Active Childhood

I want Macy to experience as much as possible to find out what she enjoys and what she excels at. I also don't want a child that sits in front of a television or a computer all day. I want her to develop confidence and give anything a go!

So an unexpected day off and these were the activities!

Strider Bike Racing Attempt 2!

Last time we took Macy Strider racing she was a bit too young at just under 2 she couldn't really push her bike over the bumps, so I thought now she is a bit more confident on her bike and a bit stronger she will enjoy it more.

We were lucky with the weather as it was dry and sunny and quite warm for November!  Macy went out on the track for practice and was flying round, she was absolutely loving it and coped a lot better with the bumps.  Her first race she finished 2nd but didn't do so well in her other two heats.  There were some fathers there who were really shouting at their children but it really freaked Macy out as she thought they were shouting at her and that she had done something wrong, every time someone shouted she stopped!  And the worst was they would stand right at the finish so she didn't want to finish as it meant riding at these people who were really shouting!!  She was leading the one race but didn't want to finish because everyone was gathered there screaming at their children. 

It was a shame really as she loved riding her bike and she just wanted to go round again and again.  Next time perhaps she can switch off a bit more to the shouting and not let it bother her so much?  I would like her to do well as she was the only girl in her age group, would be nice to see her beating the boys and she could do it, but really I want her to enjoy it.  Here are some photos I took of her:

Strider Bike Race Birmingham

Part of the reason for choosing the Strider Balance Bike was to join the Strider Community, it seemed that Strider really encourage the children to be active and hold events and races for the children to take part in.  They are huge in America and it looked like it could be really popular in this country also.  So we jumped at the chance to take part in the first Strider racing in Birmingham.

We checked in and all of the children received a number plate for their bike along with a little strider bell.  All children had to wear knee and elbow pads as well as a helmet for safety.  The races were split by ages, 2 year olds, 3 year olds etc.  The 2 year olds race was the first on however all of the children were allowed to practice first.  I personally felt this was a bit much as the track was quite narrow and for my not quite 2 year old she found it a bit scary with some of the older children who were flying round the track.  A better way to do it would have been to have 20mins / half an hour practice for each of the age groups before their races so that it doesn’t get quite as manic.

Macy didn’t end up racing as she found it too much – she struggled to get up the hills on the track, she hadn’t quite got the strength and the older children flying behind her and having to stop while she got up a hill really put her off and upset her. It was a shame as she looked fab in all her gear and hopefully next year when she is a bit bigger she can withstand the boisterousness of the older children.  The older children did have a whale of a time and it was a great atmosphere, I think all the children that took part got a medal.