Looking Out For The Inner Child

The walls of my childhood home have never been tainted by paint while my family was living there. To me, it was never lifeless but bare—a once blank canvas turned into an immovable artifact filled with memories of youth with my siblings from chalk-written Math equations, traces of our once tiny hands, and drawings of anything under the sun wherever our imaginations took us then.  

Not a hot take but to reiterate, there should always be room for warmth and empathy in every corner and space a child occupies. It is necessary that the little world they are brought up into shows them the potential in creativity and the magic of dreams, while serving as a sanctuary where their vulnerability is not merely recognized but nurtured instead of weaponized.  

In reality, adults can be cruel to children. Childhood is a ticking clock — we either want to stop to suspend time or go faster in order to move forward. And though not everyone’s childhoods left deep scars that need mending, once it is over, it may be up to our grown self to make up for the things the child within us yearned for or is still clinging on to.  

The concept of the inner child in psychology refers to the childlike aspects of one's personality. Despite our varying individual histories and lived experiences, our inner child is a part of us, deserving of self-compassion and kindness. It is one of the many reminders that vulnerability does not need to end once we have started shouldering life responsibilities.  

Nurturing one’s inner child is not a one-size-fits-all approach. There is no definite and foolproof process on how it should go but it can start with acknowledgement, listening to your emotions and allowing yourself to feel.  

What does your inner child need? Whether these are material things you have always wanted as a child or just want days where you can be playful and fun, do not hesitate to grant what you can now give yourself. What makes this process scary yet exciting is the fact that this time, you can take your time, and you make the rules.  

Growing up and maturing tells us that we are our own person and our life is ours. Compared to when we were children, we are now more capable of changing its course through our actions and decisions. There is added pressure in knowing the things we do now would not only affect us, however, this also opens opportunities for us to influence what matters and question beliefs and practices that once left our younger self’s needs unmet and forced self-imposed suffering no child deserves.  

Fragmented childhoods or not, may the emerging adults of this generation never forget that the children of today—whether in the faces of their sisters and brothers, disadvantaged children, and those facing discrimination—need us to show them compassion and gentleness amidst life’s harsh realities.  

Life begins with people bare, like a blank canvas and by the end of it, may there be space within our being, etched with a fond memory of childhood.