It fits neatly into the memory bank somewhere between starting school and losing your front teeth.

It's incredible how we master those wonky stabilisers or how any child today stands a chance on our potholed roads and cracked pavements.

We bought the little one a bike recently and my heart has been in my mouth ever since.

She pulls on her Barbie helmet and knee pads, but a month on she still looks desperately dangerous every time she climbs astride its shiny pink frame.

The brake seems redundant now she can whizz down a road faster than her mum can run.

She might be living dangerously but at least she's having a laugh at my expense.

In short, the bike has given her an independence she never knew she had.

And that's before we take off the stabilisers.

I know a day will come soon when she's perfectly balanced and the stabilisers will have done their job.

Riding a bike is a lot like life.

We feel the fear and do it anyway as kids but as adults we convince ourselves something's beyond our capabilities.

It rarely is, we just have to believe in ourselves.

A few months ago I heard the female rally car driver Penny Mallory address a group of businessmen and women.

She told a story about how she'd taught her young daughter to ride a bike.

Penny never even bothered with stabilisers but I guess you don't become a top racing driver without throwing caution to the wind.

The result was a very wobbly and very frightened child who insisted she couldn't do it.

"You can do it, believe you can do it and you will' insisted Penny, now a motivational speaker and earning a good crust from telling stories with morals.

The little girl wobbled perilously and tears ran down her face but she was soon riding confidently.

She'd believed in her own ability, the tears dried and a great smile spread across her proud little face.

As a mum I know my daughter will faces lots of challenges in life.

I know that she'll have to fall before she can pick herself up and that, like everyone else, she'll learn from her mistakes.

In order to learn though, we have to allow our kids to make the mistakes in the first place – and that's a whole new parenting skill I'm struggling to get my head round.

One day I'll also have to let go and send her on her way, just as I'll let go of her bike when she's ready to lose the stabilisers.

I know that growing up and making sense of the world will take courage, not only on her part but on mine too.

But as she grows I'm determined to enjoy every minute.

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