Strider Bike

You may recall in my post about Nathaniel's 2nd birthday I mentioned we gave him a Strider Bike. We put a lot of thought into this gift and thought it would be fun for him but would also serve a purpose with PT therapy. I am always looking for things that help Nathaniel with his development. A Strider Bike is a balancing bike and therefore it doesn't have peddles. It is made for toddlers and the idea is they walk with the bike then eventually learn to glide with feet up on small footrests and balance; therefore never needing training wheels on a larger peddle bike. Here is the website for more info and a video http://www.stridersports.com/ 
We thought the idea was neat but also thought that since Nathaniel would need to straddle the bike and hold on to the handle bars he would gain balance in his walking and learn to keep his feet apart. His walker has been a blessing and has given him the much needed freedom he wants but he sometime leans on the walker and allows his feet to get twisted but because he uses his arms for support he doesn't fall.

I searched and finally found a local bike shop that had a Strider in stock and setup. I took Nathaniel to try it out not wanting to buy something he didn't like or wasn't interested in. At the store he loved it and was all smiles. I ordered one and we gave it to him on his birthday. Well in typical 2 year old fashion Nathaniel hasn't wanted anything to do with the bike. He wouldn't even get on it for the first week. He is now slowing showing interest and wanted to sit on in this morning. YAY finally! We thought he would love it since he really enjoys watching the bigger kids in our neighborhood ride bikes and he loves anything with wheels. We are going to take it outside this afternoon and see if he will sit on it again. Maybe he will even take a step or two!