Why a New Balance Bike at BPHT is a FUNctional Tool for You!

By: Angela Fritz, PT, DPT & Beth Tenace, MS, OTR/L

BPHT was lucky enough to be given a LilCreators balance bike—a truly amazing balance bike that gave our patients the hands-on, sensory experience of first painting, decorating and building the bike, and has given dozens of kids the chance to ride and explore on the bike! The LilCreators balance bike has been a wonderful addition to our fun-filled gym.

One of the MANY great things about these bikes, is you get to decorate them yourself. The OT department decided to take advantage of this by giving a bunch of patients smocks and paintbrushes and letting them choose how the bike should look.

We started with a group of kids who came in at the same time and were within the same age range doing the base coats. We were having wonderful weather so we painted outside in the new patio area the city has put in. Each kid had to choose one of the pieces and then choose which color they wanted to paint it. This worked on the social skills of sharing materials and making sure everyone agreed on who was going to paint what piece. It also worked on sensory processing as they had to visually scan their pieces to ensure that the entire bike was painted as well as being able to process the feel of the paint on their skin and the smell of the paint.

Once all of the pieces were painted, we decided that, while colorful, we could make the bike even better by using paint stamps. This time, we worked with patients individually. They chose a group of stamps (animals, cars, etc), and what color paint they wanted.Then the kids painted the stamps with a paintbrush and stamped each piece. This activity helped promote sensory processing too, but also worked on bilateral coordination with having to stabilize a stamp while painting it. It also worked on following a set of multi-step directions.

Finally, we had a couple of the older patients help put the bike together. This worked on fine and visual motor skills as well as following multi-step directions. This balance bike has truly been a group project for patients of all ages. Because of the kids, we have a unique, colorful tool that is truly ours and patients can continue to use and enjoy during therapy sessions.

The LilCreators balance bike has been a wonderful addition to our fun-filled gym, and here is why balance bikes are so great from the perspective of a pediatric physical therapist:

Balance and core stability: we all hear about “the core”, and many of us immediately jump to thoughts of six-pack abs as a result of many sit ups and crunches, however core stability is much more than that. Stability refers to the ability of the core muscles (which are made up of the abs, lower back muscles, diaphragm and pelvic floor) to react and adapt to changes in our posture and position. Core stability is crucial in a child’s motor development, as it allows them to be stable and safe when running, jumping, reaching, and playing as children love to do. A balance bike is a wonderful opportunity to help train this core stability, as it requires all the muscles in the core to activate, adapt, and react to movement in order to keep the child seated safely on the inherently unstable bike.

Coordination: a balance bike is a great way to work on the coordination aspect of riding a bike, without the added challenge of pedaling. With this type of bike, the child gets to keep their feet on the floor, giving them more stability and allowing them to focus on the movement of one foot after the other to propel the bike. The lower extremity movements required to propel the balance bike are similar to those required to pedal a bicycle, so motor learning occurs!

FUNctional skills: riding a bike is an exciting, adventurous and educational part of a child’s gross motor journey. They must integrate core stability and balance, coordination, visual-motor coordination, and motor planning in order to be successful in balancing, propelling, steering and being safe on the bike. It gives them mobility, a sense of independence, and instills confidence and feelings of accomplishment when they successfully ride that bike!

If your child is searching for his or her first bike, or a bike to help meet any or all of the goals listed above, come on in and give our LilCreators balance bike a try! Talk to a therapist for more information about the sensory, physical, and creative benefits of these bikes!

Happy riding,

Ms. Angela and Ms. Beth