70 Best Co-Parenting Quotes To Inspire Separated Moms And Dads

Are you on the search for inspirational co-parenting quotes? Then you know that navigating the co-parenting terrain can be difficult, especially once step-parents enter the picture and you find yourself a part of a blended family.

These co-parenting quotes can help you stay inspired and focused as you navigate this new way of parenting with your ex-husband or wife, all while keeping your kids a priority.

Whether they come from celebrities or relationship experts, co-parenting quotes are all about one thing – helping single moms and dads find common parenting goals to raise amazing kids, even if they don’t live under the same roof anymore.

I hope you find at least one co-parenting quote that can serve as a grounding tool as you navigate this new world with your co-parenting partner and kids.

Positive, Happy, And Inspirational Quotes About Co-parenting

1. “At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of the parents.” – Jane D. Hull

2. “Co-parenting is not a competition. It’s a collaboration of two homes working together with the best interest of the child at heart. Work for your kids, not against them.” – Unknown

3. “The best, most mature co-parent will tell their therapist – and not their child – how much the other parent sucks.” – Unknown

4. “The best security blanket a child can have is parents who respect each other.” – Jane Blaustone

5. “Kids need parents, not a part-time visitor with a checkbook.” – Unknown

6. “A family portrait is only complete with love to fill its frame.” – Wes Fesler

7. “This is probably one of the most difficult challenges any parent could face, learning to love the other parent enough to make the children first.” – Lyanila Vanzant

8. “Co-parenting isn’t asking permission. It’s about discussing your child’s needs and wants and deciding what’s best.” – Unknown

9. “Make a positive difference in your children’s lives. Act and speak about your co-parent with respect and integrity.” – Allison Pescosolido

10. “Family is a world where we can settle any differences if we learn to compromise and accept.” – Unknown

11. “Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.” – Robert Fulghum

12. “Instead of raising children who turn out okay despite their childhood, let’s raise children who turn out extraordinary because of their childhood.” – L.R. Knost

13. “A healthy and positive co-parenting relationship is nothing short of a gift.” – Unknown

14. “Remember you are not managing an inconvenience. You are raising a human being.” – Kittie Frantz

15. “Children shouldn’t have to sacrifice so that you can have the life you want. You make sacrifices so your children can have the life they deserve.” – Unknown

16. “If you love your child more than you hate your ex, you can solve most co-parenting problems.” – Helen Fried

17. “This is probably one of the most difficult challenges any parent could face – learning to love the other parent enough to make their children first.” – Iyanla Vanzant

18. “The more co-parents communicate with one another about the children, the less likely for small issues to grow into major problems.” – Unknown

19. “The greatest thing a father can do for his children is to respect the woman that gave birth to his children. It is because of her that you have the greatest treasures in your life. You may have moved on, but your children have not. If you can’t be her soulmate, then at least be thoughtful. Whom your children love should always be someone that you acknowledge with kindness. Your children notice everything and will follow your example.” – Shannon Alder

20. “The sign of a great parent is not the behavior of the children, the sign of a truly great parent is the behavior of the parent.” – Andy Smithson

21. “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” – Frederick Douglass

22. “It is critical to maintain boundaries between adult problems and children. Please protect your children’s innocence and allow them to remain children. They must not be burdened by adult problems. Kids don’t have the coping skills or the intellectual ability to understand money worries, adult relationship issues or their parents’ unhappiness.” – Unknown

23. “Moms and step-moms are on the same team.” – Unknown

24. “Think of it as an important business project; you don’t always love the person that you’re working with, but you work together to get the project done. Co-parents need to adopt this same business model when co-parenting their children.” – Kela Price

25. “A family stitched together with love seldom unravels.” – Unknown

26. “Marriage bound us for a little while, but our children keep us together as a family for life” – Unknown

27. “We may not live as one, but our family will always be home.” – Unknown

Co-parenting Quotes By Celebs

Even though celebrities lead very different lives from us “mortals,” I found some of their quotes on co-parenting to be very insightful, and I think you will too.

28. “You have to get to that point as a divorced parent, as any parent, where you’re not putting yourself first. You want the kids’ experience to be its own and not like, ‘Well, I need to have my time!’ We have been very good about that.” – Ryan Phillippe

29. “Your children need your presence more than your presents.” – Jesse Jackson

30. “We do bedtime every day. We felt like as much togetherness as possible would be ideal, and fortunately, we really love each other and are best friends, and so that works.” – Sienna Miller

31. “Just because you are a parent doesn’t mean that your needs aren’t important. That was a big thing for me to get over through my whole experience of trying to stay a team and a family outside of some normalcy shifting. I feel really lucky that Luca has the dad that he does, we have the relationship that we do, and I didn’t make any big decisions quickly like moving forward with my life or introducing another child or person. I took my time with everything and I think that was the best for me and for Luca. And watching what you say is key, key, key.” – Hilary Duff

32. “I have pictures up of me and Wiz in our son’s room so he can always come in and see us being happy together. We try to have family days with him, even though we’re not together. Kids want to see their parents together and if you can’t be together in a relationship, you’ve got to come together as friends for your baby.” – Amber Rose

33. “We both realize that we’re parents and we’re in it for our kid, and that’s made it really easy,” – Pete Wentz

34. “Co-parenting. It’s not a competition between two homes. It’s a collaboration of parents doing what is best for the kids.” – Heather Hetchler

35. “I think, unfortunately, though we couldn’t stay in a romantic relationship…our values are very much around the importance of family and the importance of those relationships, and I’m lucky that we’re aligned in that way. And it’s been hard, and you know, like, we’ve gone through really difficult times with it but we’ve always said these children are our priority.” – Gwyneth Paltrow

36. “If Matt and I had a great relationship, we would still be together, but we chose to move on because we had different visions of how we wanted to live our lives. That doesn’t mean, though, that we can’t rebuild something that would be the best thing for the kids.” – Kate Hudson

37. “I don’t think children’s inner feelings have changed. They still want a mother and father in the very same house; they want places to play.” – Beverly Cleary

38. “I think the key is surrounding Jack [her son] with a lot of joy and happiness, which he has a ton of.” – Anna Faris

39. “But at the end of the day, we’ve got a great kid who’s got two parents who love him very much. And we’re finding a way to navigate this while still remaining friends and still being kind to one another.” – Chris Pratt

40. “I find co-parenting really easy. Scott and I communicate all the time. You have to keep discussing what’s going on because as the children grow older, the rules need to be renegotiated.” – Kourtney Kardashian

41. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to be a little selfless. You have to say ‘It’s not about us. This didn’t work out quite how we wanted it to but look at the amazing blessing that we have in these wonderful children.’ So you kinda put everything else to the side and really focus.” – Nick Cannon

42. “Sadly our family is separating legally, although we do not feel this takes away from us being a family. Our children are our universe, and we look forward to living the rest of our lives with them as the first priority.” – Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman

43. “We decided as a family it was the right decision for Flynn, so Orlando and I both relocated and we live five minutes from each other … Everything revolves around my son and his welfare.” – Miranda Kerr

44. “We are both totally committed to raising our son and being in love with our son … It’s a concept that’s fairly new, particularly in the psychology of raising a child in divorce. And the idea is, it’s really not the child’s fault that you got divorced. It’s your fault and therefore it should not be the child’s problem to go back and forth between two different homes.” – Josh Lucas

45. “We’re doing our very best and we’re putting our kids first and that’s how we’re focusing on our day-to-day lives and we don’t know what the future’s going to hold, but each step that we take is one where we prioritize our children and everything else comes second.” – Ben Affleck

46. “You have a lot of regret with a child, and feeling like you’re failing them in some way. Not giving them the idealistic scenario. Your child comes first. That’s all. It’s all about that. He comes first and you have to get past your own egos and you never talk bad about each other.” – Idina Menzel

47. “I’m very fortunate because we’re committed to co-parenting our children together.” – Elle Macpherson

48. “So don’t stress them out with your issues. Not only do they understand what’s going on, they remember everything. So if you’ve got a problem save the drama or catty gossip with your friends for another time when your kids are not around. It’s not healthy for them to hear it.” – Christina Milian

49. “We’re all just healing from the events that led to the filing … We care for each other and care about our family, and we are both working towards the same goal.” – Angelina Jolie 

50. “We’re just getting used to it. We’re in a very positive energy together, trying to be the best parents to Everly. We support each other.” – Jenna Dewan

51. “Children deserve both parents. They deserve to know that their parents respect each other, if nothing else. So that really helps me set the standard of how I try and behave.” – Jewel Kilcher

52. “I’m really fortunate because my ex and I are very good friends and I talk to him every day. Our daughter is growing up seeing two people who care about each other. We may not be a traditional family on paper but we are a family and I tell her that families come in all shapes and sizes, but [a family is] love and I see her really flourishing because she sees two people treating each other with respect.” – Angela Kinsey

53. “When you are co-parenting, you have to be willing to give up some of the things you would really like to do. My boys will be gone for Father’s Day, their mom’s off in Asia on tour. They are with me until the 15th, and then they are gone for the rest of the month. So I won’t have the boys for Father’s Day.” – Kevin Federline

54. “Marc and I are very good friends, we’re very supportive. I feel it’s my responsibility as a mom when their dad is not there to let them know that their dad loves them very much because that’s the doubt that they have when he’s not around or they haven’t seen him. That’s my job to do that the same way it’s his job when he’s with them to say ‘Mommy is working and she loves you.'” – Jennifer Lopez

55. “As people can imagine, it gets rough at times just because we’re not in the same city, but we still love each other and what’s most important is we love our son. That stabilizes us. I’m thankful for him.” – Taye Diggs

56. “I mean, I’m single, I’m co-parenting. I’m doing okay. There are good days and bad days and Liev and I are on great terms and we’re trying to do our absolute best for the sake of the children and we hope to keep moving forward in that way.” – Naomi Watts

Quotes On Co-parenting With A Toxic Ex

57. “When you tell a child you hate their other parent, you are telling them you hate half of who they are.” – Unknown

58. “If conflict arises, meet it head-on and deal with it immediately. If you sweep it under the rug, it could add to your stress level and grow from a small issue to a large resentment. If it is a major concern, discuss it in private, away from the children.” – Diana Mercer

59. “The greatest thing a father can do for his children is to respect the woman that gave birth to his children. It is because of her that you have the greatest treasures in your life. You may have moved on, but your children have not. If you can’t be her soulmate, then at least be thoughtful. Whom your children love should always be someone that you acknowledge with kindness. Your children notice everything and will follow your example.” – Shannon L. Alder

60. “One tip that has always helped me is to keep it on a business level, rather than a personal level. You are now in the ‘business’ of raising these children with a person that no longer resides in your home.” – Lee Block

61. “Don’t ask them to carry messages to the other parent. Don’t ask kids to be responsible for setting up arrangements, changing schedules, or arranging rides. These are adult matters that need to be taken care of by the adults.” – Marie Hartwell-Walker

62. “When speaking with a hostile ex, you will likely be drawn into an argument and nothing will get resolved. Limit communication to texting and email. This way you can choose what to respond to and you will be able to delete knee-jerk retorts that you would make if you were on the phone.” – Virginia Gilbert

63. “You may find it difficult to communicate with or see your ex as you co-parent. Derive solace in the fact that your interactions with your former spouse have their limits – you no longer have to share a bedroom, only your children.” – Lisa Helfend Meyer

Quotes On Co-parenting With A Narcissist

64. “When communicating with a narcissist, less is always more. Your goal is for the narcissist to begin looking elsewhere to receive their narcissistic feed. Sift through the email communication and only respond to the items that are relevant to co-parenting.” – Tina Swithin

65.  “A narcissist will never co-parent with you. They will counter-parent. They don’t care about the emotional damage that the constant drama inflicts upon the children as long as it causes emotional drama to you.” – A. Price

66. “Accept now that you might never be coparenting with a narcissist. Did you have a smooth divorce? That is a sign that might indicate what you will be in store for. Most narcissists show no compassion, they will never agree or cooperate, even if they don’t care about the outcome.” – Tracy Malone

67. “Narcissists don’t usually like having others set boundaries on them but this is a must as you co-parent to protect yourself and the kids. The key to making boundaries work is to stick to them. It may mean hanging up the phone, walking away, closing doors or driving away to enforce your limits. Setting boundaries does not have to be done in a hostile manner; with practice, patience, and restraint it can be done with courtesy.” – Karyl McBride

68. “If you hold onto hurt and anger with a narcissist, the children will have no normal parent. The narcissistic parent will use them as puppets, lovebomb, and abandon them. You are their only hope.” – Tracy Malone

69. “You can’t collaborate with someone who refuses to collaborate. Start parallel parenting: Keep strict boundaries, communicate only over big-ticket items such as medical care and education, and interact minimally, even if that means having separate birthday parties.” – Virginia Gilbert

70. “Trying to co-parent with a narcissist is akin to rowing a boat with one oar, while the other person uses theirs to slowly add water. Your boat cannot go straight when you’re only paddling on one side. Try best as you can, your boat will go in circles, stopping only when it sinks.” – Jenny Penland

Final Thoughts

As kids grow, there are many things that can be detrimental to their emotional development, such as having an absent father or being raised in an indulgent parenting style.

On the other hand, healthy co-parenting can have a positive impact on their mental health and help them grow into happy grown-ups.

Separation and divorce often get ugly, especially when child support or child custody is part of the proceedings. Sometimes you might feel like you’re missing out on your child’s life when they’re spending time with their other parent.

So, I hope that these co-parenting quotes have given you enough strength to move forward in a positive way that prioritizes your kids above everything else.

You got this!

READ NEXT: 80 Best Positive Parenting Quotes To Inspire You

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