We Need To Talk About... Co-parenting

In her new book, magazine editor Justine Cullen reveals the lessons she’s learnt about the pain and pleasure of raising kids with an ex

When most people talk about “having it all”, the “all” is referring to a great job, a functional family, a nice house and possibly a few pieces of old Céline in their wardrobes. The “all” generally doesn’t refer to “all the baby daddies”. I’ve ended up with three. It’s just one of the ways I’ve gotten this “having it all” malarky wrong.

When my first partner and I broke up, we were the very model of modern co-parenting, from celebrating milestones together to making each other affectionate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day cards. We had our moments, but in general our children knew their parents were mates, that we both loved them and – in our own way – each other.