Earlier in the summer Cambel wanted to take his training wheels off and try to ride his bike. What followed was a lovely combination of panicking, crying, and really really bad parenting techniques (hindsight being 20/20 as it is, it is now painfully obvious to us that yelling "just trust me!" does not engender trust). After the training wheels were back on, our relationship with Cambel was restored, and we were relatively convinced that he would not be scarred for life, we decided to abandon any more biking sans training wheels.
Seeing the need for Cambel to be in ultimate control (like mother like son), I helped him make a "Learning to ride my bike" chart with small steps that he could do at his pace. This technique proved to be way more effective and pleasant than the "yelling to produce trust" debacle, but he still wasn't convinced he could take off the training wheels.
A week ago I left him at a friend's house and while I was gone she convinced him to take them off--and he did it!
Now before you jump to conclusions and decide that my friend must be far superior in her patience and overall parenting (although she may be), I'll let you in on her secret: bribery. All it took was the promise of a new Star Wars figurine. If only we would have known that trust could be purchased for the low low price of $8.
Whatever the price, Cambel is now enjoying his newfound skill and we are breathing a sigh of relief that we have managed to get him past another developmental milestone if not unscathed, then only minimally marred.
1 comment:
your story sounds way toooo familiar. Ella did the same thing for my Mom earlier this summer. I had been bribing her for I don't know how long. All it took was for my dad to tell her no to putting the training wheels back on and off she went on two wheels:) Glad to hear Campbell is off on two wheels!!!
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