How to Teach Kids to Push Off and Start Confidently on a Scooter

Learning to push off & start confidently can be one of the most important breakthroughs your child will have while scootering. If they can’t push off smoothly and confidently, they won’t learn to turn smoothly, ride faster, or ride up small hills.

Lots of falls and tears happen in the first few seconds when your child gets scared they are going to tip over, flails their pushing foot, or hesitates too much.

Pushing off doesn’t have to be this way. This motion can be taught gently and patiently one step at a time. With proper scooter setup, a kids scooter they like riding, and some patience almost all kids will learn this skill much quicker than you might think.

This post will teach you exactly how to teach your child to push off and start confidently.

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Kids Find Pushing Off Surprisingly Difficult

While scooting comes naturally to adults, kids have to learn several new skills all at once when pushing off:

• balancing on one leg while steering with two hands
• judging how much to push forward
• balancing on their scooter
• moving one foot to push

That’s asking a lot of someone who hasn’t even fully developed their own balance and body awareness just yet.

If you talk to your child about it, they aren’t necessarily scared of falling over on the scooter. What they aren’t comfortable with is lifting one foot up off the ground and trusting that the scooter will go forward rather than tip over.

As a parent, it can be frustrating when your child doesn’t just start scooting. But keeping this in mind will help you stay patient while teaching your child to push off.

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Make Sure Your Child’s Scooter Is Set Up Correctly First

Before diving into teaching your child how to push off from a stop, double check that the scooter itself isn’t holding them back.

Adjust the handlebar height so it reaches roughly between your child’s waist and chest. If the handlebars are too high your child’s steering will feel wobbly. Too low and balancing will be hard.

Have your child hold onto the handlebars with both hands, elbows slightly bent. Their deck should be low enough that they can rest one foot on it while the other foot is flat on the ground.

If your child is very young or just starting to learn how to scooter, consider getting them a three wheel scooter to start with. Having two wheels up front makes pushing off and learning balance much easier since it eliminates those first few baby wobbles.

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Teach Your Child How to Balance First

You can teach your child to push off in many different ways. One trick is to remove the “moving” part of the motion at first.

Ask your child to hold the scooter with one foot resting on the deck and other foot planted on the ground. Have them hold that position for a few seconds. You can count out loud with them to make it into a game.

Once they feel comfortable with that, have them lift their ground foot up slightly for 1 second, then replace it on the ground. Repeat this motion back and forth a few times until your child looks relaxed and not worried about falling over. Once your child feels comfortable balancing on the scooter without moving forward, having them push off will be a breeze.

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Lead by Example Instead of Just Explaining

Kids are visual learners. Sometimes it helps more to show your child what to do rather than explain it to them.

Stand next to your child on their scooter. Place one foot on the deck and the other foot behind you on the ground. Practice pushing yourself slowly and gently backwards. Take an exaggerated movement so they can see clearly that only one foot is on the scooter deck at a time.

Make sure to emphasize that it is only a small push. Many kids will try to push too hard at first which makes balancing harder.

After showing them a few times, have your child copy your movement at their own pace. Avoid hovering over your child and criticizing every small mistake. Praise the effort they are putting in!

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Try the “Walk, Then Glide” Technique

Another way to help build confidence is to trick your child into gliding.

Have your child hold their scooter and simply walk forward. As they take a step, have them place one foot on the scooter deck. The scooter will roll alongside your child very slowly as they walk.

Once this feels natural to your child, have them take a longer step forward which causes them to glide for 1-2 seconds. Your child won’t realize they are actually gliding until they feel the scooter roll behind them!

Try practicing on grass or carpet at first since it creates more resistance and your scooter will move slower.

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Pick the Right Spot to Practice

The location you choose to practice at can have a big impact on how quickly your child learns to push off.

Try to pick somewhere flat like a quiet path in the park, playground court, or empty carpark. Avoid practicing on slopes, gravelly pavement, or busy areas when your child is first learning.

As mentioned before, try practicing on grass or carpet if you have the chance. It’ll move slower than smooth pavement which helps build confidence.

Another thing to consider is distractions. Practicing where there aren’t many people or obstacles around will help your child focus on what they need to learn.

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Position Yourself Next To Your Child

As your child is learning to push off and start on their scooter, where you stand matters.

If you hover over your child causing them to feel intimidated, they will often lean down towards you for balance. Some parents like to stand directly in front of their child so they can “catch” them if they fall.

Instead try standing to the side of your child. You can gently grab their shoulder or upper arm without being too overbearing. If your child is gaining confidence you can slowly reduce how much support you give them until they no longer need it.

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Keep Practice Sessions Short

Learning how to ride a scooter should be fun, not exhausting.

Try to limit practice sessions to about 5-10 minutes at a time when your child is younger. You’ll know your child is getting tired when they start losing focus or become frustrated.

Make sure to praise any kind of progress. Smoothly pushing off? That’s great! Gliding for a longer distance? Celebrate that! Took a fall but got back up and tried again? Awesome!

Kids will build confidence on their scooter much quicker when they feel proud of how far they are going.

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Common Mistakes Kids Make When Learning to Push Off

Not all kids will make the same mistakes when learning to push off. However, there are several common problems you may notice with your child:

• Pushing Too Hard: This is by far the most common issue. Most kids will try to push themselves too hard and end up tipping sideways or falling over. Encourage them to only push a small distance.
• Head is Down: When your child looks down at their feet while pushing off, their weight naturally shifts forward making it harder to balance. Tell your child to pick their head up and look forward, even if it is just a few feet.
• Constantly Switching Legs: While there is nothing wrong with switching feet while pushing off, some kids will do it frequently. It can help build stability if your child chooses one foot to consistently push with at first.

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You Know Your Child is Confident When…

You will know your child has finally gotten the hang of pushing off when they start to ask you less for help. If your child can smoothly push themselves off and maybe even glide for a few seconds without falling over, you have taught them everything you can!

From here you can teach them how to turn, slow down by dragging their foot, and even ride up slight slopes.

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Final Tips

As with any kid, teaching your child how to push off takes patience. Not every child will learn at the same pace as your friend’s child or child sibling.

Keep scooter sessions focused on balancing first, work your way up to pushing off slowly, and always try to be encouraging. Your child will pick up this skill in no time!

Are you teaching your child to scooter and struggling with the push off? Head down to the comments and share your experiences. We would love to help you out!