© 1987 By John K. Pollard, III

A Self-Parenting Overview

The SELF-PARENTING Program represents the state of the art of Self-Parenting practice.

This can be said because the SELF-PARENTING Program is still the original and remains the only practical system of changing the core functionality of your Inner Parent from negative to positive.

The speakers and/or systems promoting “inner child″ work are at least one, and mostly two generations behind the reality of Self-Parenting.

Self-Parenting is Inner Parent work — NOT Inner Child work.

Only the Self-Parenting practitioners seems to understand this fundamental truth, whether in the public eye or not.

You can play kindergarten all day with your Inner Child.

You can do wonderful meditations and guided imageries, and you can blab all day about how much you love and care about your Inner Child.

Until you start daily half-hour sessions of Self-Parenting, you won’t have a clue concerning the real problem you have to confront—a negative Inner Parent as represented by abuse or neglect of your Inner Child.

The book, SELF-PARENTING: The Complete Guide to Your Inner Conversations was phenomenally successful at introducing people to the awareness of their Inner Child and Inner Parent.

It also gives people a structured format for making changes in their Self-Parenting Style.

For all it did, the book only presents the beginning guidelines. There was only so much that could be said about Self-Parenting in one book.

When I began writing SELF-PARENTING: my purpose was to introduce people to the concept of HAVING an Inner Parent and Inner Child. The key points I was saying had never been laid out before.

There is a part of you, an Inner Parent, parenting another part of you, your Inner Child. Another term I used in the early days was “Your Inner Conversations.″

There were some inklings before 1987 that the Inner Child was a part of us and that we should nurture it but there were certainly no practical guidelines or procedures beyond “nurture it, it’s a good idea.”

Despite current public awareness today, before SELF-PARENTING: was published in 1987, there were no descriptions or methodologies for parenting the Inner Child or even an understanding that this interaction was occuring. Even today most people are unaware that they self-parent themselves all day and all night, day in and day out.

SELF-PARENTING: was written to let people know that there WAS an Inner Child AND an Inner Parent. It gave specific definitions and terminology, which made the concept of “Self-Parenting,″ unknown prior to the book; appear to be everyday stuff that everyone knew.

The clarity and simplicity of the practice made the deeper world of the Inner Conversations accessible and understandable. This new awareness spread quickly.

Many “teachers″ whose goal was simply to make money by jumping on a trend started using the “inner child” as a marketing tool. If they wanted to sell their lame book, tired tape, or stale video, they put the words “inner child” on the cover.

Yet all these “johnny come latelys″ new interest in the Inner Child was still one generation behind the reality of Self-Parenting. Thankfully, these people have moved on to new marketing endeavors.

Even today, 20 years after the publication of SELF-PARENTING: most people still don’t understand that the key to making the Inner Child happy is to train and maintain a positive Inner Parent.

Self-Parenting is Inner Parent work — NOT Inner Child work. This is the revelation that people who are practicing the SELF-PARENTING Program are finding out, but only with practical experience.

If I could give you a brand new Inner Child, one perfect in every way, in two years you would create the same type of Inner Child you have now.

If I could give you a perfect Inner Parent, you would have a positive and loving Inner Child in six months, regardless of the Inner Child you have now.

Unfortunately, I can’t give you the ideal Inner Parent. You'll have to create that yourself.

You begin this process by starting with the “Self-Parenting Style” you were given by your outer parents. If that was negative, then you will change your Self-Parenting Style you train and practice the half-hour sessions.

Simply “hearing about,” “getting in touch with,” or “knowing you have” an Inner Child is not going to accomplish anything on the positive Self-Parenting scale. It’s a first step, but that’s all.

Some people even use their new “knowledge” about the Inner Child to get into trouble by trying to change or manipulate their Inner Child using the same exact tactics of their negative “normal” Inner Parent.

I have been investigating Self-Parenting for over thirty years. I still do my sessions every day.

As far as I know, I am the only person teaching in this field that does so. Self-Parenting is not Inner Child work—it is Inner Parent work.

With all the assistance that I provide, at the exceedingly low prices and overhead at which I operate, there is no excuse for people to say that nothing is available to help them.

If you are serious about this concept you will take the initiative to improve your Self-Parenting style as an Inner Parent. I can’t do it for you; neither can my staff, or anyone else.

If you want to change, you will begin to practice regular half-hour sessions. When you do, I will be there to help support your next step.

Yours in Self-Parenting,

Dr. John K. Pollard, III