The wee one has been super proud, as are we, that she’s been cycling to school most mornings.

I won’t lie, it’s taken a lot for us to let her do this herself. The path involves crossing a road where people think the speed limit is a suggestion, a cycle paths and a blind corner with cars coming from two separate roads.

For a week or so, I accompanied her on my triride (possible thanks to the kindness of friends and readers) before letting her go alone.

We ask her to send us her live location on WhatsApp so we know she’s got to school okay.

It’s a tense 15 minutes of watching a blue dot bounce within the confines of grey lines but it gives us peace of mind.

I was in the office on Tuesday, so I had the car. Mum was in a meeting when the wee one got home from school distressed.

She explained how two boys had called her a fat fucking cow, thrown stones at her and told her to go kill herself. I raced home and we spoke about the words they used and asked how they made her feel. Fortunately she saw them for what they were, stupid words from stupid people.

I posted on a local Facebook group about the altercation, partly to ensure people were aware of this activity in their village, partly to ensure my daughter had a few extra eyes to look out for her.

She ran into them the next morning on her way to school, they threw the same insults at her, again she refused to let them win and left them behind.

We’ve been fortunate enough to avoid issues like this over her time in primary school but she’s going to highschool soon, as are these two.

The difference is she’s clearly loved, whilst these two are simply trying to divert attention away from their own loathing.

As much as I detest these two and genuinely question their upbringing, they’ve helped teach a lesson about the people you encounter in the world and how to manage them.

On top of this the positive comments from the locals who’ve seen her cycle, even going as far to call her an inspiration has been lovely. Showing that people are generally good even if there are a few numpties out there.

This could be the end or it, it could be the start of it. The fact is that parents aren’t given a manual on this stuff. We just have to make the decisions we feel are right, and give guidance where we can.

For now, she’ll continue cycling, continue being herself and continue to know that she is loved.