Are you accessing your 'Punky power'?

One of my favourite TV shows growing up was Punky Brewster. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the show, Punky is a spunky little girl who had been abandoned by her mother and gets taken in by a grumpy but soft-hearted widower, Henry. Along with her dog Brandon, Punky fills a hole in Henry’s life, and Henry fills a hole in Punky’s life.

I’ve recently been re-watching episodes of the show. (The gif above is from the recent reboot of the series - I haven't watched it though!) The original series is a pretty standard 1980’s sitcom recipe of opposites attract. And through a 2023 lens, there is some cringe-worthy dialogue and awkward child acting. At the same time, the show and it’s characters really connected with some deep themes around loss, grief, trauma, attachment, and gender roles.

One of my favourite episodes begins with Punky winning a contest. She excitedly opens her prize, thinking it is going to be a tea set (“It’s the tea set Punky, you won the tea set!”) but instead it is a remote controlled car. Undeterred by the sexist comments and restrictions that follow, she and her best friend Cherie go on to disguise themselves as boys in order to compete in a car race.

Just as they are found out and about to be disqualified, Henry comes to their defence, acknowledging his own error in thinking there are ‘boy activities' and ‘girl activities’. Punky is ultimately allowed to race, and, of course, comes in first place. It’s a predictable ending and stereotypical lesson that ‘girls can do anything boys can do’. But I loved it all the same, and clearly it made an impact on me if I remember the episode all these years later!

Even better than these memories, I'm also realizing that watching the show is helping me to connect with that younger, playful version of myself, who loved everything Punky - from her eclectic fashion sense to her creative and colourful bedroom. And, most of all, to her fierce self-confidence and ability to embrace who she was, just as she was, no apologies. Accordingly, her catch phrase was ‘Punky power!’

Wouldn’t it be amazing if as grown-ups we also allowed ourselves to access that same ‘Punky power’ and claim our right to just be who we are, no apologies?!

How would it feel to reconnect with your own younger, more playful version of yourself, who unabashedly loves what she loves?

We can guarantee that it would feel pretty great. And, sadly, doing this is often not so easy! As we become adults, connecting with play and creativity can feel effortful instead of easeful. But that doesn’t make it any less important. Actually, it makes it more important. That’s why creativity (and play) is one of the pillars of our 4 C’s self-care framework.

If you would like to reconnect with your own ‘Punky power’, please join us for an upcoming cohort of Thrivival Skills for Therapists!

Also, please let us know if you loved Punky too! :)