Kourtney Kardashian got real about “mom guilt” during a confessional on The Kardashians this week.
As almost everyone knows, Kourtney somewhat quietly gave birth to the son she shares with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker in November.
Kourtney and Travis each had three children from previous relationships: Kourt’s eldest three (Mason, Penelope, and Reign) were born during her marriage to Scott Disick, and Barker shares two of his three children (Atiana, Landon, and Alabama) with his ex-wife Shanna Moakler.
The arrival of baby Rocky in November brought the size of their blended family to nine, their children ranging in age from under one (Rocky) to 20 (Travis’ son, Landon Barker).
Kourtney’s ‘Mom Guilt’ Confessional Was Relatable
Kourtney and Travis were both candid about their hope to have a biological child together, as well as voicing their fears that a new baby might not be in the cards for them.
Kourt and Travis remained deeply excited about the arrival of baby Rocky, and went so far as to engage in some iffy, kind of unpalatable rituals after he was born.
In this week’s episode, Kourtney admitted that she gets consumed by “mom guilt” in her attempts to “balance” relationships with all seven of her children (step and biological), and mused:
“I have kids all different age ranges — preteen, teenage, adults, an infant. So I really try to set aside one-on-one time with each of my kids … I don’t want to miss anything.
It’s like a feeling of being pulled in different directions, like wanting to be everything to everyone.”
It didn’t sound like Kourtney didn’t anticipate new challenges in transitioning from being a parent of three to a parent of seven, nor that she’d forgotten how much work newborns can be.
Rather, Kourt’s remarks were unusually relatable, in as much as she described a feeling to which all parents likely relate on some level — that a lot of the time, it feels like there’s not enough of her time or energy to go around, no matter how hard she tries.
People paraphrased her as she discussed things like “balancing” the needs of her older children with finding one-on-one time with baby Rocky:
“… in the scene, the mom of four tells [friend Erin] Paxton that she’s now ‘feeling the guilt of all the kids,’ adding that she’s now a mom to ‘four plus three bonus.’
“‘And yesterday the guilt really hit where I was like, ‘Okay I have to do more with the other kids.’ So I don’t know how I’m balancing it yet,’ she admits.
“In her confessional, Kardashian Barker explains that her time spent with her baby son Rocky feels ‘rare,’ making it harder to leave the house.”
Kourtney Gets Criticized A Lot By Her Family And FansAnd She’s Usually The Odd One Out Among Her Sisters
Due to their initial worries about conception and ensuing pregnancy-related health scares, Kourt was reserved both during the pregnancy and for “40 days” after Rocky’s birth, maintaining an intentional distance that spurred conflict with her admittedly overbearing sisters, and her mother, Kris Jenner.
Kourtney and her sister Kim Kardashian also have some ongoing problems with their sisterly relationship, leading to resentment that often boils over, both on-screen and off.
It’s fair to say that Kim and Kourtney not only don’t always see eye to eye, and moreover, their interpersonal issues have seemingly only worsened over the past few years — back in October, the duo bickered after Kim cruelly bragged about an anti-Kourtney group chat.
Kourt’s marriage to Travis seemed to exacerbate the tensions significantly, suggesting she doesn’t have the largest base of support in the Kardashian-Jenner clan.
On July 11, OK! Magazine published an item claiming Kourtney “discarded” her sisters to focus on Travis, fueling the perceived divide.
An unnamed source told the site:
“[Kourtney] has pushed [her sisters] away and deals with them as if they are her coworkers. Things are very fake and forced when filming the show.”
In addition to her sisters, Kourtney is also constantly scrutinized by fans of The Kardashians, and in March, she was castigated after pH๏τographs appeared to depict her son Reign riding in the back of a pickup truck in Australia.
In late June, Kourtney was slammed as “privileged” by fans, criticized for her embrace of attachment parenting (among other things):
“Critics argued that Kourtney’s parenting approach is feasible only for those with substantial financial resources (like the Kardashian-Jenner family), allowing them the luxury of time and energy to dedicate to their children.
“They suggested that such a parenting style would be unattainable for working-class families, making Kourt’s atтιтude appear out-of-touch.