Running alongside your child's bike as she is balancing herself and doesn't even realize you've let go. It's one of the quintessential images of parenthood. But is there a better way?

I recently got the opportunity to review one of these new-fangled glide bikes, the Playskool Glide to Ride Bike . The idea behind them: Instead of putting training wheels on a kid's bike -- which some experts assert does not really teach them the balance they need to ride -- get one of these low-to-the-ground, pedal free bikes and let them push themselves along until they get the hang of it.

In this forum, a few parents share their stories of how the glide bike really worked. Apparently, taking off the pedals and lowering the seat is an old trick in the parenting genre -- the glide bikes being marketed now are just bikes packaged to mimic what some parents were already doing.

How did my daughter like it? I posted a detailed review and video here. Let's just say, she's not the most athletic of kids, and a child who's highly motivated to ditch the training wheels might take to the glide bike better.

Her baby sister, on the other hand, is a pretty physical kid, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her cruising around on that thing by age 3.

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