When I was about 10 years old, my older sister gave me a present. It was my first real grown-up bicycle: a three-speed, yellow and black, shiny and new. I still remember how excited I was. That bicycle was very important to me over the next few years. If I wanted to give a gift that would contribute to a child’s development, I would choose a bicycle.
Bikes are great exercise. They encourage outdoor play. Television and video games, which are the most popular children’s activities nowadays, involve mostly sitting and starting. Riding a bike makes exercise fun.
Bikes are convenient transportation, too. Without a bike you have to depend on an adult to drive you almost everywhere. With a bike you can go farther. You can ride to your friend’s bouses. If your school is close enough, you can take yourself to school. You have control over where you go, and you’re not always waiting or begging for a ride. Now you can say “Can I go ……?” instead of “Please take me!”
To me as a child, a bicycle meant independence. Not only could I could I go farther, but no one was watching where I went. The road went past the park, the pond, the woods, the 7-11 store, and more. I saw the network of little neighborhood roads from a different viewpoint. I could stop anywhere and look at whatever I wanted. Everything was my choice. Bike riding was active, not passive.
My bicycle gave me fun exercise, easy transportation, and freedom. For all these reasons, I think that a bicycle is a special present for a child.