When social psychologist Susan Newman started research for her book Nobody’s Baby Now, she observed the same causes of strife occurring between the 150 adult children that she interviewed: The problem was their parents. From parental scrutiny around choice of spouse to conflicting expectations of career to money issues, she realized that many adult children needed guidance on how to repair—and ultimately reinvent—a fractious relationship with their parents. Newman shares her advice on how to build a more meaningful and mature connection between the generations—and explains why, no matter our age, it’s still worth asking our parents for advice.

Why do we end up stuck in destructive patterns with our parents?
Both adult children and parents tend to slip back into their old role...