We are emotional beings. Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, suggests that our emotional intelligence is even more important than intellectual intelligence to live a successful life. We enter this world interacting from our limbic system which is our emotional center. All feelings are stored there in our long term memory only to be retriggered during certain events in our life.
When our emotional response is more intense than the situation calls for, it is likely that we are re-experiencing feelings from our childhood without even knowing it. Our emotions don’t wave a flag and say “right now your child’s behavior is reminding you of the time when you yelled at your mom and got a spanking.” Instead, big feelings just come up and usually overwhelm us causing our thinking brain to shut down. When a parent can discover why their child’s current behaviors are making them “freak out” then the possibility to manage the intense feelings begin. The more parents understand and express their emotions in a healthy way, the better equipped they are to help their children become emotionally intelligent.
Copyright © 2026, Cynthia Klein, All rights reserved. Please contact Cynthia to use any of her blog post.
About Cynthia Klein
Cynthia Klein’s mission is to contribute to World Peace and building healthy family relationships is the place to begin. As a parenting expert for over 30 years, parents have learned from Cynthia how to communicate more effectively as an ally rather than an adversary. Her unique Family Harmony System teaches parents of 5 and older how to have open dialogue, solve problems together, support one another, and build mutual respect. Cynthia is the author of Ally Parenting and the video-based self-paced program Win, Win, Win, Parenting. She has presented over 700 talks and coached hundreds of parents privately towards greater family connection and harmony. To learn more about her services of coaching and speaking, contact Cynthia Klein at , visit her website at bridges2understanding.com.




