I finally figured it out.

I have found the magic key for getting along with your adult children. Whatever comes into your head to say, don’t say it.

This is especially true when those adult children become parents.

Relationships are evolutionary. Parent-child is no exception. It starts in one place and, over time, ends up in quite another, or it should anyway. Parents’ roles adapt and shift with every change in the child’s development, keeping step with his need to sprout wings and fly competently and safely. Each player must see the other in a new role.

Throughout a child’s growing years, steadfastly, you remain MOM (or DAD), and that position comes with clout and responsibilities. Laying down the law, voicing an opinion, giving suggestions, making course corrections, taking care of business are all part of that role. You are the mom, the big kahuna, the nurturer, the knower of all kinds of stuff—from laundry to correct grammar to curing ills. You welcome and act on the calls for help, and your boundaries, perspective, and opinion are necessary and have weight. Your kids need you to be that brand of parent.

Then you turn around, and in a blink, that child is an adult.

Parent and child must learn a new dance. Both need to develop new steps, predicated on seeing one another differently. Your old roles no longer work. The child, whose developmental task has been to grow up and away, is now an adult, separate from you. He establishes himself, marks his own territory, and crafts his persona. His choices, taste, and direction are a compilation of his own experiences, his place in life, his peer group, and his chosen partner. And it may not mesh with Mom’s and Dad’s goals or choices for him. He must tackle life his way. There’s a new kid on the block, and a different kind of parent is needed.

The adult child, however, carries vestiges of childhood. (Are we ever all grown up, really?)  Even as an adult, she cares what her parents think. She still enjoys their approval and basks in her parents’ pride in her.

And therein lies the rub. It is often through that filter that our adult children sometimes hear innocent comments and suggestions as judgmental. Parents say, “Why don’t you try this?” The adult child hears, “You aren’t doing it right.” (Truth be told, sometimes a parent is judging her child. But that is for another blog.)

At the same time, parents carry vestiges of parenting the younger child. They still jump in to direct, evaluate, and advise. Her way, as parent, is the best way; she thinks she knows it all. It’s a role parents are accustomed to playing. Old dogs have trouble with new tricks.

And for me, a child development and behavior specialist and now a grandmother, it is particularly tricky. It’s true that I know a whole lot about parenting and raising kids of all ages. But that reality is trumped by a different role that I have always played in my children’s lives: mom. The mother and grandmother in me loves unconditionally. My professional eyes will see parenting behaviors ripe for comment. While many who flock to me for advice say, “Your kids are so lucky to have you.” I’m not so sure my kids will agree. How could they not feel some apprehension about my judging their parenting skills? Talk about thin ice!

I recently had an a-ha moment.

And maybe I am slow to this show, but I get it now. It all comes down to communication. Sometimes your adult child may actually want to know your opinion or seek advice, but many times he will not. Maybe he wants to share, or he needs to vent. Just like when he was growing up, you are the receptacle for it all. He knows you will love him no matter what. Thank goodness. So, don’t blow it! Look before you leap, and check it out by asking, “Are you asking for my opinion, looking for advice, or do you want to share [or vent]? I am good either way.” Yes, it is hard to insert that speed bump in your throat, but that control is a crucial part of the new role you play with your adult child.

And, if that fails, I offer this timeless, powerful, and difficult advice: Just shut up!

Betsy Brown Braun is the bestselling author of the award-winning Just Tell Me What to Say (HarperCollins 2008), and You’re Not the Boss of Me (HarperCollins, 2010), a bestseller in its fourth printing. A renowned child development and behavior specialist, popular parent educator, and mother of adult triplets, she is a frequent speaker at educational and business conferences, has been a guest expert on Today, the Early Show, Good Morning America, Fox News, Fox and Friends, Dr. Phil, Entertainment Tonight, Rachel Ray, and NPR and has been cited in USA Today, the New York Times, Family Circle, Parents, Parenting, Woman’s Day, Real Simple, and Good Housekeeping, among countless other publications and websites. For more on Betsy, please visit her website or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

*Photo by HckySo.