This genius hack will help your kids learn to ride a bike without training wheels

Leaving training wheels behind and learning to ride a real bike is a huge, important rite of passage for most kids—but it can also still be scary. What if they crash? What if they fall off? Thankfully, one mom took to Instagram to share her absolutely ingenious hack to help your kids learn to ride without training wheels safely and with confidence until they get the hang of it on their own — and all you need is a towel.

This hack comes from Caitlin B., who posts to Instagram as @caitdallas. She shared the video with the caption, “LOOK MOM – No Training Wheels.”

In the video, we see her young son on his bike. Caitlin stands behind him, towel in hand. As he gets ready to ride, she wraps the towel around his chest and under his arms and grabs it above and behind him at both ends, so she can use it to hold him steady and upright while he gets started. She walks with him while he starts to pedal, and once he feels good and is ready, she drops one end of the towel and lets him pedal away.

“Proud of this boy for getting over his fear and learning to ride his bike without training wheels. It’s almost time for a new bigger bike already,” she wrote. “This towel trick really helped build his confidence that he was capable of doing it and just offered a little bit of extra security for him in the beginning.”

In the comments, other parents loved how simple and genius this hack is for helping a kid quickly build up their confidence to ride without training wheels.

“That’s how my family teaches babies to walk, never even thought about using it for bike riding…. Good idea,” one commenter wrote.

Another added, “I just tried it today with my 8 year old who has been lacking in the confidence and all it took was 30 minutes with the towel and she’s riding all on her own. Thank you for sharing this!!”