I'm currently having an issue with my mum, who is doing pretty well health wise at the moment, since stopping chemotherapy. But obviously her time is still pretty limited, and this Christmas will most likely be her last.
She has a habit of leaving gift purchases to the last minute, then going out and just buying something with little thought about value for money.
So now she wants to me to go to a local bike shop to buy her youngest grandson, our little boy a new balance bike.
As someone who has been into mountain biking practically my whole life, this would be a very painful thing to allow.
I know the local shops only have overpriced, overweight, underbuilt things that look like bicycles, but are mostly junk.
I also know that getting our boy another slightly larger balance bike will only keep him going for just a few months.
He has a toy tractor with pedals which he was driving around the garden in the summer, so he can already pedal. He whizzes around on his current 12" balance bike with so much confidence, even on rough terrain already too.
My thought is to get him a used decent 14” mountain bike, remove the pedals and front brake, and to let him ride that as a balance bike, until he's confident enough to add them back.
I feel like he is almost ready for a proper bike.
I'm just trying to gently negotiate with mum. I know she wants to get him a great, possibly final Christmas gift. I know a used bike won't have that shiny new look, but I honestly don't think our 3½ year old will care, and as soon as he uses it, it's going to get beaten up and scratched anyway.
Thanks for reading. I'm mostly just venting, as I do. 🫂
#parenting #dadstr #bikestr #mtb
Stu
npub1fs…k20dq
2024-12-18 12:57:50
Author Public Key
npub1fsml34f9673wg5qvq8gyvhprv83f87q23kldz3wc3wnpnk5nx37qnk20dqPublished at
2024-12-18 12:57:50Event JSON
{
"id": "495d3cf22ae6e3cef21bc6784cc6929ff45482083b716c2758aa2013c496792f",
"pubkey": "4c37f8d525d7a2e4500c01d0465c2361e293f80a8dbed145d88ba619da93347c",
"created_at": 1734526670,
"kind": 1,
"tags": [
[
"t",
"parenting"
],
[
"t",
"dadstr"
],
[
"t",
"bikestr"
],
[
"t",
"mtb"
]
],
"content": "I'm currently having an issue with my mum, who is doing pretty well health wise at the moment, since stopping chemotherapy. But obviously her time is still pretty limited, and this Christmas will most likely be her last.\n\nShe has a habit of leaving gift purchases to the last minute, then going out and just buying something with little thought about value for money. \nSo now she wants to me to go to a local bike shop to buy her youngest grandson, our little boy a new balance bike.\nAs someone who has been into mountain biking practically my whole life, this would be a very painful thing to allow.\n\nI know the local shops only have overpriced, overweight, underbuilt things that look like bicycles, but are mostly junk.\nI also know that getting our boy another slightly larger balance bike will only keep him going for just a few months.\nHe has a toy tractor with pedals which he was driving around the garden in the summer, so he can already pedal. He whizzes around on his current 12\" balance bike with so much confidence, even on rough terrain already too.\n\nMy thought is to get him a used decent 14” mountain bike, remove the pedals and front brake, and to let him ride that as a balance bike, until he's confident enough to add them back.\nI feel like he is almost ready for a proper bike.\n\nI'm just trying to gently negotiate with mum. I know she wants to get him a great, possibly final Christmas gift. I know a used bike won't have that shiny new look, but I honestly don't think our 3½ year old will care, and as soon as he uses it, it's going to get beaten up and scratched anyway.\n\nThanks for reading. I'm mostly just venting, as I do. 🫂\n\n#parenting #dadstr #bikestr #mtb ",
"sig": "f474073102e5fc44cb79e62efd6487dca7287d2d5710f92f6ae163277271aea0e58143bb67893c3155de76f19d326ba17e59fcf13a00ea4de9fde0374224004a"
}