Episode 5

Giving Yourself What You Needed: How to Reparent Your Inner Child

Published on: 22nd December, 2025

GIVING YOURSELF WHAT YOU NEEDED: HOW TO REPARENT YOUR INNER CHILD

Your parents aren't going to suddenly become the parents you needed. Your partner can't heal your childhood wounds. Your friends can't fill that void.


You have to do it yourself.


That's reparenting—the process of giving yourself the care, validation, boundaries, and emotional support you needed as a child but didn't receive. It's becoming your own good parent.


In this episode, we get real about what reparenting actually means, why it's some of the hardest work you'll do, and how to start giving yourself what you've been waiting for someone else to provide.


WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

- What reparenting actually means (and what it's not)

- Why your unmet childhood needs don't expire when you grow up

- How to identify what you didn't receive as a child (validation, boundaries, safety, unconditional love)

- The concept of the "inner child" and why it matters

- A practical exercise to connect with your inner child

- What came up when I first did this work—and why it hurt so much

- How to give yourself permission to play, rest, and just be

- Why reparenting feels uncomfortable (and why that discomfort matters)

- The difference between self-care and reparenting

- How to become the adult you needed when you were young


This isn't soft, abstract therapy-speak. This is hard, uncomfortable, necessary work. Because what you needed as a child doesn't disappear just because you became an adult.


If you're carrying childhood wounds—if you didn't get emotional validation, healthy boundaries, affection, or safety—this episode will help you understand how to meet those needs yourself.


Nobody's coming to save you. You have to save yourself.


SUBMIT YOUR STORY OR QUESTION:

Have you done reparenting work? Share your story, reflections, or questions. Send written letters or voice messages to letters@alottogrowtrough.com or visit ALotToGrowThrough.com


CONNECT WITH A LOT TO GROW THROUGH:

Website: ALotToGrowThrough.com


RATE & REVIEW:

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating and review. It helps others who need this find their way here.


CONTENT ADVISORY: This podcast discusses childhood trauma, unmet needs, emotional wounds, and mental health topics that may be activating. Please practice self-care while listening.


A Lot To Grow Through is a podcast about real healing, real conversations, and no filter. Hosted by Artis Desjardins, this is a space for thoughtful conversations on healing, growth, and the art of becoming. Here, you'll understand you have to grow through it, not just go through it.

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About the Podcast

A Lot To Grow Through
Real healing. Real conversations. No filter.
Mental wellness isn't a destination. It's a sophisticated, ongoing practice of understanding ourselves; our patterns, our pain, our potential.

A Lot To Grow Through returns after four years as a space for nuanced conversations about the inner work that transforms us. Hosted by Artis Desjardins, a mental health advocate committed to elevating the discourse around healing and growth, ALTGT is designed for listeners who value depth, intelligence, and intentionality.

Each week, you'll find:

Solo Reflections - Artis explores frameworks, philosophies, and practices that inform meaningful growth, offering perspective shaped by years of personal healing work and extensive study of psychological approaches.

In-Depth Conversations - Dialogues with therapists, researchers, authors, and individuals whose experiences offer genuine insight. These aren't surface-level interviews—they're substantial explorations of complex topics.

Listener Dialogues - Your questions, reflections, and experiences become part of our shared exploration, creating space for collective wisdom and meaningful exchange.

ALTGT approaches mental wellness with the depth it deserves. We don't oversimplify. We don't offer quick fixes. We don't reduce the healing journey to soundbites or platitudes.

Instead, we create space for honest discourse. We honor nuance. We value substance over sentiment, understanding over uplift, depth over speed.

This podcast is for people who read deeply, think critically, and approach their healing with both heart and mind. For those who understand that growth is complex, transformation takes time, and the most profound changes often happen quietly.

If you're seeking meaningful conversations about what it means to heal, to grow, and to become you're in the right place.

New episodes weekly. Subscribe for thoughtful listening.

About your host

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Artis Desjardins