on bikes in all their different configurations. JP is a great place, overall, to bike with kids. The bike path, the bike lanes (though I sometimes find the lane on Centre Street more dangerous than when it wasn't there), and the high numbers of other bikers that are generally pretty gracious as we slowly head through JP with the heavy toddler and all our gear. It's a little tricky to be completely carfree here, but not impossible (and way more fun) to be carlight.

: The helmet is the big struggle. A city kid of 15 doesn’t look cool with a helmet.

The helmet is the big struggle.  You can get your young rider to wear a helmet without a problem- it’s almost like a costume, but somewhere around 11 years old it seems to be a real hassle to get them to wear the "nerdy" helmet,  and the helmets are quickly lost in the house.  A city kid of 15 doesn’t look cool with a helmet. If you want to stand out from the other city kids in the neighborhood, wear a helmet.  That said, we buy helmets, we insist on helmets, but what happens when they turn the corner out of sight is another matter. A good friend just suggested a "cooler" helmet could make all the difference.... the style of helmet is key and a “rad” helmet can mean the difference between your child keeping theirs on and riding out of sight without it.   

We have abundant conversations at home about head injuries and the dangers of cars.  I worry about cars and so many of them have drivers on their cell phones not looking up.  No matter what, children should be taught that the driver does not see them and behave accordingly. 

The rules of the road are important - to ride with the traffic, don’t go the wrong way down a one way street. We live on the Arboretum side of Forest Hills, it is hard enough to drive or walk out of the neighborhood.  Our neighbor was just hit by a car on his bike and broke his hip.  I’m just allowing my 12 year old to leave the neighborhood on a bike and I spend most of the time worrying. I want him to ride on the sidewalks at this point and get off his bike and walk across the crosswalk when he is given the light.

Funny enough, our children have had to learn to not only stay safe on a bike, but how to keep their bike safe from theft. We’ve lost bikes in backyards and on porches.  We’ve taught them to lock their bikes and to not just drop their bike on the lawn of a friend’s house.  Once my older boy Sam had his bike stolen, and was walking home from a friend’s house when he saw his bike with a group of kids, he was also near Forest Hills, so he didn’t approach the kids directly, but ran over to Forest Hills T and grabbed a police officer to help him get it back.  I was glad he hadn’t approached the kids directly and got some adults to help him confront the kids.  He did get his bike back.

We have great biking areas in JP- is the best loop to bike on (you don’t have to dodge loads of people).   is also a good spot for a young rider.  I can’t wait for new bike racks and more bicyclists on the street, the more the merrier and the safer for us;  Let’s  hope it continues to get better for bicyclists in the City and won’t it be nice to be able to bike over to Whole Foods and pick up some groceries on your way home from the playground!

: My oldest is learning some bicycle safety tips from Bikes Not Bombs this month.

Until last year, we were not a big biking family.  However, I decided for my twins' sixth birthday that they should have bikes, and then my tween wanted her older sister's fixed up for her as well.  She was anxious about not being able to ride at the advanced age of 10, but after an hour of practice, she had it.  (I'm all for children learning early, but an advantage of starting late is that they can get it more quickly.) She will now ride her bike whenever she can, even if that means rolling around in our basement during the winter.

As useful as bicycles are, I limit where they can go — pretty much the Southwest Corridor Bike Path.  When I think I should let the older children start branching away, I get solemn warnings from friends who bike around here.  It's scary.  Of the many bikers I know, only two haven't gotten into an accident on South or Centre Streets, and most have had something happen to them right near Forest Hills.  

And sorry, but in my travels around Boston I've seen too many Ghost Bicycles to feel good about letting them ride in the streets just yet.  There is a school of parenting that believes that children toughen up for the better with a few scratches and bruises, but I don't think that extends to knee surgery.

As great as the Southwest Corridor is, I don't recommend it during "rush hour" if you can avoid it, especially with young children.  However, even without a crowd, my son Simon has to make it interesting by cutting in front of his siblings; he doesn't understand that he can't always be out in front.  I think that's only caused one or two falls, and none were so bad that they couldn't shake themselves off after.

The scariest parts are crossing the streets, particularly between Roxbury Crossing and Ruggles, and then between Ruggles and Mass. Ave.  We've had to have stern talks several times about the need to stop at an intersection and look both ways- and not just with the six year olds.  

My oldest is learning some bicycle safety tips from Bikes Not Bombs this month, and yesterday they had a test which required them to be aware of a pedestrian quickly cutting them off.  She didn't get into any accidents, but she was nervous about the entire time and when she came home she was still feeling the adrenaline. To which I can only say: Good.

: I am terrified of letting them loose on the road alone.

Some of the most golden memories of my childhood are bike rides I took by myself and with my friends all over the countryside and through the woods surrounding my home.  From as young as age 5 or 6 I used to set off, helmetless, on day-long adventures with my older brothers. My parents had no idea where we were and this was fine so long as we were home in time for dinner.

I feel very sad that my own children have not enjoyed this wonderful sense of heady freedom and independence for, let’s face it, I am terrified of letting them loose on the road alone. In fact, I am terrified of letting them loose on the road with me! Sure this is Boston and not a sleepy village in the south of England. And the amount of traffic today is significantly higher than it was 35 years ago. But also that we are 21st century parents living in a media-saturated world that has made us overly sensitive to potential dangers lurking behind every bush.

So we confine our bike riding to safe, car-free places such as the or . This means that going for bike ride actually means going first for a car ride which also means a major engineering operation to fit 5 bikes and 5 family members into a Ford Focus. Therefore, for some reason, when one of my children suggests going for a bike ride I find myself, more often than not, enthusiastically encouraging appealing alternatives closer to home....