Kourtney Kardashian reflects on why co-parenting is so important to her—and her kids

Scott Disick hasn’t been Kourtney Kardashian’s partner since 2015, but he will be the father of her children forever, and that’s why he’s still very much a part of Kourtney’s life.

She wants her kids (Mason, 9, Penelope, 6, and Reign, 4) to see that they can get along and spend time together, and she wants the world to see it, too. During a recent appearance on the TODAY show, Kourtney was asked about the relationship she has with Disick, and whether she feels responsible for modeling cooperative co-parenting given her reality TV platform.

“I feel like I can show a message, too, of like parents [who] can get along and work together and travel together,” Kourtney told TODAY. “And I think it’s a good message to show other people.”

The number one reason why Kourtney is so committed to co-parenting with Disick is, of course, her children. He’s their family, so he’s still family to her, too.

Science is with Kourtney here. Research suggests divorced couples who have “ongoing personal and emotional involvement with their former spouse” (so, are friends, basically) are more likely to rate their co-parenting relationship positively, and that divorce arrangements that support shared parenting are linked to better outcomes for kids.

So that means that Kourtney and Scott each spend time with the kids, but they also spend time with them together (like when they all vacation as one big family).

Kids who have grown up with divorced parents who shared special days like birthdays and vacations the way that Kourtney and Scott do are living proof that cooperative co-parenting is a powerful force.

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