Tricycles were still difficult for a one-year-old.

When I took my son Takeh to Shinjuku Chuo Park, I noticed that the park offered free tricycle rentals. I had never seen a park offer such a service before.

Normally, the government would not want to provide such a service because it requires a lot of time and effort to maintain and prevent theft. I was amazed that Shinjuku City dared to offer such a service.

Come to think of it, I don’t think I see many kids riding tricycles in the city anymore. I used to see them all the time, and when I was a small child, I used to pedal my tricycle to check out the neighborhood “on my turf” every day.

Maybe times have changed. Parents used to tell their children, “Watch out for cars and bicycles, they are dangerous. I suspect that the demand for tricycles has decreased because there are fewer opportunities for children to ride tricycles freely, because parents now warn their children, “Watch out for cars and bicycles, they are dangerous. I guess the demand for tricycles has decreased. I see very few kids riding Striders in the park and very few riding tricycles.

Recently, I have seen tricycle-like vehicles with handlebars that parents can push from behind. However, these are not free from the protection of the parent, and it is difficult for the child to explore at will.

Nevertheless, I put him on a tricycle. It was the first tricycle of his life. He had ridden toy cars to get around by himself before, but what would he do if he had three wheels instead of four?

I asked him for a while how he was doing. It seemed that he still did not understand the concept of “pedaling with your feet. When you pedal with your foot, the handlebars wobble and the front wheel turns in the wrong direction. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to use both hand and foot strength when pedaling a tricycle. It seems that this “hand-foot coordination” is not yet a physical ability he possesses. It was the first time in his life that he rode a tricycle.

I hoped that this time he would learn how to ride a tricycle since he rarely has the opportunity to ride one. But before he could learn, he got tired of this “mysteriously difficult to use vehicle” and ran off to another playground.

As a parent, I was disappointed. But there was nothing I could do. I will teach him the joy of riding a tricycle again next time I have a chance.

(2023.01.29)