The grass here in Oregon is, well, lush. Our grass is more weeds than grass, but in the spring and early summer, it was very thick. We had to mow it all the time to keep it somewhat tamed. Mason showed some interest in mowing, so Shawn let him try it out. He thought it was so awesome to run the mower, but I'm sure it has something more to do with feeling like a big boy, than it was actually mowing. He's always insistent that he is a big boy and not a little boy anymore.
Except when it came to riding his bike. We tried convincing him that he was a big enough boy to ride without training wheels, and that he had the balance. He got up the courage to try, so we took off the training wheels and Shawn took off with him. He rode a few times with out help, but is so unsure of himself, that he kept putting his feet down, or he just wouldn't peddle.
At one point we had to bribe him with a treat to try again, and as you can see in his face, he didn't like it. So, for the rest of the summer, he's been on training wheels perfectly fine that he has something to keep him upright when he's not paying attention.
On a side note, I wanted to share something that has nothing to do with learning to ride his bike, but it happened with his bike and it was something he learned. One of the things that Mason has done on his bike for the last year or so is running into things while riding his bike. He likes to run into sign poles, trash cans, fences and most recently, he likes to bump into cars. Mind you, he doesn't run into things hard, nor does he do it to to hurt things, he just does it because HE thinks its fun. We have talked to him several times about not running into things that are owned by other people, ie: cars, houses, fences ect... But it never seemed to click that someone might not like it. This same night that he worked on riding with out training wheels, Shawn put his training wheels on. He was out riding and we were keeping our eyes on him, but in the turn of our heads, and working with Carter, Mason made his way down the street 4 houses. The couple that lives in that house are not known by the kids to be nice people. They are kind of grumpy about their property and as long as you leave them alone, they are pretty nice. Mason bumped into the bumper of their car while I was on my way down the street to get him, and the lady looked at him and told him very sternly that he was not allowed to be there at their house, and strictly told him to go home. He followed her directions and started home, but it also caused a huge melt down. I stopped him on the way to ask what happened, since I didn't know. As we talked I got him to tell me what happened. The lady walked up from behind him at the same moment he told me that "the mean lady told me to go home." After he headed home, slightly calmed down, she told me what happened and told me it's not okay. I stopped her in her tracks when I told her that he has a learning disability and that we've been working on his problem with running into things. I told her I would tell him to stay away from their house, and hopefully it wouldn't happen again. I know she wanted to tell me off a bit more, but I didn't get her a chance and walked away. When I got home, Mason and I sat down and talked about what happened. I think that having someone be rude and mean to him, made him understand what Shawn and I have been trying to teach him for a long time. We don't go down the street to the "mean ladies house" and we are very quick to pass if we have to. Mason has stopped running into things altogether. So, out of such a messy problem, something good has come out of if. It is ingrained into his mind and when asked about it, he will tell you what he did, and what happened after he did it. I didn't need someone in the neighborhood to get mean on him, but at least it made an impression and it helped him realize what some things are really not okay.
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