If nothing else, the fact that you've been *there* in those shoes makes you feel confident in relating with a fellow who's *being* in the same shoes. While it's really not necessary that you successfully resolved that issue when it occurred to you, depending on how you view it, it could be the reason you'd have so much exposure and varieties of options to pick from: you know the many failed attempts you had, what led to them, and what they led to. You don't want somebody else to be in those shoes, so, definitely, more than the one who succeeded at a go, you have more power to help another individual resolve that problem.
Many of us can highlight the grey areas when it comes to our relationship with our parents (especially in the growing up years), and we are convinced we'd fill those loopholes when we have our own kids. However, there's always so much to learn, so wide a gap to fill, because the world continues to evolve, and no two persons are identical: there'd always be pitfalls in your method of dealing with your children, they'd feel your inadequacy in certain situations, but, the one thing you'd always have to fall back to and shouldn't ever compromise is that "open and effective channel of communication".
Assure them it's fine to talk to you, about anything and everything they'd want to share; talk to them, and just as well, listen to them. They have a voice you shouldn't ever try to suppress, if truly you wish to fill the void created by lapses of the previous generation in raising this generation.