Feeling helpless is like when you want to reach a cookie jar on a high shelf, but you’re too small to get it by yourself. You might need a grown-up to help you because you can’t reach it alone, no matter how much you try. It’s that feeling of needing someone else to help you do something you can’t do on your own.
Think of a tiny bird that has fallen out of its nest. It flaps its wings really hard but can’t fly back up to its nest. The little bird feels helpless because, without help, it can’t get back to its cozy home.
Another way to think about helpless is like being a toy car without batteries. You want to zoom around the room, but without the batteries, you can’t move. You need someone to put in the batteries so you can vroom-vroom again.
It’s okay to feel helpless sometimes because everyone needs help now and then. It’s important to ask for help when you feel this way, and remember that people are there to support you.