Peloton for Kids: Is Peloton Safe for Kids

With the voluntary recall of the Peloton Tread+ from the CPSC, I’ve updated this Peloton for kids blog post to take out any mention or images of children using the Tread. It now reflects the most recent family-friendly content that Peloton has to offer on the app and bike. Also, a reminder that you should NEVER LET YOUR CHILD USE A PELOTON UNSUPERVISED.

Now the Peloton original bike has been recalled, too.

When we got our Peloton bike in 2016, I didn’t have to think about Peloton for kids and how they might use it. Because at that time my daughters were 19 and 21. However, you may be in a very different place.

Can kids use Peloton?

The answer to the question, “Can kids use Peloton?” or “Can kids ride Peloton,” is both yes and no. While there aren’t, technically, any kids classes, there are Peloton family classes. These are designed to be done as a family and are available on the app. Peloton family classes do not involve the bike or Tread.

Also, with the debut of Peloton Lanebreak, which is a video game on the Peloton bike tablet, I’m guessing more kids and teens will want to start using your Peloton bike. Those that have played the video game Guitar Hero describe Lanebreak as Guitar Hero for Peloton.

Here is my review of Peloton Lanebreak.

That being said, this article is based on my conversation with Peloton owners that also happen to be parents. And they’ve shared with me the best ways they’ve adjusted their Peloton for kids to use. 

DISCLAIMER

This is my summarization of Peloton and kids. It is not intended to be medical advice for your child. I strongly suggest that if you have any questions or concerns about using the Peloton for kids of any age, you must speak with your child’s pediatrician or family physician for their best advice. This blog post is for informational purposes only. Again, this is not medical advice.

In addition, by taking the advice I set forth in this blog post, you indemnify me and hold my blog harmless for any injuries or other medical issues that may arise from allowing your child to use your Peloton.

Safety and Peloton for Kids

I spoke with a couple of parents who let their kids use their Peloton. One woman has it set up so her eight and 14 year olds can ride the bike. 

“Our kids need exercise just like we do,” says this mom, who asked to remain anonymous. If your child decides to use your Peloton, she adds, “Stay by your child. I want to promote the safety aspect of Peloton for kids.”

Peloton safety lock

Back in the day you probably remember locking up your bike with a traditional chain lock from the nearby bike store. While you don’t need to lock up your Peloton at home, you might want to create some sort of safety lock if you have babies or toddlers around.

First, one of the best ways to keep your children safe around your Peloton is to tether it to a wall. We do this every year with a Christmas tree.

You may recall seeing safety recalls from stores like IKEA with dressers that can tip over on top of young children. Therefore, tethering is a must for a heavy, potentially dangerous piece of equipment or piece of furniture.

Securing your bike

Second, whenever you’re done riding your Peloton bike, turn the resistance knob all the way to the right. Or, in other words, turn the resistance up to 100.

As you know when the resistance is all the way up, you can’t move the pedals. This is important in case you have a toddler or baby who gets to your bike and tries to pull up to stand on the pedals. It would be tragic if the pedals were able to spin and the child fell on their face and hurt themselves. 

Third, just as you might put up gates to keep a dog or a child out of a room, you may want to do the same around your Peloton.

Finally, if you keep your Peloton in a room with a door, consider adding a smart lock to the door. That way only people who know the code can get in to use the equipment. This might be one of the best ways to keep children safe around a Peloton.

Also, the Peloton tread now requires a code to start. Never share that code with younger children.

Here are the most common questions (and answers) about the Peloton pedals.

Filtering classes that are appropriate for Peloton for kids

If you didn’t know, your Peloton comes with a filtering option. It lets you find classes based on instructor, theme and length.

You can also use the filter to hide classes with explicit language. This explicit language could be in the song lyrics or from the instructors themselves.

Many parents like letting their children do scenic rides. These are classes that take you on the road in places all over the world. Unfortunately, Peloton just updated the scenic ride content to have many fewer options.

Some parents I spoke to have said that they will set their children up with a scenic ride in places they’ve visited as a family on vacation. “They get such a kick out of ‘going back there’ on the Peloton,” one dad told me.

Here is my review of the updated Peloton scenic ride classes. 

Best instructors for Peloton for kids

In addition to filtering classes based on language (i.e. not explicit classes), you can also use a Peloton filter hack, if you will. How? Through word of mouth.

In fact, when I asked parents who were choosing classes on the Peloton for kids, many of them said they stick with the same instructors. These instructors are less likely to drop an f bomb during a ride–if you’re worried about such things.

Your fellow Peloton parents can also provide recommendations for intro classes for kids. Any class listed as beginner would be a good place to start. 

Recommended Peloton instructors

So which are the instructors on the Peloton that you might want to introduce your kids to? My picks, based on whose classes I’ve taken, would be:

• Matt Wilpers
• Denis Morton (bonus: silly dad jokes throughout the class)
• Hannah Marie Corbin
• any of the yoga instructors
• any of the British instructors
• Ally Love
• Jess Sims

Popular classes with young riders

What are some favorite classes for the younger participants? Many Broadway classes are super popular. I know that Leanne Hainsby and Ally Love have done Broadway classes. Emma Lovewell and Kendall Toole have both done some Disney rides, too. Over on the Peloton app, Ross Rayburn did a Broadway yoga flow. 

Also popular: anything with Billie Eilish music. I know there was a Billie Eilish ride with Kendall Toole and a Billie Eilish yoga class with Anna Greenberg. Overall, pop is very popular.

How old do you have to be to ride a Peloton

Of course, it’s up to each parent to decide if their child is old enough or strong enough to use the Peloton. Marilyn Scott of Pittsburgh likens using the bike to her daughter riding her bike outside. 

For riding live at the Peloton Studios New York, when that was a thing, here are the rules:

Cycling: at least 14 and between 4’11” and 6’5″

Yoga: at least 14

The two times that I rode in studio with Christine D’Ercole, there were at least two or three mothers riding with teenage daughters. I’m sure they were there because of Christine’s positive, self-love message.

Be forewarned: She does curse a lot. Then again, so do I!

Peloton family workouts

As mentioned earlier in this Peloton for kids post, Peloton finally has classes for a family to do together. These Peloton family workouts currently fall into two categories. One, cardio classes. And, two, yoga classes.

Peloton family cardio classes

Right now there are nearly two dozen Peloton family cardio classes. Peloton instructor Jess Sims teaches all of them. No surprise since she’s a former school teacher.

The Peloton family cardio classes range from a five minute “Fit Family Brain Break” to a 30-minute Fit Family class that Jess taught live with instructor Alex Touissaint. Also special about this two-for-one class: the instructors brought their dogs!

Recently, Sims added some family strength classes to these family cardio offerings. One is set all to Disney music.

How to find Peloton family workout classes

You can easily find these classes on the Peloton digital app. Search under cardio and then use the filter for “Class Type.” Choose “Family” and there you go.

It’s the same on the Peloton website. You want to choose Cardio, then filter Class Type to Family.

As of this update there are more than two dozen family workout classes under the Cardio tab. Many of these Peloton classes are called “Fit Family Fun.”

Peloton family yoga

When it comes to Peloton family yoga classes, it’s no surprise that instructor Kristen McGee is teaching them. She’s the mother of three boys. So if anyone knows a thing or two about doing yoga with kids, she is that person.

Like with the Peloton family cardio classes mentioned above, you can easily find these Peloton family yoga classes using the Peloton app or your Smart TV. Go to Yoga and then use the Filter for “Class Type.” You’ll find “Family” grouped with the Prenatal and Postnatal classes. McGee teaches these, too.

Peloton Dance Cardio

Another option for exercising with your kids is trying out the Peloton dance cardio classes. You’ll find these listed under Cardio in the Peloton app. That’s the same place where you find the Family classes I’ve mentioned above.

Here are the instructors leading Peloton dance cardio classes:

• Hannah Corbin
• Callie Gullickson
• Jess King
• Emma Lovewell
• Ally Love
• Cody Rigsby

All of these Peloton instructors have professional dance backgrounds. In fact, Jess King was in “So You Think You Can Dance?” and did a national tours with the show. Anyway, it makes total sense for these instructors to be leading dance cardio classes.

Right now there are just a handful of Peloton family yoga classes to choose from. Most say “kids” but there are two (so far) that are specifically for tweens. So if you have older children you’re looking to do yoga with, these are a great option.

Peloton for kids and general exercise guidelines

It’s one thing to share with you what parents are doing with their own children and Peloton for kids. It’s another to share the advice from professionals.

So, I headed over the American Academy of Pediatrics website to find out their guidance for children and exercise. Here is a summarization of their best advice.

Children ages one to four

• At least 30 minutes of structured physical activity each day
• A total of at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily
• Young children should be encouraged to do physical activity that builds fundamental motor skills

Children ages five through 10

• At least 60 minutes of physical activity each day
• Of those 60 minutes activity should be moderate or vigorous aerobic activity, on at least three days a week.
• Three days a week children should be participating in muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activity.
• Activities that focus on having fun

Children ages 11 and up

• At least 60 minutes of physical activity each day
• Of those 60 minutes activity should be moderate or vigorous aerobic activity, on at least three days a week.
• Three days a week children should be participating in muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activity.
• Encourage physical activity that’s appropriate for their age, is enjoyable and offers variety.

Kids Peloton bike

While there isn’t a kids Peloton bike per se, there are two ways you can make your Peloton work for you child. First, if your child is really a toddler or preschooler, don’t put them on the bike. Plain and simple.

But you might want to get them this Fisher Price Think and Learn Smart Cycle “spin bike” so they can ride along with you. It could be your Peloton kids bike or your toddler Peloton bike. Kids love exercising when their parents do.

Second, if your child is at least 4’11” tall, you can try getting them fitted on the bike. Peloton offers a video on bike fitting. So does instructor Christine D’Ercole on her instructor Facebook page.

Basically, you want to make sure that your child can reach the pedals to clip in or put their shoes in toe cages. Of course, this tip leads to two additional questions about accessories for your kids to use with the Peloton.

Kids Peloton shoes

The first question is the most common one people ask, and that is: where can I get kids Peloton shoes or Peloton shoes for kids?

The second question: how do I get toe cages for the Peloton pedals?

Let me answer the second one first. 

With toe or shoe cages, your kids can just wear their regular sneakers, running or gym shoes when they ride the bike.

Look at women’s sizes for kids Peloton shoes

Now back to the first question about finding Peloton shoes for kids or Peloton kids shoes. I’m assuming parents are asking this because they want their children to be able to clip in using the Look Delta cleats that most people have on the bottom of their shoes.

Well, are your children’s feet big enough to wear some of the smallest women’s sizes? If so, that’s your answer. Buy them adult shoes. That being said it is possible to buy youth sizes in cycling shoes. 

Here are ideas for finding kids shoes in wide widths.

More about Peloton bike shoes

Here’s my blog post on Peloton bike shoes. It includes Peloton bike shoes sizing information so you can figure out which size of men’s or women’s spin shoes would work as kids Peloton shoes. It also has a bike shoe size chart.

I’ve found cycling shoes on Rei.com, Dick’s Sporting Goods website and Amazon. Many of these include youth and small women’s sizes.

I’ve shared links to some of them below. I’ve also included pictures of the aforementioned toe cages.

Kids at Peloton studios

Did you know that older kids can take classes at the Peloton Studios New York as well as Peloton Studios London? That’s possible, as long as they fit the following criteria.

One, your kids have to be at least 13 years old. And, two, they must be at least four feet, 11 inches tall.

Taking a class together would be a great add on when taking your kids to London.

Concluding thoughts on Peloton for kids

My own daughters are in their early 20s. So I really appreciate that parents of younger children who spoke with me and shared their thoughts on and experiences with Peloton for kids.

Here’s the most important thing to keep in mind: the desire to use the Peloton has to come from your child. You can encourage your children to exercise with you, which may help get them interested. But ultimately it’s up to them.

Finally, here is a shopping list on Amazon for some of the products I’ve recommended.