I agree with the concept of parenting one's inner child. It's not as easy as it sounds and if it were, therapy would be unnecessary for many people. All of the "parenting" skills we have are learned from mirroring our caretakers and a small part is instinctual (eating, hygiene, sleeping, etc.). So if our parents did a crappy job at raising us (abuse, neglect, abandonment), how much do we really have to go by?

A good Therapist, along with a healthy therapeutic relationship, is necessary to learn how to be a nurturing, caring, loving, and attuned parent to a clients deprived inner child.

In my experience, my Therapist always threw the "be your own mother" crap at me and finally realized I was never really grasping the concept. She then proceeded to consistently validate my successes and strength and was very generous with compliments. She did many other things that essentially demonstrated how I should be treating myself and that I was worth the care and concern.