My grandson had one of those balance bikes, he was a bit younger though, more like 18 months to 2 years. He loved it! A bike with training wheels would be more economical though as it would last him longer

Bike with training wheels, then you can take them off and then he still has a two wheeler. With a balance bike you’ll have to upgrade to a two wheeler

Strider balance bike is brilliant,especially if he’s not learnt to pedal yet. My kids had 2 wheelers with training wheels. Didn’t take them long to work it all out when reduced tom2 wheels though

I think you end up having to use a combination of the two. Our balance bike actually came with pedals that you could take off (but no training wheels). My son would zoom down hills balancing, holding his feet up but the minute we put the pedals on he didn’t know what to do with them. We then ended up putting him on a training wheels bike for a few tries to practice pedalling and then took of the training wheels. Because he had the balance skills already it just worked. We also practiced on grass where it didn’t hurt as badly when he tipped it a few times.

The balance bike is a great idea. It works well for us as mr 3 has one of each but prefers the balance bike as he cant pedal yet

I would go for a balance bike as my daughter relies the whole time on her training wheels and doesn’t even know what balance is. If i had to make the choice again I would definitely try the balance bike as it would teach more balance skills

I really dont understand the balance bike and how it teaches balance if there feet are always on the floor I would go for training wheels to be honest

Balance bike. She had training wheels, took them off and my daughter hated it- she was used to the stability of them. So we taught her to use it like a balance bike and not the pedals. 2 days later she was used to the feeling of being a bit wobbly and was riding no problems. Balancing a heavy bike and being comfortable with the wobbly feeling is a greater challenge than peddling.

My 3 year old won’t ride her bike with training wheels, she had a go on her friends balance bike and loved it, so I’m keen to get her one.

I was going to say a balance bike but after reading the other comments I think I’d have to say a ‘normal’ bike, mainly because to me it makes sense that it is just as important to learn to peddle the bike as it is to balance on it.

We went with the bike and training wheels as it lasts longer. A balance bike is good for the balance, but they then have to coordinate the peddling too, so you kind of start from scratch again!

I thought about it, and figured I could only afford one or the other. A balance bike would last her about a year, whereas a bike with training wheels would last a few years at least, so we went for the bike- $40 at kmart and she has a ball on it

I would go for the normal bike with training wheels. The balance comes with time.

I would go with a normal bike with trainer wheels I think in the long it’s much better for them to learn how to pedal a bike first before they try to balance on a bike.

I like bikes with trainers on them. they can learn to peddle and the balance comes later

balance bike maybe, ive got my daughter a normal one and doesnt like it much

there are some good comments here

my son still need them his 6

There was no such thing as balance bikes when my kids were learning so they all did well with the training wheels.
i think the trick is to get them a bike thats just right for them size wise. dont get one thats too small and nor too big that they wont be able to safely ride it once the training wheels come off.

I didn’t know what a balance bike was until I saw a little boy zoom past me one day. I got one for my little boy and he loved it. Having said that my eldest had training wheels and did really well too. One was riding by 3 without training wheel the other by 4 so either will be fine. I would spend a lot on either (get second hand) as they will out grow them very quickly and you can pick up ones that look brand new cheaply.