“Your Ex Is Not Your Child’s Ex” & Other Co-Parenting Quotes To Keep In Mind

Whether you're new to this whole co-parenting thing or have been in the trenches for years, it can be a truly challenging dynamic. Sure, celebrities often talk about co-parenting as if it's the easiest thing in the world, and hey, it might be — when you have enough money to pay someone else to be the go-between, buy a house across the street, and keep your family in therapy. But for many parents attempting to "live that co-parent life," it's tricky.

Someone will always be worse at communicating. One of you might always be more "high-strung" or too strict compared to your lackadaisical ex. The slightest tweak of plans may send your former spouse spiraling and grasping for control again. And all of that is to say nothing of the impossibility of trying to co-parent with a narcissist.

At the end of the day, though, most co-parents argue because they both want what's best for their kid and think their way is the answer. While that's probably the last thing you want to hear when you're dealing with your stubborn ex, it could be worth keeping in mind in case it keeps you from throttling them at the next joint birthday party.

In the meantime, here are a few other meaningful co-parenting quotes to put things into perspective.

Co-Parenting Quotes About Getting Along

1. "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
2. "The best security blanket a child can have is parents who respect each other." — Jane Blaustone
3. "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." — Henry Ford
4. "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
5. "Your ex is not your child's ex." — DK Simoneau, author
6. "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
7. "Remember why you chose to come together in the first place — the love that you have for your partner. Your partner's children are an extension of them, and this makes them just as important to your happiness." — Beth Happiness
8. “Effective communication in co-parenting is the key that unlocks understanding and cooperation.” — Unknown
9. "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
10. "The best, most mature co-parents will tell their therapist — and not their child — how much the other parent sucks." — Hayley Gallagher
11. "I'm very fortunate because we're committed to co-parenting our children together." — Elle Macpherson
12. "Make a positive difference in your children's lives. Act and speak about your co-parent with respect and integrity." — Allison Pescosolido
13. "If you love your child more than you hate your ex, you can solve most co-parenting problems." — Helen Fried
14. "Effective parenting has nothing to do with pointing out our faults and everything to do with working out solutions." — L.R. Knost
15. “Our co-parenting journey resembles a book composed of distinct chapters, yet the overarching narrative always revolves around our children.” — Unknown

Co-Parenting Quotes For Stepparents and Blended Families

1. "The first key to balancing your busy life and creating a peaceful environment for your blended family to thrive in lies in defining your family values — first as a couple, then as a family." — Kellye Laughery
2. "Blood doesn't make a parent; love does." — Unknown
3. "Families don't have to match. You don't have to look like someone else to love them." — Leigh Anne Tuohy
4. "The blended family isn't just an ordinary family, times two. It's a special kind of family with special needs." — Maxine Marsolin
5. "Stepparents are not around to replace a biological parent, rather augment a child's life experience." — Azriel Johnson
6. "Blended families are a beautiful mix of diverse people who each serve an important role in our lives." — Deana Keller La Rosa
7. "Stepfamily households do not begin and end at the front door." — Patricia Papernow
8. "You don't need to be the primary caregiver of your children to be of primary influence in their lives. What you do for them behind the scenes in your own unique way is what makes the true difference in the long run." — Miya Yamanouchi
9. “There will always be steps you can take toward unity in your blended family. You will make it — one step at a time!” — Donna Houpe
10. “The secret to blending families is... there is no secret. It’s scary and awesome and ragged and perfect and always changing. Love and laugh hard, try again tomorrow, but that’s life’s advice, right?” — Mir Kamin

Quotes About Solid Family/Parental Support

1. "The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other." — Richard Bach
2. "Anything is possible when you have the right people to support you." — Misty Copeland
3. "Being a family means you are part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life." — Lisa Weed
4. "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
5. "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
6. "In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony." — Friedrich Nietzsche
7. "I don't think it matters how many parents you've got, as long as those who are around make their presence a good one." — Elizabeth Wurtzel
8. "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." — Frederick Douglass
9. “Children do not care about child support, who was married to whom, or why you don’t like each other. They are children; they care that their parents show up. That when there is a Christmas recital, and they peek through the curtains, all of the people they love are there, without fighting for the best interest of the child.” — Jessica James
10. “There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent.” — Mahatma Gandhi