I bought my daughter her first unicycle (12”) for her 4th birthday, because that’s what she wanted. Then I bought my son a unicycle for his 3rd birthday.
They were too small to reach the pedals, so I fitted wooden blocks.
They practiced every so often, but never really made much progress until DD was nearly 9. That was when she really decided to work on it, and within a couple of weeks she was riding.
I hoped and (correctly) expected that seeing DD learn to ride would push DS to make the effort as well. He was riding by the time he was 7.
Then there was this little girl who went viral a few years ago after learning to ride at the age of 4:
In our local unicycle club, we often ride in parades. One of our members is now 6. When she was 4, she learned to ride a 16”, with the top post of the frame cut short (as well as the seat post), so that her feet could reach the pedals. When she first started riding in parades, her mom walked the route also, so she could offer her hand to help her daughter mount.
For the last two years, I have been trained to realize that if parade spectators are clapping and cheering “for me”, then she is likely right behind me, to one side, in my “blind spot”.
So, I don’t feel 4 years old is too young, but it depends on the desire of the rider, and it also depends on the size of the unicycle. It may take some work to fit the unicycle properly. But, it will definitely be worth it if the 4 year old is determined to learn.
I concur. If he‘s interested in unicycling, the best thing to do is give him the chance to try it. If he realises that it‘s not for him he can always leave. I don’t think a 4 year old will continue a hobby just because he feels obliged. So, he can‘t really lose anything, in my view.
My son rode to his kindergarden at the age of 2 by bicycle. We tried unicycling early too (16") and he was really interested in it, but in fact he learned unicycling some years later on a 24", so he was already tall enough for 24". You should try it just for fun and then give them the time (in years) they really require.
My daughter isn’t really interested in learning. She thinks it takes too long to learn and is really only interested in playing games on her tablet. She is 12 now. My son is 4 and none of my unicycles are small enough for him, but I think it is a bit of a waste of time to buy a super small unicycle. when he gets older he might get more interested when he sees me riding. I will leave it at that.
12" are usually surprisingly expensive on the second hand market, around here. 16" are way more common and can be had for very reasonable money, sometimes even dirt cheap. Same is even more valid for 20", the “standard unicycle” that most peeps learn to ride on.
So, yeah, maybe give it a shot when he’s tall enough to ride a cheap second hand 16". If he doesn’t like it you can always sell it again for the same price.
Or you just have lying the uni about for 2 years until he finally picks up interest - that’s what happened to me. Got it when I was 7, learned to ride when I was 9. The difference is that I didn’t really want it at 7 years old, whereas I had the aspiration to learn it when I was 9.
I got a 16” for free. At the local petting zoo, parents leave unused kid bikes and things like plastic tractors that young kids sit on. Some months ago they brought a 16” unicycle, which nobody was able to ride of course, so I asked the owners of the petting zoo if I could have it. They were happy to get rid of the junk. I let my daughter ride it. I never know if I should push her to keep on trying or if I should just let her decide. I don’t want it to be that she will come to hate unicycling, because I keep pushing. I wish she had a personal interest in it. We also signed her up for badminton, but she just hates any kind of activity. I think I am equally addicted to riding unicycle as to playing computer games. I got into unicycling just because my life after work only consisted on games and watching films. I got sick of it.
A child becomes interested in what is going on around them influenced by people they look up to. If a child is around unicyclist it will probably peak their interest, as it would with any activity going on around them. People often stear their kids into activities they like themselves inorder to fulfill a need of their own rather than that of the child often with disastrous results. Keep in mind interest and aptitude are two different things having an interest and the ability to perform the task are different. I would allow the childs curiosity to take the lead and when and if they are ready they will express an interest or none at all.
I am so Pleased that the very young boy has seen me often on my 29 and his parents are anti tv and digital devices!
I have started shopping , already found a few 16s for cheap, seems he will outgrow 12 to quick. His parents are way on board so that helps.
On the other hand, gave my godaughter a 20 when she was 10. Helped her a lot to learn but just was not her thing, rather phone, tv ,tablet ect. Bums me out but oh well , at least she
A Mini-Nightfox would be perfect; starting with a 12“ wheel and growing with the rider.
I‘m sure if @MadHatchetAndy was more into Nightfoxes than Hatchets he would‘ve already made one, hydrodipping included.
Noooooo, night fox is not my thing at all, but encouraging youngester into uni is a good thing. I learnt at 14 and loved it. Made by my mates dad from scratch, seat made from a banana shaped base plate, a piece of foam, and gaffer taped on. All nice shiney crome. No gimicks and it worked. No uni shops or on line, if you wanted one, you had to make it yourself.
