How Healing Your Inner Child Can Unlock Your Full Potential
- Linda Nevin
- Mar 9
- 5 min read
Have you ever noticed patterns in your life that seem to repeat, no matter how much you try to change? Do you struggle with self-doubt, people-pleasing, setting healthy boundaries or emotional triggers that feel bigger than the situation at hand? If so, your inner child might be calling for healing. Inner child reparenting is a powerful process of giving yourself the love, support, and validation that you may not have received as a child.
Let's explore what inner child work is, why it’s essential, and how you can begin reparenting yourself today.
What is Inner Child Reparenting?
It's the practice of connecting with your younger self—the part of you that still carries unmet needs, fears, and emotional wounds from childhood. As psychologist John Bradshaw explains in Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child, our inner child never disappears; instead, they influence our adult behaviors, relationships, and emotional reactions.
Thich Nhat Hanh, in Reconciliation: Healing the Inner Child, describes this work as nurturing the wounded child within us. He emphasizes that by acknowledging and soothing our inner child, we can transform pain into self-compassion and joy.
Signs Your Inner Child Needs Healing
What is your life showing you right now? Your inner child may be running the show if you:
Struggle with self-criticism or perfectionism
Have difficulty setting boundaries
Feel unworthy of love or success
Fear abandonment or rejection
Are being a victim or suffering from depression
Experience strong emotional reactions to seemingly small triggers
Find yourself caught up in jealousy, gossiping, judging others or putting people down, liking drama
Self-sabotaging by not being on time for appointments, lack financial stability, pick bad relationships, emotional eating,
Have fears that are stopping you from moving forward.
Dr. Gabor Maté, author of The Myth of Normal, explains that unresolved childhood wounds shape our nervous system and influence our emotional responses in adulthood. Healing your inner child allows you to break free from these patterns.
The Benefits of Inner Child Reparenting
When you commit to inner child healing, you:
Develop self-compassion – You learn to speak to yourself with kindness instead of criticism.
Improve relationships – You stop seeking external validation and start building healthier connections.
Reduce emotional triggers – You gain emotional resilience and react less intensely to stressors.
Rediscover joy and creativity – Your inner child holds the key to your playfulness and authentic self.
"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” Carl Jung
Inner child work allows you to reclaim control over your life
When you consider you can carry ancestral and past life wounds as well as your exposure to negative experiences and significant challenges in this life, your inner child has very likely been exposed to lots of trauma. This is not about blaming anyone, such as your parents or ancestors or past lives. This process is about healing and moving forward.
From an energy perspective - trauma blocks energy from moving through the body and your energy systems. So, it's important to clear any energy blocks. On another note if you think about it there has never been a better time to heal yourself and your ancestors. I believe we are hear to do this work now because we have access to hundreds, possibly thousands of healing modalities.
When I first heard about healing the inner child, I thought 'oh boy, that's got to be hard and take a long time to heal!' But, I've found it easy to do and most importantly, fast acting. I've noticed more lightness in my heart and I feel less worried about things. It's a form of healing I will continue to invest my time and energy in.
If this work resonates for you, I urge you to give it a go too. If you are prepared to take a few minutes to do so, when you feel triggered. This is amazingly powerful and deep work that doesn't have to be hard.
How to Start Reparenting Your Inner Child
Healing your inner child is a journey, here are some practical steps to begin:
1. Acknowledge Your Inner Child
The first step is recognizing that your inner child exists. Spend time reflecting on your childhood experiences. Ask yourself:
What unmet needs did I have as a child?
How did I seek love and validation?
What childhood wounds still affect me today?
2. Create a Safe Emotional Space
Dr. Nicole LePera, author of How to Do the Work, emphasizes the importance of self-soothing techniques to create emotional safety. When you feel triggered, practice:
Deep breathing exercises
Gentle self-talk (e.g., "You are safe now.")
Imagine yourself comforting your younger self.
3. Speak to Your Inner Child with Love
Your inner child needs to hear words of affirmation. Try saying:
"You are loved and enough just as you are."
"I see you, I hear you, and I’m here for you."
"You don’t have to be perfect to be worthy."
4. Engage in Inner Child Guided Visualizations
Guided visualizations help you connect deeply with your inner child. A powerful visualization includes meeting your younger self in a safe space, embracing them, and giving them the love and validation they needed. These meditations can rewire old emotional wounds and foster healing.
Click on the image and experience a guided visualisation for healing your inner child.
5. Allow Yourself to Play
Play is essential to healing! Ask yourself:
What did I love doing as a child?
How can I bring more joy and creativity into my life?
Can I dance, paint, sing, or explore nature like I once did?
6. Set Healthy Boundaries
If your childhood lacked emotional safety, you may struggle with boundaries. Reparenting yourself means learning to say no without guilt and prioritizing your emotional well-being.
Final Thoughts: You Deserve Healing
Reparenting your inner child isn’t about blaming the past—it’s about taking responsibility for your healing now. As Louise Hay wisely said:
“When you nurture your inner child, your life changes. The wounds of the past no longer define your future.”
You can start today by tuning in, listening, and offering yourself the unconditional love you always needed. Every step forward is a step toward wholeness.
Would you like to experience a deeply healing inner child reparenting visualisation? Listen to my guided visualisation and start your journey to self-love and emotional freedom.
Healing your body and mind can be easy...
Are You Ready To Take Action?
* Check out my Healing Courses
* Experience an Energy Infusion - visit my Library of Energy Infusions on YouTube
* Or you may like to book a one-on-one wound healing session with me.
* Scroll to the bottom of the page to access your FREE Guided Colour Healing Meditation.
