All of us have an inner child within us, the source of our joy, playfulness and spontaneity. However, all too often, in the process of growing up, the child is wounded. How can we discover our inner child and nurture it back to wholeness?

How does the "Wounded Child” come into being?

The “wounded child” comes into being by: • A denial of true feelings.
• A denial of the person we are.
• Trying hard to live up to others’ expectations.
• Holding back our child-like responses, while we provide adult-like responses to stress.
• The fear of being “found out” about how we really feel.
• Insecurity in the midst of chaos, confusion or the vacuum of repressed feelings.
• A sense of obligation to always “look good” and “be good”.
• Inexperience at being loved for “who you are” rather than for “what you do”.
• Not being given the role model of how to “enjoy” life and to have “fun”.
• A lack of encouragement to broaden our scope of vision about the “potentials” in life.
• The stress of staying vigilantly in the ``here and now’’ so that we stay in control and the “walls didn’t come tumbling down” around us.
• Silencing our “inner child’’ and guarding ourselves, retreating behind “masked” barriers.
• Feeling that it is not safe to grow up, to accept love or to share feelings..

Source – James J Messina, PhD, psychologist from the internet