Hints of Britney Spears, Ex's Co-Parenting Skills on Display at Sons' Birthday

Yahoo Parenting
Updated
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Britney Spears and Kevin Federline are divorced, but they’re nailing this co-parenting thing. (Photo: Instagram/Britney Spears)

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline’s headline-catching whirlwind marriage produced two kids in a year. But lately, the pair, who divorced in 2006, have been making headlines for being dedicated parents to sons Jayden, 9, and Preston, 10. This weekend, the proud parents posted a few social media photos that show they happily attended their sons’ joint skater-themed birthday party together.

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Despite being blindsided when Spears suddenly filed for divorce nine years ago, Federline doesn’t appear to have any hard feelings towards his ex. “Time heals everything,” Federline told Canada’s Etalk.com. “It’s been a long, long journey, but I think where both of us are now, we both have somebody else, we’re happy. Everything just works.”

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Ex-spouses Britney Spears and Kevin Federline celebrated their children’s birthdays with a joint party over the weekend. (Photo: Instagram/Britney Spears)

Federline has been outspoken about co-parenting with Spears in the past and how well it’s been going. “The way that everything turned out, everyone is happy,” Federline shared with Access Hollywood. “Co-parenting is going great.”

Federline added: “We talk when we need to and it’s always about the boys. It’s mostly school stuff and making sure we stay on top of that. It’s going great.”

That doesn’t mean that co-parenting is an easy feat for many divorced couples or that there aren’t residual feelings of anger or bitterness, but when parents are able to put the best interests of their child ahead of their own feelings, they can successfully parent as a team. “You may still be bitter, but you don’t want that to come into the relationship with the child,” Helen Resneck-Sannes, a licensed psychologist in Santa Cruz, Calif., tells Yahoo Parenting. “It’s not for them to fix or deal with.”

But for divorced couples, like Spears and Federline, being able to put any negative feelings aside and be civil toward each other greatly benefits their kids in many ways. Children aren’t forced to choose which parent joins in for special occasions like birthdays, which can be stressful for a child, notes Resneck-Sannes, and the child has a sense of family again. “Divorce is a deep loss, so [co-parenting] shows children that they’re still being cared for and are safe. It gives them security.”

Adds Resneck-Sannes: “Co-parenting is tremendously healing for the children. It’s healing for everyone.”

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