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Healing Inner Child Quotes
Quotes about healing your inner child can provide strength, inspiration, and validation during painful times.
When you feel like you’re broken, reading quotes about difficult childhoods can bring you renewed hope and emotional strength ― because you know you’re not alone.
From Disney movies and actors to self-help books and philosophers, this list features 70 inspiring quotes to help you find and heal your inner child.
What does it mean to find your inner child?
We all have an inner child in us.
And for a lot of us…this inner child is hurting.
Your inner child can be hurting because of:
💛 Childhood abuse (physical, emotional, sexual)
💛 Neglect
💛 Emotionally immature parents (This book changed my whole perspective.)
💛 Growing up in poverty
💛 Death
💛 Religious trauma
And of course, there are so many other completely valid reasons why your inner child could be hurting.
Related inner child post:
Why unleash your inner child?
As I said above, finding and unleashing your inner child means you are ready to embark on a healing journey that will drastically transform your life.
You will unearth years of hidden trauma ― trauma so big you’ll be shocked how you survived it.
But you will also begin to find yourself.
You’ll begin to love yourself.
And you’ll begin to unleash yourself.
So, let’s get into these quotes that will give you permission to embrace, honor, and love your inner child.
And speaking of unleashing your inner child, have you downloaded your free inner child healing workbook yet? 👇
70 Quotes about Your Inner Child
Want to skip ahead?
✨ Heal Inner Child Quotes
✨ Wounded Inner Child Quotes
✨ Release Your Inner Child Trauma Quotes
✨ Healing Your Inner Child Quotes
✨ Love Your Inner Child Quotes
✨ Keep Your Inner Child Alive Quotes
✨ Never Lose Your Inner Child Quotes
If you’re looking for quotes about toxic and abusive parents, head over here: 107 Toxic Parents Quotes (When Mother and Father Are Abusive AF)
Heal Inner Child Quotes:
1. “You try all your life to be an adult, but something deep down inside you will always be that child.” ― Viv Albertine (To Throw Away Unopened)
2. “Caring for your inner child has a powerful and surprisingly quick result: Do it and the child heals.” ― Martha Beck
3. “Inner child work is essential. It’s the essence of growth as a whole person.” ― Cheryl Richardson
4. “A grownup is a child with layers on.” ― Woody Harrelson
5. “The voice I finally heard that day was my own–the girl I’d locked away at ten years old, the girl I was before the world told me who to be–and she said: Here I am. I’m taking over now.” ― Glennon Doyle (Untamed)
6. “I’m not so sure that the adult within me teaches the child within me. Rather, I think that the child does most of the educating.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough
7. “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” ― E.E. Cummings
8. “After a while the middle-aged person who lives in her head begins to talk to her soul, the kid.” ― Anne Lamott (Joe Jones)
9. “The most sophisticated people I know – inside they are all children. ” ―
10. “Let us listen to the needs of our inner child that is being tamed and imprisoned by the rules of a grown-up world. ” ―
Wounded Inner Child Quotes:
11. “Your inner child is waiting for a genuine, heartfelt apology.” ― Yong Kang Chan (Parent Yourself Again: Love Yourself the Way You Have Always Wanted to Be Loved)
12. “It sounds corny, but I’ve promised my inner child that never again will I ever abandon myself for anything or anyone else again.” ― Wynonna Judd
13. “I am grateful for all my problems. After each one was overcome, I became stronger and more able to meet those that were still to come. I grew in all my difficulties.” ― J.C. Penney
14. “Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it.” ― Will Durant
15. “Children who try to be good enough to win their parents’ love have no way of knowing that unconditional love cannot be bought with conditional behavior.” ― Lindsay C. Gibson (Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents)
16. “Your life is precious. You’ve only got one. Don’t waste it on bad relationships, on bad marriages, on bad jobs, on bad people. Waste it wisely on what you want to do.” ― Eric Idle
17. “Healing is never complete until we have been truly heard. May the universe send you someone who will sincerely care to listen.” ― Anthon St. Maarten
18. “She held herself until the sobs of the child inside subsided entirely. I love you, she told herself. It will all be okay.” ― H. Raven Rose (Shadow Selves)
19. “Some people think ignoring their inner child makes them seem grown-up. When I see someone ignoring a crying child, I think they’re an asshole.” ― Jay Bell
20. “The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.” ― The Emperor (Mulan)
Related childhood trauma post:
Release Your Inner Child Trauma Quotes:
21. “Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind, feelings, and emotions.” ― Will Smith
22. “You and you alone are the only person who can live the life that writes the story that you were meant to tell. And the world needs your story because the world needs your voice.” ― Kerry Washington
23. “We nurture our creativity when we release our inner child. Let it run and roam free. It will take you on a brighter journey.” ― Serina Hartwell
24. “Power’s not given to you. You have to take it.” ― Beyoncé
25. “The very things that hold you down are going to lift you up.” ― Timothy Mouse (Dumbo)
26. “Whatever you do, don’t stop. Just keep going. Because one way or the other, if you want to find reasons why you shouldn’t keep on, you’ll find ’em. The obstacles are all there; there are a million of ’em. But if you want to do something, you do it anyway and handle the obstacles as they come.” ― Benny Goodman
27. “When you feel a child inside of you springing to life, that’s how you know you’re where you should be.” ― C. JoyBell C.
28. “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying,’I will try again tomorrow.'” ― Mary Anne Radmacher
29. “We did not come into this world loathing ourselves or wishing to numb our feelings. As small children, we operated from a place of wonder, curiosity, spontaneity and creativity.” ― Christopher Dines (Drug Addiction Recovery: The Mindful Way)
30. “Don’t block your blessings. Don’t let doubt stop you from getting where you want to be.”― Jennifer Hudson
Healing Your Inner Child Quotes:
31. “Remember one rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.”― Steven Pressfield
32. “So how do you know what is the right path to choose to get the result that you desire? And the honest answer is this. You won’t. And accepting that greatly eases the anxiety of your life experience.” ― Jon Stewart
33. “There is a purpose to our lives, even if it is sometimes hidden from us, and even if the biggest turning points and heartbreaks only make sense as we look back, not as we are experiencing them. So we might as well live life as if, as the poet Rumi put it, ‘Everything is rigged in our favor.'” ― Arianna Huffington
34. “We may never know exactly when or how this began, but if we acknowledge this little one, she will somehow know that we are listening to her.” ― Bonnie Badenoch (The Heart of Trauma: Healing the Embodied Brain in the Context of Relationships)
35. “Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.” ― Jim Morrison
36. “For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
37. “Just keep moving forward and don’t give a sh*t about what anybody thinks. Do what you have to do, for you.” ― Johnny Depp
38. “You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” ― Walt Disney
39. “I don’t control life, but I can control how I react to it.” ― Macklemore
40. “Life is a fight. Don’t let it overwhelm you. Adapt, and combat every situation it throws at you.” ― Tim McIlrath
Love Your Inner Child Quotes:
41. “We often tend to ignore how much of a child is still in all of us.” ― On Death and Dying)
42. “You’ve got to listen to the voice in your gut. It is individual. It is unique. It is yours. It’s called being authentic.” ― Meredith Vieira
43. “How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.” ― George Washington Carver
44. “The secret is to have a sense of yourself, your real self, your unique self. And not just once in a while, or once a day, but all through the day, the week and life.” ― Bill Murray
45. “You try all your life to be an adult, but something deep down inside you will always be that child.” ― Viv Albertine (To Throw Away Unopened)
46. “I think that one of the greatest achievements in becoming an adult is to carefully cultivate the child within us so that the adult that we are becoming is never given enough room to destroy us.” ―
47. “Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.” ― Franz Kafka
48. “We often tend to ignore how much of a child is still in all of us.” ― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Related post on healing inner child:
Keep Your Inner Child Alive Quotes:
49. “I do not miss childhood, but I miss the way I took pleasure in small things, even as greater things crumbled.” ― Neil Gaiman (The Ocean at the End of the Lane)
50. “When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away timid adventurers.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
51. “There is child in all of us that refuses to grow up, a child that is in awe of what can be, the polar opposite of the cynic in all of us who despairs over what is. Stories of magic, fantastic monsters, impossible courage and spectacular heroism appeal to this child, instilling it with hope and faith in humanity and in the cosmic order.” ―
52. “We must remain as close to the flowers, the grass, and the butterflies as the child is who is not yet so much taller than they are.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche
53. “Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” ― C.S. Lewis
54. “Many of us are guilty of not taking enough time to dial into our inner child’s voice.” ― Kim Ha Campbell (Inner Peace Outer Abundance)
55. “If we make time for play, it can change our lives and it costs nothing.” ― Leo Buscaglia
56. “Deep meaning lies often in childish play.” ― Friedrich Schiller
57. “Imagination is our inner-child and creativity, its playground.” ― Jaeda DeWalt
58. “Think what a better world it would be if we all – the whole world – had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap.” ― Robert Fulghum
59. “My childhood may be over, but that doesn’t mean playtime is.” ― Ron Olson
60. “Letting your mind play is the best way to solve problems.” ― Bill Watterson
More ways to connect with your inner child:
Never Lose Your Inner Child Quotes:
61. “For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
62. “You just need to figure out what’s in your control and what isn’t and be okay with it.” ― Santigold
63. “You have to really believe in what you’re doing…At the end of the day, you always have to fight for things that are worth it.” ― Madonna
64. “The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”― J.P. Morgan
65. “Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.” ― Jim Morrison
66. “If I get up every day with the optimism that I have the capacity for growth, then that’s success for me.” ― Paula Scher
67. “You can’t be the kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.” ― Tina Fey
68. “We not only need to have a deep respect for children; but also a deep respect for the child in everyone.” ―
69. “The adult within me would be much wiser to learn from the child within me rather than focus on the demand that the child within me grow up.” ―
70. “We are all children that need nurturing, love and care.” ―
Another way to reconnect with your younger self:
Where to put inner child quotes
The best part about transformational and inspiring inner child quotes is how much of a difference they can make when you look at them regularly.
Here are my favorite ways to use quotes:
⭐ Print them out and put them in a picture frame
⭐ Write one on a post-it note and stick it on your mirror
⭐ Have one as your phone background
⭐ Rewrite some in a journal every day
Quotes About Healing Inner Child
As you can see, reading quotes about embracing, loving, and healing your inner child can have a tremendous effect on your life.
They remind you just how important it is to take daily steps to nurture, honor, respect, and love that little kid that’s inside all of us.
We could all use more inner child healing, and the quotes above can help you build that vital relationship with your younger self.
Your childhood trauma and neglect is valid
Having a bad childhood filled with abuse and neglect can feel incredibly isolating.
But I promise: You are not alone.
If you want to feel less alone, head to my TikTok, where I share countless childhood trauma stories and how I’ve overcome them.
💭 Which quote resonates with you the most?
💾 Bookmark this page to return to over and over again!
More inner child healing posts:
- 17 Magical Crystals for Healing Childhood Trauma (and Emotional Pain)
- 40 Child Abuse Songs (When You Had a Bad Childhood)
- 13 Nostalgic Activities to Reconnect with Your Inner Child
- 23 Heartbreaking Movies About Childhood Trauma (That are Therapeutic)
- 107 Toxic Parents Quotes (When Mother and Father Are Abusive AF)
- 101 Healing Inner Child Affirmations (to Reparent Yourself)
- 13 Inner Child Healing Exercises (for Your Wounded Younger Self)
- 17 Must-Have Healing Gifts for Your Inner Child
- 11 Ways to Heal Childhood Trauma Spiritually (and Awaken Your Inner Child)
- 23 Inner Child Oracle Cards (for Deep Shadow Work)
- 23 Tarot Decks (for Intense Inner Child Work)
- 50 Gaslighting Quotes (for When You’re Being Emotionally Abused)
More posts about quotes:
- 55 Unforgettable Quotes About Finding Inner Strength and Hope
- 50 Quotes Teaching You How to Be Your Authentic Self
- 15 Inspirational Quotes to Help Improve Your Mental Health
- 100 Daily Self-Love and Self-Esteem Affirmations to Love Yourself Better
- 75 Empowering Affirmations for Success and Abundance
- 85 Calming Affirmations for Relieving Anxiety and Panic Attacks
- 50 Positive Affirmations for Overcoming Social Anxiety
- 75 Powerful Money Mantras and Affirmations That Work Super Fast
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