Instilling confidence in our children is not something that happens overnight.
While being as supportive and encouraging as possible goes a long way, there are times when our child will feel vulnerable and unsure despite our best efforts.
So when somebody comes along and offers our child a helping hand in that situation, our gratitude can barely be measured - something one mum in the States learned this month.
Upon taking her daughter, Peyton, to the local skateboard park, Jeanean Thomas realised her six-year-old felt totally out of her depth among groups of boisterous teenage boys; that is until an empathetic young man took the time to show Peyton the ropes.
Setting the scene for Twitter users, Jeanean addressed the teenage boy who gave her daughter a much-needed confidence boost, writing: "Dear teenage boy at the skate park. You're probably about 15 years old, so I don't expect you to be very mature or for you to want a little girl on your skate ramp for that matter."
Offering an insight into her daughter's world, Jeanean continued: "What you don't know is that my daughter has been wanting to skateboard for months. I actually had to convince her that skateboarding wasn't for just for boys."
"So when we walked up to the skate park and saw that it was full of teenaged boys who were smoking and swearing, she immediately wanted to turn around and go home."
"I secretly wanted to go too because I didn't want to have to put on my mom voice and exchange words with you" she admitted.
Reminding the young man of the situation which then unfolded, Peyton's mother continued: "She only had two or three runs in before you approached her...I heard you say, "Your feet are wrong. Can I help you?"
Jeanane, wholly impressed by the teen's attitude, continued: "You proceeded to spend almost an hour with my daughter showing her how to balance and steer, and she listened to you a feat not attained by most adults."
"You held her hand and helped her get up when she fell down and I even heard you tell her to stay away from the rails so that she wouldn't get hurt," Jeanane remembered, clearly overcome by the memory.
Crediting the teen for her daughter's new-found confidence, Jeanane finished by explaining the impact his gesture had on Peyton, writing: "She left the skate park with a sense of pride and with the confidence that she can do anything, because of you."
Jeanane thanked her daughter's new friend for ignoring his own pals and doing what he thought best, writing: "I want you to know that I am proud that you are part of my community, and I want to thank you for being kind to my daughter, even though your friends made fun of you for it."
Jeanane's post has been picked up by innumerable media outlets since its upload last week.
