what did you do today for your inner child?

I sang an improvised song about them painting new stripes on the road & cracked myself up.

I watched some self help videos and validate my inner child feeling today.

I ate some mint rock

I have not had mint rock in years

takes me back to a much simpler time, and I still have a bit left

I gave my inner :hug child an apology for how :eek our lives turned out

finished my mint rock

tried to watch some cartoons, but there wern't any good ones on

ate an ice cream cone

I decided to validate and meet my own inner child emotional needs

I listened to a baby crying and imagined that the baby crying was me.

strangely comforting to think about, I think. having another childhood (a better one)

I began validating my :hug inner child feeling when I started feeling :sadhug very hurt

I love this question. I tend to do something every day for my inner child. Watching cartoons, making food I loved during childhood or even drawing ar some things I do weekly.

I read a guide on the internet for how to take care of a baby, and I'm not sure it could be more to the point even if it wanted to be.
" is your baby tired?. well, it's nap time, so you need to put her in the cot with a baby mobile and some toys".

" is your baby thirsty?. well, it's time to give her a drink from the bottle".
naaaaaah!. you don't say!. kept me laughing for hours

I was speaking to someone the other day about the fact that I wanted to be a baby for a day, just to relive it.

she thought I was crazy... but I'm going to do it. hell I still have some baby items- even some new dummies that havon't been unwrapped.

I began validating :hug my inner child feeling

how do you validate?

like what methods do you use

I asked myself what I needed that my parents didn’t or couldn’t give me if it a hug? I give myself a hug. If I felt hurt? I acknowledge the pain and try to soothe myself.

Emily - maybe this can help you understand how some are able to do validation of their inner child.

the "inner child" just means that everyone even normal people have times when they feel like a child. the inner child isnt a disordered thing. its normal.

the basic normal not associated with any mental or physical health kind of inner child is just feeling like you did when you were a child or as a child would...

examples most use because they are things everyone can understand is...

getting something new and feeling like you did on Christmas morning when you saw your gifts or decorated your home for a special occasion.

that giddy pit of the stomach excitement over going to a party or purchasing tickets and you remember you felt the same way when you were in school preparing for the school proms, dances or sports events.

feeling sad when having to leave vacation to go home, like you felt sad when summer or winter was over when you were a child.

going to work and the boss says he wants to talk to you, and you feel like you did as a child when the teacher called on you, or you got sent to the principal's office.

these are all normal not disordered kinds of things where people (anyone) sometimes feel like a child.

Validation means you are noticing /acknowledging that you feel this way...that's all it is. thinking or saying you know you are feeling something you used to feel as a child. theres no big secret to doing it, theres no therapy approach to doing it. just noticing how you are feeling reminds you of a time in your childhood. its normal and everyone does it.

I woke up this morning and thought "Oh man do I feel groggy and tired"
thats validation. noticing and acknowledging how I was feeling. nothing more needed to be done to validate.

thats all validation is... noticing how you feel acknowledging how you are feeling.

doing validation is different than doing self care.

Validation is noticing / acknowledging.
Self care is doing something kind and caring for yourself.

After I validated (noticed and acknowledged) that I was feeling groggy and tired I practiced self-care - I got up, made myself a cup of coffee, then went out on my patio and watched a deer come out of the woods and explore the fawn statue and mineral block.

This thread is about people noticing normal times in their life when they feel like they did when they were children (validation) and doing their self-care (doing something to help their self with their feelings).

there's no hidden therapy or whatever with this. maybe you can reread all your posts and notice the times that you have posted how you have felt and what you did to help yourself with how you were feeling.

if you have a mental health treatment provider or physician, they can also explain to you the "inner child" concept and how to validate (notice/ acknowledge) your feelings and practice self care for how you feel.

I had 2 banana flavored yogourts. yum yum

I've never had nana flavor before and it was goood..

tonight I am celebrating ghosty day and it isn't even halloween yet.
oo ghosties and apple bobbing. cool

I’m that she reacted that way

thanks

it did feel like I was being told off for being me. ugg