#225: Fear of loud falling
I recently suggested that training wheels on a bicycle actually stop you learning how to ride. Why? Because they create the illusion of balance.
I learned very quickly how to ride a bicycle because I did not have training wheels. I learned quickly because I learned not to be afraid of falling.
I don’t see many kids riding bicycles today, never mind falling down. This worries me because kids do need to learn to overcome their fear of falling.
Did you know that we are born with only two natural fears? The fear of falling is one. All other fears are learned, mainly through our ability to imagine negative outcomes.
I did learn two things about falling off a bicycle. Every time it scared me less and every time I got better at getting up.
By the way, our other natural fear is the fear of loud noises. Like someone shouting ‘don’t fall!’, which is why so many of us struggle to succeed.
I’m JamesMcIntosh@nonsenseatwork.com
Copyright: 2008 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VA
I learned very quickly how to ride a bicycle because I did not have training wheels. I learned quickly because I learned not to be afraid of falling.
I don’t see many kids riding bicycles today, never mind falling down. This worries me because kids do need to learn to overcome their fear of falling.
Did you know that we are born with only two natural fears? The fear of falling is one. All other fears are learned, mainly through our ability to imagine negative outcomes.
I did learn two things about falling off a bicycle. Every time it scared me less and every time I got better at getting up.
By the way, our other natural fear is the fear of loud noises. Like someone shouting ‘don’t fall!’, which is why so many of us struggle to succeed.
I’m JamesMcIntosh@nonsenseatwork.com
Copyright: 2008 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VA
1 Comments:
You're correct, training wheels do nothing to teach children how to actually balance a bicycle.
The suggested way to teach children to bike these days is to remove the pedals from the bike, lower the seat enough so the child can reach the ground if necessary, and allow them to push off the ground for movement. They learn how to balance the bike much more 'naturally' this way.
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