Healing My Inner Child Reminds Me What Children Need Most Now

I was a curious child.

Quirky, playful and if I am being completely honest, a little odd in the best possible way.

I loved stories.

I loved wondering.

I loved wandering into imagination and staying there for a while.

As adults, many of us spend years trying to recover the parts of ourselves that once felt free. Maybe that is part of why reading to children feels so meaningful to me. It is not only about giving them something.

It is also about protecting something sacred. A safe space where they do not have to perform.

They need room to ask unusual questions, to laugh too loudly, to daydream, to be still and to embrace being fully themselves.

As when a child feels emotionally safe, their nervous system softens, their body relaxes and their mind opens.

In a world that asks children to grow up faster, consume faster, and move faster, softness can feel radical.

But maybe childhood was never meant to be rushed.

Maybe our children do not need more stimulation.

Maybe they need more safety.

More slowness.

More storytelling.

More time to simply be.