Children usually learn to ride a bike around the age of five. Some may be ready to learn as early as three. The key is for them to master the balance, so, while you might be tempted to strap on the stabilizers as your parents probably did with you, the modern approach is to avoid them altogether. You can start with a ‘balance bike’ from around 18 months, when a child is stable on their feet. A balance bike has no pedals, so the child learns to glide by pushing themselves along. Or, for older children, try lowering the saddle, so the child can put their feet on the ground, and taking the pedals off, effectively creating your own balance bike; you can then add the pedals back on when you think your child is ready.

‘With my first child, I did stabilizers on his bike and a tag along on my bike. He became dependent on the support and it was six months until he could go it alone. With my second, I didn’t bother with stabilizers; I let her sit on the bike at home to get used to it and then took her to the park, literally pushed her off, told her to pedal and ran along holding the scruff of her neck . . . She mastered it in three days.’ Jane Smith, London, UK