Sometimes, the idea of doing something new for a 6 year old can be daunting. Riding a 2 wheeler bike was not anything our oldest son was remotely interested in doing. WE, on the other hand, really needed him to be able to ride for various reasons. After a lot of pumping-him-up and conversations that sounded like an episode of some feel-good educational show, i.e. "You can do ANYTHING if you...", we arrived at the "I might try point." Then, Daddy said the magic phrase...
"Ryder, if you ride a 2 wheel bike without training wheels, I will buy you ANY Lego set you want."
Whoa. That was the offer of all offers. Now, of course my mind instantly went into panic, thinking about how this offer could materialize. I mean, for a measly $400, you can buy the Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon. Of course, Ryder's eyes lit up at this offer, and so the quest began.
We went to a local schoolyard that gave us a lot of blacktop to practice on, with a great falling radius. Ryder tried very cautiously yesterday to make it happen, but could not commit to consistent pedaling and focusing on what was in front of him- as opposed to to what my "other" hand was doing behind him. He was very upset at the end of the day that he couldn't get some kind of secondary prize for trying...but we stood firm, and the Lego carrot dangled on.
This morning, we were met with an uncharacteristic suggestion that we try again today. The determination was challenged a bit, but with a little encouragement, we arrived here...
"Ryder, if you ride a 2 wheel bike without training wheels, I will buy you ANY Lego set you want."
Whoa. That was the offer of all offers. Now, of course my mind instantly went into panic, thinking about how this offer could materialize. I mean, for a measly $400, you can buy the Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon. Of course, Ryder's eyes lit up at this offer, and so the quest began.
We went to a local schoolyard that gave us a lot of blacktop to practice on, with a great falling radius. Ryder tried very cautiously yesterday to make it happen, but could not commit to consistent pedaling and focusing on what was in front of him- as opposed to to what my "other" hand was doing behind him. He was very upset at the end of the day that he couldn't get some kind of secondary prize for trying...but we stood firm, and the Lego carrot dangled on.
This morning, we were met with an uncharacteristic suggestion that we try again today. The determination was challenged a bit, but with a little encouragement, we arrived here...
We then journeyed to Toys R Us, where we got off easy with one Harry Potter Hogwarts set and one Ninjago Skull Truck. Hopefully, he'll want to ride again...for fun.
legos and m&ms, baby!!
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