Our inner child is the childlike part of our personality that holds our emotional experiences from childhood. Our inner child comes forward with us into adulthood, and it can have profound impact on our lives, particularly if we’re not in touch with the wounded aspects of it.

Our inner child knows how it wants to be treated. It likes attention – it doesn’t like to be ignored or overlooked. It wants the adult part of us to be a strong parent and provide the love, reassurance and boundaries it needs to feel safe.

Connecting with our inner child can help us recognize our feelings. It can also help us feel the joy and innocence of childhood again. Paying attention to our inner child can help us be healthy and well integrated.

Here are 3 techniques for connecting with your inner child:

1) Do an activity that your inner child would enjoy, like splashing in the mud, going to the zoo, having a tea party with stuffed animals, or taking a bubble bath and playing in the bubbles.

Allow yourself to have fun while doing it, and surrender any worries about how goofy you might look or what other people might think. Focus on the joy of the present moment.

2) Use journaling to have a conversation with your inner child. A client making several big changes in her life bought a spiral notebook with a fairy princess on the cover. She connected with her inner child through a form of automatic writing in the notebook, writing questions from her adult self with her dominant hand and channeling answers from her inner child in her non-dominant hand.

In listening to her inner child, she determined the cause of her anxiety and provided the love and support to help her inner child feel safe through the transitions. This technique, shared with her blessing, allowed her to access her inner child in a comfortable way.

3) Imagine cradling and comforting your inner child when you feel fearful, sad or anxious. Visualize holding a toddler version of yourself in your arms, rocking and crooning, saying the words to your inner child that we all want to hear: “You’re safe, you’re loved. I’m here taking care of you.” Listen to your inner child. What do they want to communicate with you?

Do you have suggestions for connecting with your inner child?