No, this is not an abandoned blog. I know, I know. I haven't posted in a while. But I'm here now, and that makes it all better, right? Right? Hello?
Yesterday was my daughter's 8th birthday. Where has the time gone? And how is she getting older when I'm not? Anyway, my husband and I decided to buy her her first big girl bike for a present. So we took her to Target yesterday morning (by the way, bikes are on sale there this week) and picked out a bike for her. Since this is her first two-wheeler, we knew she'd need some training wheels, so we grabbed some of those, too. My daughter could hardly wait to get home to try out her new bike.
The bike came pre-assembled, which was really nice, but we had to put together the training wheels. How hard could that be? It says right on the box, "Assembly is a breeze." If by "breeze" they mean "tornado," then yes, assembly is a breeze. While the company that made the training wheels is an American company, the evil things were actually made in China. Apparently, the assembly directions were written in China, too. They had a picture of all the parts and were even kind enough to show parts that weren't even included with the kit. And the written directions made no sense at all. None. My husband and I spent a couple of hours trying to figure the darn things out, but nothing was working. So my husband checked YouTube to see if anyone had made a video about putting together training wheels. He finally got the training wheels attached, but even though the box claims that they fit the size of bike we bought, the wheels float about 3" or more above the ground. In case you were wondering, that doesn't work. It looks like the training wheels need training wheels. Apparently, me rocking in a corner while smacking my head and saying, "Find a happy place! Find a happy place!" wasn't working very well. So we're admitting defeat. My husband is taking the bike to a bike shop today to get some help. After experiencing this training wheel nightmare, I'm guessing the bike shop does a booming business installing training wheels.
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10 comments:
I t has been a looog time, but as I recall, there is a " tip factor" involved.
The training wheels should not touch the ground.
They are there to protect from falls.
Do not let kid practice in the driveway with a car nearby...Scrape.
Wobble is necessary to learn how to balance and build confidence and trust.
Call 'em God Wheels
Wendy,
I think you both did a great job and like your previous reader posted, they are supposed to catch the bike when it falls to one side or the other, its how to teach kids balance so when you take them off, it's mastered.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Oh, I hate that stuff! It's a good thing my dh is the exact opposite of me. Which is to say, he's mechanically inclined.
I think it's a plot by the communists personally. Not my dh, the training wheels.
Yes, the training wheels are supposed to be shorter than the regular wheels, but only by less than an inch. With them being as short as they are now, if she tips that far she'll fall off the bike. That wouldn't be good. Less bloodshed is a goal of mine.
Poor kid has to wait to ride her bike.
I bet you had fun explaining THAT to her...
My dad only put one training wheel on my bike. No wonder I've been so off-balance all my life.
I'm really going to laugh when her bike comes back from the bike shop exactly how you took it in.
I feel your pain. I hate that stuff.
Oh and I added a link to a post for the carnival (Helen said I could), but somehow I linked it to last week first then I added it to this week. I'm not a spammer, I promise. :)
Wendi,
Please help me spread the word of a sister in Christ who so desperately needs help with a limited amount of time left.
http://godsheart-heart2heart.blogspot.com/2010/05/urgent-prayer-request.html
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
I do not have experience with training wheel assembly (but my family likes to joke that I needed them till I was like 21), but I am a pretty good furniture assembler. Mainly because I don't get upset when I mess up, Mr. FD on the other hand turns into the incredible hulk over minor mistakes... but it sounds like those training wheels would make anyone cranky. :)
This is why I always buy the bikes that are both assembled and have the training wheels already attached! I would have been right there in the corner with you!
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