If our children simply did everything we told them, followed the wisdom we handed them, wouldn’t parenting be a cinch? The muddiness inherent to parenting doesn’t come from a lack of love, but rather in not understanding our impact on our children and how to get our messages across.
For many years I struggled against an instinct to parent my strong-willed daughter using the “hard” power of commanding and controlling. When her behavior became risky in early adolescence, I realized it was time to make significant changes in how I communicated with my child. The result was a commitment to following the “soft” powers of connection, communication and cooperation. I employ these tools to this day, both with my 23-year-old daughter and in my work guiding families into healthy relationships.
The next time you find yourself in a heated situation with your child, I urge you to look inward and ask the following “soft” power question, “Is what I am about to say or do going to hurt or help our relationship?” I know the use of soft power in my parenting through the years is responsible for the heart to heart relationship we enjoy today. Do you want to feel close and connected to your future adult children? The building of that foundation begins today with actions that lead to heart-to-heart connection.
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.
