N. Raghuraman's column: What fathers once used to do spontaneously, schools are now doing scientifically

What was the first best milestone of your life as a child? For most of us, it would have been riding a tri-cycle and hearing 'Very Good' from parents. But the best, classic and decisive example of an important turning point, achievement or milestone in life or a project was when you were riding a bicycle and Dad didn't hold it from behind. For generations, we children have learnt this skill in the driveway (for the children of the rich), in the side-ways (for middle-class children living in the colony) and other children like me (if there are common man's children) in the lanes around the chawl. Usually, the older siblings or dad would hold the bicycle from the back until we learned to balance. Then one day suddenly we would find that they were missing from behind and the bicycle was moving. On that day, we could have fallen, the bicycle could hit something or we could even get scratched. But on the same day, suddenly we felt that we had become 'big'. But in today's time, this experience has reached a new level. Today, a kindergarten child gets his first balance-bike in the school's gymnasium hall or playground. They have to wear safety equipment like helmets and sit on a bike that is pedal-free and they move it forward with their feet. Children start and stop the bike on a circular path made of orange traffic-cones, while other adults, including PT teachers, watch and give directions to them. These teachers teach the children balance, core stability, sequencing and body-awareness. Every step in this process is based on the previous step. During this time, there was also a smiling face with every nervous face. There was also a laugh with every scream. Wondering where all this is happening? More than 2,000 elementary schools in the US have made bike riding a part of children's physical education. Otherwise, these children may also have to wait for an adult or older sibling to teach them. In this eight-lesson course, children are taught slowly. First they just learn to walk with the bike, be comfortable on the right size bike and then balance by lifting both legs. After this, the adults pedal and the students do full cycling. Some schools also join other programs to teach children pedestrian safety. Many of us must have seen this scene, when a young-mother comes out of a building with her child in the pram and tries to cross the road. At the zebra crossing, where pedestrians are preferred, she is confronted by a group of speeding bicycles and other riders, and none of them think of braking. Finally, when there is some space, she runs across the road. She does not trust that these riders will follow the rules of the zebra crossing and allow them to cross the road with the child. Such an incident brings out serious safety issues with absolute accuracy. This additional lesson is very useful for differently-abled children. For example, at a school in Seattle, children are taught how to cross the road, how to make eye contact with drivers, and how to identify if someone is behaving unsafely. Teachers there say that such programs instill a sense of independence and self-reliance in children – exactly the feeling we had when we first rode a bike without the support of a father or elder brother. The trick is that bike-riding is slowly becoming a basic skill like playing basketball in a sports class. But one cannot ignore the fact that biking is a life-long skill. And such lessons remain in the minds of children even when they go far beyond the age of bikes.