Often times during my journey through motherhood I have reacted to high stress situations that in retrospect looked like hormonal 16 year old with unmet needs. Through the last 10 years of my journey into self introspection and “shadow work” I have worked hard to invite healing to many of my younger parts who were crying for attention. If there’s one thing I learned, The longer we ignore the cries, the louder they get.

When my darling little children scrape their knee or have their feelings hurt they still run to me for comfort. Most of the time, I take a moment or two to acknowledge their pain, give them a band-aid or a hug, and their off! Back to their play like nothing happened. But those times when I’m “busy” and unable to get on their level to acknowledge them, the cries amp up and do not stop until they get the comfort their seeking. It is the same for us adults, who are harboring many versions of inner children within that have been pushed to the side for many years that are screaming for our attention.

When we take a moment to pause and listen to the parts of us that need to be heard and practicing whole listening to those inner parts we feel more balanced. This sense of self acknowledgement will begin to radiate into our other relationships also.

Inner work is unavoidable when raising a conscious family. We have to be the adults. This is THEIR childhood. And it is our responsibility to do all the work necessary to re-parent the parts of us who are crying for attention. Fortunately the term Self-Care has become a popular word in our culture today. When we show up for ourselves, we can show up for our children.