Each month, we shine our lantern-light on a special virtue—one powerful quality that helps us live with heart, courage, and kindness.
This month, we’re exploring Helping Hands… but not only in the ways we set the table or share our toys. Helping hands also mean taking responsibility, owning our mistakes, and making things right.
Today’s story is one of our personal family favorites. It’s about three adventurous young bears, a broken treasure, and the stormy seas they must face before they can truly make things right. Their journey reminds us that true helping hands aren’t found in hiding or blaming, but in the courage to take responsibility, offer apology, and begin again.
This is the story of Three Bears in a Boat.
Parents, Three Bears in a Boat is a rich story for opening conversations about responsibility, contribution, repair, and consequences. Children often wrestle with the urge to hide mistakes or shift blame—just as Dash, Charlie, and Theo did.
You might ask your child:
* “What happened when they argued and blamed one another?”
* “How did things change when they each admitted their part?”
This week, try a family practice of naming responsibility. When something goes wrong—a spill, a sharp word, a forgotten chore—pause and ask: “What part did each of us play, and what can we do to make it right?” Celebrate not only when a problem is fixed, but when responsibility is taken. And model it yourself. Parenting is full of mistakes, but one of the most powerful gifts we can give our children is the courage to admit ours, take ownership, and make amends.
Here’s something that brings me peace: healthy attachment doesn’t require perfection. Research shows we only need to be truly “in sync” about 30% of the time. Another 30% is spent in disconnection—missing the mark. And the final 30% is spent in repair—coming back together and making things right. That’s our real aim: not perfection, but repair. (And for those quick with math, I like to say the last 10% belongs to the holy presence that holds it all together ;)
And finally, consequences. Our actions carry weight, and children learn deeply from natural consequences. I love the story’s last line: “and they didn’t get any dessert.” What natural consequences can you allow in your home—ones that guide your child (and you) to keep refining how you show up for each other?
That’s the heart of family life: not only helping hands, but the courage to own our part in keeping love strong.
So that’s our story for today—but the magic does not end here. Let this tale carry you into your week, and may you have the grace, patience, and love to own your part when you mess up, and to keep growing together through the inevitable mistakes that shape us.
Brave & Bright Stories is a true labor of love, woven between muddy hands, bedtime snuggles, and the daily hum of life as a solo mama of two little ones. If these stories light up your home, I’d be so grateful if you’d consider lending your own “helping hands”: become a paid subscriber here on Substack, share these stories with a friend, or leave a kind review on your favorite podcast app. Each step helps keep our little boat afloat and allows this storytelling village to grow.
I’m so happy you’re here with us.
Until next time,Stay brave, stay bright, and keep growing together… one story at a time.
With warmth and wonder,Hannah
