My friend who has two children has said something similar to me. She doesn't immediately dismiss my perspective, because she knows that maybe she isn't seeing something because she's blinded by her proximity to the issue. I can be more objective. I also remember being a child without that memory having been erased or tainted by the experience of having my own children. I think other parents might be the worst people to ask advice, sometimes, because their answers are coming through the filter of their unique relationship with their unique, and completely different, child.