A realistic view of tricks for children
Children often see videos of riders jumping, spinning and flipping, and then ask to try. It helps to be clear about what is reasonable for a young rider. A few simple, low-risk skills are fun and useful. Many other moves are dangerous even for experienced riders, and they should not be learned at home from an article.
This is general information, not coaching or medical advice. A parent knows a child’s ability and temperament, and a qualified instructor can assess a rider in person.
Ground rules for any trick
- Helmet every time, fitted properly. Add gloves and knee and elbow pads for anything beyond easy riding.
- An adult present and paying attention, not on a phone.
- A flat, smooth, traffic-free place, with plenty of room and no hazards.
- Small steps. Move on only when the current step feels easy and the child is relaxed. Going back a step is always fine.
- A bike in good order. A quick pre-ride bike check covers brakes, tyres and loose parts.
- The child’s choice. Never push a child into a trick they are nervous about.
Because falls are always possible, it also helps to talk with children about falling off safely and bailing out when something feels wrong. The aim is for a child to know they can stop or step off rather than push on.
Skills that generally suit children
These sit at the gentle end and are suitable for a child who already rides confidently:
- Slow riding. Seeing how slowly you can ride in a straight line without a foot down. It is harder than it sounds and improves balance.
- Cone weaving and tight turns. Steering around markers at low speed.
- Stopping on a mark. Smooth braking and stopping with the front wheel on a chalk line.
- Looking over the shoulder while riding straight, without veering.
- Standing on the pedals with the pedals level while coasting on flat ground, to practise a ready stance.
- Riding over a flat line or a very low, soft obstacle such as a rolled-up towel at slow speed, only if the child is steady and the surface is smooth. This is just a gentle introduction to handling small bumps.
- Skills games such as follow the leader, red light green light, or a slow race where the last to finish wins.
Good basics also set the child up for later skills. Practising these builds the sort of balance that supports more advanced skills if they are ever relevant, and some children enjoy the sense of progress that comes from mastering small challenges. That feeling of progress is among the benefits often discussed under child trick benefits, though no result is guaranteed and children differ.
Skills that need more caution
Some skills are not outright dangerous but need more experience, a very confident child, and supervision. Examples are low-speed turns on a slight slope, riding with one hand to point or signal, and riding small, smooth bumps. Take them in tiny steps and only when the basics are strong. Riding with no hands, with one hand for extended periods, or with eyes closed is risky and not recommended for children.
Even something that looks easy, like the bunny hop basics that older riders learn, involves lifting both wheels off the ground, and a mistimed attempt can send a rider over the bars. Children vary, and many are not ready at an early age.
Tricks that do not suit children learning at home
The following carry a high risk of serious injury and belong with trained riders at purpose-built facilities, with qualified instruction and suitable protection:
- Wheelies and manuals, where the rider balances on one wheel
- Jumps and drops
- Spins, such as 180s and 360s
- Tailwhips and other moves where the bike rotates around the rider
- Front flips, backflips and any flip
- Stunts of any kind on roads, steps, rails or walls
A child may see these on video and assume they are easy. They are the result of years of progression, coaching and, often, many injuries. Even with protection, there is no way to make bike stunts completely safe, and nobody can promise that a child will avoid injury.
When a child is keen on more
If a child is passionate about freestyle or jumping, the sensible route is a supervised setting. A skills park, pump track or club session with a qualified coach lets a child learn in an environment built for it, with soft features, graded steps and trained eyes. A first skills lesson will usually start with the basics anyway. It also helps to learn skills park etiquette, such as waiting your turn and watching for others, so that the whole session runs safely.
Before you go, check the facility’s rules on age, helmets and equipment, and follow them.
Keeping perspective
The most valuable thing a child can learn on a bike is control, awareness and confidence. Most children are well served by getting these right and enjoying riding with friends and family. Tricks can wait, and there is nothing wrong with a child who never wants to do one.