Toddler 'Toot Scoot' Makes Learning to Ride a Bike Easy
Stratosphere Surfer — March 17, 2009 — Life-Stages
References: tootscoot
The Toot Scoot, a new training bike for kids aged 2-5, has no training wheels and no pedals. It also has wider-than-normal wheels, but aside from that, it looks like a normal bike. It is designed to easily teach young children how to balance on a two-wheeled bike, and to effortlessly make the transition to a regular bike.
To ride, children simply push the bike with their feet, all the while gaining confidence, learning balance and developing motor skills.
Toot Scoot was invented by avid biker and motocross racer Buck Hale, who created it for his son. Hale says his son could balance the bike with his feet off the ground at only 18 months of age.
According to Hale’s company, Buckale, LLC, training wheels are counterproductive and can become a crutch for children. When it is time to remove the training wheels, children can become very anxious. Toot Scoot was designed to eliminate this early dependence on training wheels. In addition, Toot Scoot is light-weight and easy for children to maneuver.
But perhaps the best aspect of Toot Scoot, from the child’s perspective, is it looks like they are riding a “big kid’s bike.” The company’s slogan is “If you can walk, you can ride!”
Soon, neighborhoods everywhere may be overrun with toddler biker gangs...
To ride, children simply push the bike with their feet, all the while gaining confidence, learning balance and developing motor skills.
Toot Scoot was invented by avid biker and motocross racer Buck Hale, who created it for his son. Hale says his son could balance the bike with his feet off the ground at only 18 months of age.
According to Hale’s company, Buckale, LLC, training wheels are counterproductive and can become a crutch for children. When it is time to remove the training wheels, children can become very anxious. Toot Scoot was designed to eliminate this early dependence on training wheels. In addition, Toot Scoot is light-weight and easy for children to maneuver.
But perhaps the best aspect of Toot Scoot, from the child’s perspective, is it looks like they are riding a “big kid’s bike.” The company’s slogan is “If you can walk, you can ride!”
Soon, neighborhoods everywhere may be overrun with toddler biker gangs...
Trend Themes
1. Training Wheel-free Bikes - The development of training-wheel free bikes for toddlers presents an opportunity for bike manufacturers to create a range of products explicitly designed to keep toddlers safe, make mobility and learning easy and foster independent play by allowing young kids to ride with older siblings or friends.
2. Pedal-free Bike Training - The development of pedal-free bike training for young children presents an opportunity for startups to create novel and engaging modes of teaching children key developmental skills using effective behavioral interventional techniques.
3. Motor-skill Developing Toys - The increasing popularity of toy designs which instill key developmental skills presents an opportunity for manufacturers to create lines of toys, explicitly designed to assist in the development of gross motor skills, balance and higher order developmental skills for young children.
Industry Implications
1. Bike Manufacturing - Bike Manufacturing companies could lead the market in developing training wheel-free Bikes for young children.
2. Educational Toy Manufacturing - With the focus of educational toys changing towards behavioral intervention and developmental skills instilling, new opportunities open up for startups to enter the industry with pedal-free bike training designs explicitly focused on gross motor skill development.
3. Childcare Centers - Pedal-free bikes as a resource in childcare centers will not only help children develop gross motor skills but, could also foster independent play and creativity among young children.
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