Archetypes: Child/Adult 
Tuesday, July 28, 2009, 08:14 AM
Posted by Administrator
One very powerful archetype in western culture is the wounded child. (There is also a playful child archetype.) In this post I will contrast the wounded child against the adult.

Child - focused on neediness - it acts to get - self centered
Adult - also self-centered, but acts on principles

Child - wants life to be fair - as defined by the child
Adult - sees life as it is and does not expect fairness or even justice

Child – sees things as black or white, right or wrong – with the child being right
Adult – sees the world as endless shades of grey – knows right and wrong are subjective and situational

Child – sees simplistic solutions to complex problems
Adults – sees the complexity of life

Child – reacts to life – operates from feel/act/regret
Adult – responds to life – operates from feel/plan/act

Child – hates to be wrong – will blame, rationalize and excuse their behaviour
Adult – takes responsibility for their behaviour – owns their mistakes

Child – wants things NOW
Adults – is content with delayed gratification, willing to plan and work through the plan

Child – wants life to be easy, fun and happy
Adults – takes life on life’s terms

Child – wants excitement and fun
Adult – stays focused on plans and goals

Child – competitive – wants to be right or the winner – hates to lose hates to admit they were wrong
Adult – has no need to compete – able to apologize when necessary

Child – delights in fantasy
Adult – stays grounded in reality

Child – wants life to be nice, loving, gentle
Adult – sees life with open eyes – accepts the nasty, hateful, violent aspects of life

Child – loves drama
Adult – does not need to create drama – keeps a level head

Child - relies on others for happiness.
Adult – does need a life based on happiness.

Child - is possesive and clingy to concepts or people.
Adult - lets things come and go in a healthy way and is open minded in thought - allows changes to occur.

Child - is overly emotional and dramatized when upset.
Adult - is rational and calm and knows it will pass.

Child - is controlling and wants everything a certain way.
Adult - knows that controlling everything is a futile exercise and accepts things to be as they are.

Child - lives fearfully when dealing with unknowns.
Adult - does not judge the unknown and thus does not fear it.

Child - feels guilt when errors are made.
Adult - understands that mistakes occur and accepts the errors along the path and learns from it.

A rich life includes both the child and the adult. Life lived through the child is dysfunctional. Life lived through the adult is dry. Together, they combine the fantasy and dreams of the child with the grounded and practical of the adult.

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