Things I can do for my inner child

[Sasha]

My little girl. How can I give her the things she needs to feel secure, safe, wanted and for her to rest within this security?

Things we can start to do or do more:

Making music
We have always loved playing musical instruments and singing. It turned into a career for us (despite wanting to be a teacher or politician!) and the nature of this joy morphed into work, validation, new pressures. Years ago I stopped the gig hunt and decided to focus on a new career. Now I have made the space and enviroment for us to relate to music with joy and playfulness again. It means unblocking that feeling of pressure, but my adult self can keep working on this to give my inner child what she loves.

Drawing and painting
She adored drawing, painting and colouring in. It was her escape. She would find a spot and settle for hours, bringing colour to pages and pages. She carried on drawing in our teenage years, and a few years ago I picked it up in the form of illustration. It felt like a great way to journal and I drew how I felt, which was a great release. I put it down again but I can give this to her again now. It has always a private, peaceful and safe place for us.

Bubble baths!
It is odd to admit this, but baths scare us a bit. We never had one, and in adverse overcrowded conditions privacy and private bathroom time was not available. For some years now we have been finding baths are lovely when we have them. We like to fill them up with so many bubbles and put a movie on. We would quite like to get some bath toys, so we can enjoy this time even more and allow us to feel safe, private and relaxed as we clean and unwind in a secure space.

Reading
She used to read and read and read. It was life, it was everything. I miss that feeling. Somewhere along the way life became urgent and books became slow. Screens have lulled us into another mode, but the books are so grounding and we love to smell them and hold them in our hands, and fall asleep with them on us. I want to give that to her again.

Things I am already doing and will keep doing:

Story time
Me and my inner child love soft stories like the story tape ones we fell asleep to years ago, The Fire Bird, Lorna Doone, The Secret Garden. I have an app on my phone that plays sleep stories. I LOVE IT!

Rain sounds
The same app plays rains and other textural and natural sounds. It's called Calm.... It reminds us of when we went camping, and when we slept in the back of dads van, cosy in blankets amongst wood and tools, coming back from the woods. Ah, I just went there. I love my dad. I wish we had had more of him.

Gentle movies
Period dramas, disney, rom coms... We like to feel and see love, laughter and hope. We love the skill and colour, vibrancy and being taken on a journey, when we can relax and explore someone elses world. It is a restful place for us.

What things do you do?

[sanmagic7]

great list.

what do i do?  take time for me, do what i please when i please, live in a peaceful and stress-free environment, and have only supportive people around me.  read fun books - i'm reading the 'mary poppins' series now. also some wodehouse.  watch fun sitcoms w/ my d in the eventing.  just keep everything as non-toxic as possible.  love and hugs, sasha

[Not Alone]

wonderful list

What do I do?
hold stuffed animals
cover with a safe blanket

[marta1234]

Thank you for your list, Sasha.
For me, I've actually started thinking  to my littles to start imagining/building a little house/mansion for our favorite stuffed toy.  Sometimes I do that before bed, or to calm themselves down when they feel really sad. Although I suspect that this imagined house will mirror what they have always wanted (in terms of comfort and safety) but they don't want to directly tell me.