People have heard of the inner child but don't quite know what it means. Carl Jung calls the inner child  the "divine child." Emmet Fox called the inner child the "wonder child." Charles Whitefield called it the "child within."  Some people call the inner child the genuine, authentic self who resides deep within our true person.

Regardless of how people identify or relate to the inner child it is a real entity that lives within our true person or you might say our authentic self. Experts in the field of psychological study say the inner child is created as a defense mechanism. It is similar to a coping mechanism. For example the child that grows up in an chronically unhealthy environment that festers and emotional distress can create a co-dependent self image. They learn to live their lives as victims. The negative environment manifest itself in several versions of the inner child. That inner child is the one we see when we say to a person, grow up.

The inner child reveals itself in the adult through different types. There is the "playful child". This person never learned to play as a child and now it feels guilt or anxiety whenever it has fun as an adult. The "spoiled child" wants it now and wants it his/her way or there will be a tantrum. This adult is difficult to live with. The "neglected child" was left alone a lot and did not receive much nurturing. They do not feel worthy of love and they are depressed and cry a lot. The "abandoned child" was a child of divorce or parents that had no time for him/her. The person is fearful  of abandonment and is starving for extra attention and reassurance that all is well. The "fearful child" is often criticized. They live life in a panic and need to be affirmed and encouraged that they are doing well. The" unbonded child" never learned to be attached to anyone. They were isolated and they can not relate to intimacy. They have problems with trust. The "disconnected child" was ignored and treated as if they had no value. They do not believe in themselves and needs constant support. The "spiritual child" is the ultimate goal of all the inner child types. This person has learned to seek the power of a higher being. This child has learned to love itself, receive love and return love.

Experts in this field learned the inner child can be reached by the adult. There are many ways to reach the inner child but one method is the dominate hand approach. The adult writes a question to the inner child their dominate hand. They then allow the inner child to respond to the question by way of the non-dominate hand. There could be a series of question and answer interactions. Some of the child responses will be in pictures and some will be in written words. Journal all the interactions and eventually the spiritual child will emerge and the adult child will become whole once again. Getting in touch with the inner child and resolving issues that went unresolved as a child sets the adult free to live life as a whole person.