An Inner Child Summer
Longer days, warm (or hot if you live in Miami) sunshine and memories of the freedom of school for two months, summer has a way of supporting our connection to our inner child. A part of us that seeks play, joy, feeling seen and heard and arguably most importantly, presence. While all of this is true, our inner child may also hold challenging feelings, remember unmet needs and may influence how we move about our world today.
What if, you gave yourself a chance this summer to reconnect with your inner child - not with the intention to fix them, but rather to listen and practice presence.
What is your Inner Child?
According to IFS, or Internal Family Systems, we are all made up of different parts. One of these parts that exists in us all has been more commonly referred to as our inner child. Our inner child represents as younger version of ourselves that lives within us and we carry in many different ways. This part holds memories, emotions, traumas, beliefs and needs - both met and unmet - from our younger years.
As adults and over time, many of us start to prioritize productivity, success and responsibility - distancing us from our sense of wonder, play, curiosity and self expression our inner child holds. Reconnecting with this part is essential to supporting increased self compassion, self exploration, expression, authenticity and on our healing journey.
Signs That Your Inner Child May Be Seeking Connection
If you find yourself:
stuck in patterns of self criticism or perfectionism
disconnected from a sense of play and joy
uninspired or lacking creative direction
struggling to disconnect from your day to day and resting without feeling guilty
having strong or explosive emotional reactions
Your inner child may be speaking to you and asking for both attention and connection.
Creative Ways To Connect With Your Inner Child
If any of those from the list above resonate with how you have been feeling lately or you are seeking additional creative ways to connect with your inner child try one of these:
Spend time playing with other children: whether they are family members, at work or with your friends children; spending time engaging in play with children has a way of supporting our adult selves to reconnect with our younger self and engage in play more freely.
Create without expectations or rules. Find any materials you are excited or curious about in your house - these can be art materials, found objects, ingredients, whatever it may be and allow yourself to create something with that. Try to forget the rules of how they “should be used” (so long as it is still in a safe way) as you immerse yourself in the experience. Maybe you use your fingers instead of a paintbrush or you mix your dough with your hands rather than a spatula - let yourself engage various senses!
Create a joy list (and make time to do the things on the list). Try to see if you can make a list - it doesn’t have to be a long one - including things you enjoyed doing as a child. These can be activities that require more planning and effort like visiting a zoo or something simple like baking your favorite cookies. Try to come up with at least 5 things that you can try to do during the summer.
Engage in pretend play with your inner child. Children often connect with the world around them through their imagination and pretend play - maybe you can remember doing this as a child. Spend some time, connecting with your inner child either through visualization, sensation or you can use a picture. As you do, talk to them, listen to what they have to say: what do they want? what do they need? how can you support them? Try to continue to engage with them in this way throughout your days, weeks, months, etc.
As adults, we rarely give ourselves permission to experience that same sense of freedom as we did at a young age. Yet our nervous systems benefit from moments of creativity, play, presence, and joy. These experiences help regulate stress, foster resilience, and remind us that healing is not always about doing deeper work—it can also be about allowing ourselves to experience pleasure.
As you move through this summer, consider asking yourself:
How is my inner child supporting my sense of curiosity and play?
Perhaps the invitation is simply to make a little space this summer to reconnect with the things you once loved. Your inner child is not something you outgrow but rather a part we carry with us throughout our entire lives - waiting to feel seen, heard and loved.
Maybe this summer you give yourself permission to answer that call.
