Adulting is hard.
Every adult I have ever met (myself included) is essentially a large child trying to navigate their way through life, having varying degrees of success in pretending to know what they’re doing.
So sometimes we need a break. Sometimes we just need to hit pause and let our inner child come out to play. They’re bored. They need some love. They’ve been stuck at the back of your mind for way too long while you go to work and pay your bills and clean your house.
But how can we do that? We’ve been trained that by “our age” we should have put aside any childish things. We need to be “proper” adults. Well, screw that.
Here are some tips on how to take a break from adulting and nurture your inner child.
TV shows
Watching some kid’s tv might sound boring, but some of today’s shows are actually pretty good, and have some grown-up humour thrown in that passes blissfully over kids’ heads, for example, Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse gives several nods to things like Star Trek, Forrest Gump, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and many more. It’s also just a nice, sweet, endlessly positive show, at which you can’t help but smile. On the other hand, you could also watch some kid’s shows from your own childhood, like Postman Pat or The Raggy Dolls. Snuggle into some nostalgia.
Classic food
Have a meal that reminds you of childhood! Turkey dinosaurs, chips, and beans? Amazing. Pink custard? Hell yeah. Wash it down with a milkshake? Perfect. Nothing is cosier than a kid’s meal.
Soft toys
Invest in at least one super fluffy soft toy. I currently have three: Twilight Sparkle (My Little Pony), Eeyore (renamed Sad Boy), and a handmade bunny that my mum made for me. If I’m feeling lonely or just need a cuddle and the cats aren’t feeling particularly sociable, I’ll grab a plushie and just cuddle it. It might sound lame, but hey, I’ll take comfort where I can get it!
Games
Adulthood often doesn’t leave a lot of time for games, so why not treat yourself to some downtime with Pokémon on your old GameBoy or The Sims on the computer. Veg out for a bit. Rename “Gary” as “Poohead”. Drown your Sims in the pool. Whatever makes you happy.
Get creative
Creativity is a great way to let your inner child come out to play. Have a go at finger-painting, make a daisy-chain crown, or make one of those paper fortune teller things everyone made at school. Remember the freedom of childhood – every piece of artwork was a masterpiece, even if you were just smearing paint across some paper with your hands. Enjoy the process, regardless of the result.
How do you nurture your inner child? Leave your comments below, and let me know if you try any of these tips!
This speaks to my soul because I am 100% a big kid, through and through, so I do these things quite often, just to make sure that side of me never goes away. Now, I really want some turkey dinosaurs… 😂 Great post.
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Thank you so much 😊 You can’t beat a good old turkey dinosaur dinner 😅 I think we often neglect our inner child because that’s what we are conditioned to do, but it remains such a big part of us throughout our lives, so we need to make sure that little chap gets some free time 🙂
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Great post! It made me smile at the possibility of endless nostalgia 😊.
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I love a bit of nostalgia 😊
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When I was on vacation in Chicago a few weeks back, our hotel pool had a water slide. I was so there! Like I said at the time, sometimes you have to be 6!
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😂 yes!! You are rocking the inner child nurturing! I love it.
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I lied. It was a vacation that started in Chicago, but this was at the end in Madison, Wisconsin. https://billswritingplace.wordpress.com/2018/09/22/so-this-is-madison-sometimes-you-have-to-be-6/
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Sometimes I like to make smilies, nuggets and beans for dinner 😂 and I LOVE it! You are so right with all of this, I reckon we can all take life too seriously sometimes and get caught up in all our responsibilities. Sometimes we just have to put on Lilo & Stitch and eat some Smilies lol! Great post beaut xx
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Thank you, lovely! Yes definitely, I think it’s so important to indulge or little inner child every now and then, or they might have a bit of a tantrum…!
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I love “sad boy” for Eeyore! Ironically last time I decluttered I misplaced my Sims disc. So therapeutic. I might need to make finding it a priority today. I still arrange my meal plates into faces whenever possible. So much fun.
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Meal faces is an amazing idea, I’m going to give that one a try! Good luck tracking down your Sims disc, I hope it’s not too difficult to find!
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I am completely agree with everything said in those post. Especially when you said “screw that” to acting grown up. I’m 24 and I could happily go back and watch the original Thomas the Tank Engine and Postman Pat etc. Why should our inner children die? So we can conform to what it means to be a responsible *cough* boring *cough, cough* adult, yeah… hell no!
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The original Thomas the Tank Engine and Postman Pat? I’m so there! I loved those shows as a kid! 😊
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* I completely
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I like to re-read books that I used to read during my childhood to reminisce the times where I was free and fearless to do anything.
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