inner child

plural inner children

1. human sciencesThe childlike aspect of a person's psyche, typically, the personality and the memories of one's childhood, especially in the context of coexisting with, and being suppressed by, an adult aspect of the person.

   In traditional marriages, the woman mothered both inner children by holding the emotional content of the marriage, cooking and keeping house.

   2012, Shakti Durga, Empowering Relationships, Higher Guidance, page 110

   3 more examples

   As I encouraged him to stay with that pain, he fell deeply into the reality of the inner child. The need in this inner child for love was very real indeed. He loved this inner child with all his heart.

   1993, Barbara Ann Brennan, Light Emerging: The Journey of Personal Healing, Bantam Books, page 135

   2009, Jo Woodiwiss, Contesting Stories of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Springer Nature (Palgrave Macmillan), 2009, Softcover reprint, page 186, A level of intensity can be seen in Anne's account, although Anne's investment was not so much in the world of her adult self but in the therapeutic world of inner children. […] Anne worked hard on her healing but the majority of this work was done on, or with, her inner children.

   I will start by stating that most of the time — especially in our relationships — it is not our adult self, but rather our inner child, who is actually running the show. We all have an inner child.

   2010, Bree Maresca-Kramer, It's That Simple!: A Woman's Book on Relationships, Life, Ourselves and the Healing of It All, It's That Simple!, page 57