What’s something you’ve done as an adult to make up for what your inner child missed out on?
July 9, 2025
What’s something you’ve done as an adult to make up for what your inner child missed out on?
50 comments
I treated myself to bike riding lessons! I never learnt as a child as my parents didn’t think it was necessary for a girl to know how, nor appropriate for girls to do physical play. (constantly got told it wasn’t ‘nice for girls to run around’).
A retired man in the local area advertised lessons, so at age 39 I signed up for lessons. His usual clients were age 3-7yrs old but he kindly didn’t make me feel dumb for signing up. It took me 2 lessons at 2 hours each and I was off! It was terrifying but so exhilarating and very healing.
The funniest part for me was I felt like I ‘imprinted’ a bit on the teacher, like a little duckling! This is one of those life milestones you associate with a father, so I definitely started to feel fatherly towards him by the end of the lessons.
We weren’t allowed to have or wear jewelry. As an adult, I’ve indulged myself in all the sparkly things.
I just started voice/singing lessons about a month ago! I don’t plan to “do” anything with it, I just love singing and want to be better at it.
Bought myself the sparkly roller skates my parents always said were ‘too silly.’ Every time I wear them, it feels like hugging 8-year-old me…
Taking the vacation to the beach. It’s my favorite place to be and I think I only went twice as a kid
Buy the good brands of food and learned how to budget so I could travel and try new things
My parents didn’t take us to Disney World as kids because it was too expensive. They tried their best, but it’s something that I felt like I missed out on. Now that I can afford it, I’ve gone three times in the last four years. It’s been super healing for me and my boyfriend, who also never went to Disney as a kid.
Camping! I never went as a kid, so I started back in 2022 when I was almost 30 years old. I go about 4-5 times a year now. It’s a blast!
Allow myself to love music that I’m “too old for” (im in my late 50s). First it was the Jonas Brothers, now it’s BTS. My inner child LOVES music and i have found it very healing, since my childhood was stressful and i always felt “buttoned down,” never get in trouble, always be a good girl. Going to a concert, screaming and dancing, listening to the music really loud? So healing! And soooooo much fun!!!
Crafts and craft parties with friends. It’s not that I didn’t do crafts as a kid, it’s more that I gave up a lot of art when I started a corporate business job and I’ve found my way back to it because it brings me so much joy!
watching Halloween Tv specials/movies
Created a safe space for myself. In my childhood home I never felt safe. My home feels like a place of peace.
Actively playing with my kids. My mom wasn’t playful and I played by myself a lot. It’s fun to be a kid again, pretending to be a dinosaur or whatever. Shooting my kids with water guns or building legos together.
Wearing more dresses. I grew up being very insecure about myself and always stuck with jeans and oversized t-shirts, because everybody told me I looked thinner in them and fatter in dresses. Wearing more pink, doing my hair, and doing a bit more makeup now that my little girly inner child of me missed out on.
i buy old tech and games that i couldn’t afford to own as a kid. my parents were the type to take me to the rental store to rent a game for a week. due to that, i’ve played a lot of games but never beat them or played them through. i love collecting consoles and games. i have a Super Nintendo, PS1, PS2, Gameboy Colour, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy SP, Gameboy 3DS XL, Nintendo 64, Wii. next purchase will be a PSP.
Cook healthy meals. I’m Mexican so I grew up eating beans, rice, meat or chicken, tortillas, and the only veggies we’d get were onions, tomatoes, and jalapeños/serranos. Maybe cabbage if we ate pozole lmao. It’s still delicious and I don’t hate that that’s what I grew up eating. But now that I’m on my own, I cook with a TON of veggies and absolutely NO lard in my house lol.
Breaking things knowing I don’t have someone yelling at me for it
Bought myself an American Girl doll. She was second hand from a seller who liked to refurbish old ones, give them a little customization, and sell them. At 60 bucks, she was a great deal.
I remember just having the doll in my car on the ride home, just thinking, “I own an American Girl doll.” Cause all I ever did was just stare at the catalogs, too shy to ask for an expensive doll from my parents.
Art classes, i got to meet more people who also love to draw/paint,
[removed]
I went swimming in the sea for the first time the other day. I felt like a child again lol
Get vaccines 💀
Buying my kids all the cool school supplies .. As a kid I was never with to pick my stuff out for the school year and had to settle for anything that was bought for me. I appreciate all my parents did for me but I wanted the glitter stuff, the name brand, the fun printed folders and all the girly fuzzy feathery shiny supplies
Went to a haunted trail last year. It’s something the fire department in my area would do, a bunch of volunteers decorated an area and have fog machines and lights all over. Volunteers dress up and you’re lead through by a “tour guide” who’s also dressed up. It was a way to raise money for the fire department, but also just something fun and cheap for families. My parents were always weird about going to things like this, it just never interested them, so we never went. Last year, my MIL wanted to go with her friends and invited my husband and I. I had never thought of going, I thought it was more for kids than anything else. Kids are included in the dressing up and scaring part, so it’s nothing crazy.
Anyway, we went, it was cute and fun, and it healed a little part of my inner childhood that severely missed out on Halloween celebration related things.
LEGOS
My *inner* child? Well, nothing, since my inner child is still with me. I do all the fun things.
I bought my kids an easy bake oven, a ouija board and the 64 crayola crayon set. Because I wanted all of those as a child.
Bought a left-handed bass guitar. Those weren’t plentiful when I was growing up and I wanted to be like The Bangles bass player so badly. Now my grown self can play all I want (very badly) and relive my awesome 80s music.
Got loads of Lego from eBay, dumped it on the floor in the middle of the living room, played and watched cartoons.
I always have long hair now. Up until age 16 my mother would chop off my hair to about chin length in Aug before school and then let it grow til the following Aug and repeat. I loathe chin length hair on myself so its almost always mid chest length except the 2 times I cut it off to donate it
Got a WDW Annual Pass since moving to Orlando eight years ago. I only just ended it because I have other plans to potentially move abroad so saving is priority this year. My younger self wouldn’t forgive me now if I lived 28 minutes from Disney and didn’t go whenever I wanted. It has been healing and something I’ll always be grateful I did.🥹✨🫶🏽
Love myself the most and give me everything my heart desires if it’s not unhealthy for me or my body. ✨🌸
I wasn’t really allowed to wear skirts, dresses, anything super feminine or coats that were pretty colors and form-fitting and there was a lot of clothing shaming for wanting those type of things so now everything I wear is pretty/fun/girly/flattering and I wear skirts and dresses often. I don’t feel like I am pressured to dress down or casual or have to fit in. And I don’t take any shit if somebody tries to whine and complain about my style.
And learning to cook flavorful meals from scratch. Growing up I wasn’t allowed to learn to cook and my parents mostly made things from processed crap, with canned vegetables and no fresh herbs or seasonings. They had super bland palettes and my dad was really controlling about even having food he didn’t like in the house and there were so many things I wasn’t allowed to eat and lots of things I never even knew about. So I taught myself to cook and started keeping flavorful ingredients on hand like garlic, onions, avocado, actual fresh veggies, a huge collection of seasonings and rarely buy super processed crap. Now I love making meals with actual quality food and it’s definitely how I express my love for friends and family.
Buy bananas. I’ll buy 6-12 depending on work/school for myself and kids. They aren’t as expensive as I was told growing up. 6-8 bananas cost like $1.70+/- . Why wouldn’t I buy bananas?!
Also, if I know I’ll be too lazy to make the old ones into banana bread, there’s no guilt throwing them out.
I have worked very hard on healing my inner child. I grew broke to the point I knew we were super broke and I didn’t ask for things even when I really wanted something. As an adult now I have bought some of the things I wanted back then that I would have never gotten. My bed right now has Batman bedsheets. I have super hero dresses that I wear as an adult. There are museums I wanted to go to as a child and I have taken me to them now. I own an impressive collection of xmen action figures. My partner and I go on picnics often. It always has two wants of bubbles one for me and one for him. I have a cheap laser tag system that we chase each other in. We have water guns we use against each other. Does he think I’m probable a bit crazy? Yes, yes he does but he loves that about me.
I took private piano lessons. It was hilarious being the age of the moms taking their kids to the same sort of lessons.
Food. Eating what I want when I want. And how much I want
My dad would use food as a tool for his amusement. Breakfast only cereal was allowed and only 1 bowl. Lunch and dinner he make gross food for the kids while him and my step mom ate something totally different. He also used food as a means for a reward. Finish all those beans? You get to celebrate the upcoming holiday/etc. I remember one holiday we had to finish a large bowl of beans. My step sister threw up and he made her eat her throw up + more beans as punishment for throwing up.
I bought an accordion and am taking accordion lessons! It’s not that I desperately wanted to play accordion as a kid, but it’s more that I wanted to play something silly AND I always was told private lessons were something we couldn’t afford and I didn’t have the talent anyway, so I wasn’t worth it. I’m absolutely loving it!
Bought my daughters a lovely wooden dollhouse with all the accessories. Always wanted one as a kid but never got one.
Camped outside a stadium all day for a concert. My mum always said it was stupid and a waste of time, I had the best day and got the barricade
Raised my own children in a safe, loving, supportive, healthy, addict-free home environment. They’re all thankful for this and tell us so occasionally.
I was never allowed to have a dog. My mom didn’t like them. I begged my whole life, and the answer was always “when you have your own house you can get a dog.”
My then-boyfriend (now husband) and I bought a house when I was 36. We moved in on a Saturday, and got a puppy on Sunday. That was 8 years ago.
Due to some life circumstances my mom ended up moving in with us not long later. She loves having a dog. We got a second dog last year that very quickly became “her” dog. Now she says she never wants to NOT have a dog. 🤷🏻♀️
Vacations. My family never went on any type of Vacations. No camping, no amusement parks, no overnights out of town. I was so jealous of my peers that go to do that stuff. I did it occasionally with my grandparents, but it was rare. Now as an adult I try to go on a vacation once a year. It doesn’t need to be anything expensive or far away. Even just a camping trip to the lake for a couple days is nice.
[removed]
I got pets
I bought myself the Warriors books collection (I read one of them when I was 13 and asked my more for the next one and she said no, it weirdly never left my mind)
There is a rule in my house : whatever is on tv it’s never more important than the person that’s with me irl
My then-gf took me to Disneyland on my 50th birthday, fulfilling a lifelong secret dream of mine!
This might sound silly but I wear a bathing suit without a t shirt. My mom made me wear a Tshirt as I was heavy.
Being able to dress more casually, even for dates.
I grew up in a household where I always had to wear my “Sunday best” even when visiting friends who don’t do this nor care what we look like. Mom’s reasoning was “you don’t want people to think you’re a slob”.
If I’m showered (I do this nightly as I have kids), hair’s combed/brushed, deodorant is on, & my clothes are clean then I don’t see how not dressing up all the time makes me a “slob”….
hello kitty everything, I dngaf
My mom used to punish me by taking away my stuffies that I loved to cuddle and play with. As an adult, I now have stuffies on my bed and rotate who I sleep with so they don’t get lonely.
50 comments
I treated myself to bike riding lessons! I never learnt as a child as my parents didn’t think it was necessary for a girl to know how, nor appropriate for girls to do physical play. (constantly got told it wasn’t ‘nice for girls to run around’).
A retired man in the local area advertised lessons, so at age 39 I signed up for lessons. His usual clients were age 3-7yrs old but he kindly didn’t make me feel dumb for signing up. It took me 2 lessons at 2 hours each and I was off! It was terrifying but so exhilarating and very healing.
The funniest part for me was I felt like I ‘imprinted’ a bit on the teacher, like a little duckling! This is one of those life milestones you associate with a father, so I definitely started to feel fatherly towards him by the end of the lessons.
We weren’t allowed to have or wear jewelry. As an adult, I’ve indulged myself in all the sparkly things.
I just started voice/singing lessons about a month ago! I don’t plan to “do” anything with it, I just love singing and want to be better at it.
Bought myself the sparkly roller skates my parents always said were ‘too silly.’ Every time I wear them, it feels like hugging 8-year-old me…
Taking the vacation to the beach. It’s my favorite place to be and I think I only went twice as a kid
Buy the good brands of food and learned how to budget so I could travel and try new things
My parents didn’t take us to Disney World as kids because it was too expensive. They tried their best, but it’s something that I felt like I missed out on. Now that I can afford it, I’ve gone three times in the last four years. It’s been super healing for me and my boyfriend, who also never went to Disney as a kid.
Camping! I never went as a kid, so I started back in 2022 when I was almost 30 years old. I go about 4-5 times a year now. It’s a blast!
Allow myself to love music that I’m “too old for” (im in my late 50s). First it was the Jonas Brothers, now it’s BTS. My inner child LOVES music and i have found it very healing, since my childhood was stressful and i always felt “buttoned down,” never get in trouble, always be a good girl. Going to a concert, screaming and dancing, listening to the music really loud? So healing! And soooooo much fun!!!
Crafts and craft parties with friends. It’s not that I didn’t do crafts as a kid, it’s more that I gave up a lot of art when I started a corporate business job and I’ve found my way back to it because it brings me so much joy!
watching Halloween Tv specials/movies
Created a safe space for myself. In my childhood home I never felt safe. My home feels like a place of peace.
Actively playing with my kids. My mom wasn’t playful and I played by myself a lot. It’s fun to be a kid again, pretending to be a dinosaur or whatever. Shooting my kids with water guns or building legos together.
Wearing more dresses. I grew up being very insecure about myself and always stuck with jeans and oversized t-shirts, because everybody told me I looked thinner in them and fatter in dresses. Wearing more pink, doing my hair, and doing a bit more makeup now that my little girly inner child of me missed out on.
i buy old tech and games that i couldn’t afford to own as a kid. my parents were the type to take me to the rental store to rent a game for a week. due to that, i’ve played a lot of games but never beat them or played them through. i love collecting consoles and games. i have a Super Nintendo, PS1, PS2, Gameboy Colour, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy SP, Gameboy 3DS XL, Nintendo 64, Wii. next purchase will be a PSP.
Cook healthy meals. I’m Mexican so I grew up eating beans, rice, meat or chicken, tortillas, and the only veggies we’d get were onions, tomatoes, and jalapeños/serranos. Maybe cabbage if we ate pozole lmao. It’s still delicious and I don’t hate that that’s what I grew up eating. But now that I’m on my own, I cook with a TON of veggies and absolutely NO lard in my house lol.
Breaking things knowing I don’t have someone yelling at me for it
Bought myself an American Girl doll. She was second hand from a seller who liked to refurbish old ones, give them a little customization, and sell them. At 60 bucks, she was a great deal.
I remember just having the doll in my car on the ride home, just thinking, “I own an American Girl doll.” Cause all I ever did was just stare at the catalogs, too shy to ask for an expensive doll from my parents.
Art classes, i got to meet more people who also love to draw/paint,
[removed]
I went swimming in the sea for the first time the other day. I felt like a child again lol
Get vaccines 💀
Buying my kids all the cool school supplies .. As a kid I was never with to pick my stuff out for the school year and had to settle for anything that was bought for me. I appreciate all my parents did for me but I wanted the glitter stuff, the name brand, the fun printed folders and all the girly fuzzy feathery shiny supplies
Went to a haunted trail last year. It’s something the fire department in my area would do, a bunch of volunteers decorated an area and have fog machines and lights all over. Volunteers dress up and you’re lead through by a “tour guide” who’s also dressed up. It was a way to raise money for the fire department, but also just something fun and cheap for families. My parents were always weird about going to things like this, it just never interested them, so we never went. Last year, my MIL wanted to go with her friends and invited my husband and I. I had never thought of going, I thought it was more for kids than anything else. Kids are included in the dressing up and scaring part, so it’s nothing crazy.
Anyway, we went, it was cute and fun, and it healed a little part of my inner childhood that severely missed out on Halloween celebration related things.
LEGOS
My *inner* child? Well, nothing, since my inner child is still with me. I do all the fun things.
I bought my kids an easy bake oven, a ouija board and the 64 crayola crayon set. Because I wanted all of those as a child.
Bought a left-handed bass guitar. Those weren’t plentiful when I was growing up and I wanted to be like The Bangles bass player so badly. Now my grown self can play all I want (very badly) and relive my awesome 80s music.
Got loads of Lego from eBay, dumped it on the floor in the middle of the living room, played and watched cartoons.
I always have long hair now. Up until age 16 my mother would chop off my hair to about chin length in Aug before school and then let it grow til the following Aug and repeat. I loathe chin length hair on myself so its almost always mid chest length except the 2 times I cut it off to donate it
Got a WDW Annual Pass since moving to Orlando eight years ago. I only just ended it because I have other plans to potentially move abroad so saving is priority this year. My younger self wouldn’t forgive me now if I lived 28 minutes from Disney and didn’t go whenever I wanted. It has been healing and something I’ll always be grateful I did.🥹✨🫶🏽
Love myself the most and give me everything my heart desires if it’s not unhealthy for me or my body. ✨🌸
I wasn’t really allowed to wear skirts, dresses, anything super feminine or coats that were pretty colors and form-fitting and there was a lot of clothing shaming for wanting those type of things so now everything I wear is pretty/fun/girly/flattering and I wear skirts and dresses often. I don’t feel like I am pressured to dress down or casual or have to fit in. And I don’t take any shit if somebody tries to whine and complain about my style.
And learning to cook flavorful meals from scratch. Growing up I wasn’t allowed to learn to cook and my parents mostly made things from processed crap, with canned vegetables and no fresh herbs or seasonings. They had super bland palettes and my dad was really controlling about even having food he didn’t like in the house and there were so many things I wasn’t allowed to eat and lots of things I never even knew about. So I taught myself to cook and started keeping flavorful ingredients on hand like garlic, onions, avocado, actual fresh veggies, a huge collection of seasonings and rarely buy super processed crap. Now I love making meals with actual quality food and it’s definitely how I express my love for friends and family.
Buy bananas. I’ll buy 6-12 depending on work/school for myself and kids. They aren’t as expensive as I was told growing up. 6-8 bananas cost like $1.70+/- . Why wouldn’t I buy bananas?!
Also, if I know I’ll be too lazy to make the old ones into banana bread, there’s no guilt throwing them out.
I have worked very hard on healing my inner child. I grew broke to the point I knew we were super broke and I didn’t ask for things even when I really wanted something. As an adult now I have bought some of the things I wanted back then that I would have never gotten. My bed right now has Batman bedsheets. I have super hero dresses that I wear as an adult. There are museums I wanted to go to as a child and I have taken me to them now. I own an impressive collection of xmen action figures. My partner and I go on picnics often. It always has two wants of bubbles one for me and one for him. I have a cheap laser tag system that we chase each other in. We have water guns we use against each other. Does he think I’m probable a bit crazy? Yes, yes he does but he loves that about me.
I took private piano lessons. It was hilarious being the age of the moms taking their kids to the same sort of lessons.
Food. Eating what I want when I want. And how much I want
My dad would use food as a tool for his amusement. Breakfast only cereal was allowed and only 1 bowl. Lunch and dinner he make gross food for the kids while him and my step mom ate something totally different. He also used food as a means for a reward. Finish all those beans? You get to celebrate the upcoming holiday/etc. I remember one holiday we had to finish a large bowl of beans. My step sister threw up and he made her eat her throw up + more beans as punishment for throwing up.
I bought an accordion and am taking accordion lessons! It’s not that I desperately wanted to play accordion as a kid, but it’s more that I wanted to play something silly AND I always was told private lessons were something we couldn’t afford and I didn’t have the talent anyway, so I wasn’t worth it. I’m absolutely loving it!
Bought my daughters a lovely wooden dollhouse with all the accessories. Always wanted one as a kid but never got one.
Camped outside a stadium all day for a concert. My mum always said it was stupid and a waste of time, I had the best day and got the barricade
Raised my own children in a safe, loving, supportive, healthy, addict-free home environment. They’re all thankful for this and tell us so occasionally.
I was never allowed to have a dog. My mom didn’t like them. I begged my whole life, and the answer was always “when you have your own house you can get a dog.”
My then-boyfriend (now husband) and I bought a house when I was 36. We moved in on a Saturday, and got a puppy on Sunday. That was 8 years ago.
Due to some life circumstances my mom ended up moving in with us not long later. She loves having a dog. We got a second dog last year that very quickly became “her” dog. Now she says she never wants to NOT have a dog. 🤷🏻♀️
Vacations. My family never went on any type of Vacations. No camping, no amusement parks, no overnights out of town. I was so jealous of my peers that go to do that stuff. I did it occasionally with my grandparents, but it was rare. Now as an adult I try to go on a vacation once a year. It doesn’t need to be anything expensive or far away. Even just a camping trip to the lake for a couple days is nice.
[removed]
I got pets
I bought myself the Warriors books collection (I read one of them when I was 13 and asked my more for the next one and she said no, it weirdly never left my mind)
There is a rule in my house : whatever is on tv it’s never more important than the person that’s with me irl
My then-gf took me to Disneyland on my 50th birthday, fulfilling a lifelong secret dream of mine!
This might sound silly but I wear a bathing suit without a t shirt. My mom made me wear a Tshirt as I was heavy.
Being able to dress more casually, even for dates.
I grew up in a household where I always had to wear my “Sunday best” even when visiting friends who don’t do this nor care what we look like. Mom’s reasoning was “you don’t want people to think you’re a slob”.
If I’m showered (I do this nightly as I have kids), hair’s combed/brushed, deodorant is on, & my clothes are clean then I don’t see how not dressing up all the time makes me a “slob”….
hello kitty everything, I dngaf
My mom used to punish me by taking away my stuffies that I loved to cuddle and play with. As an adult, I now have stuffies on my bed and rotate who I sleep with so they don’t get lonely.