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Kourtney Kardashian Barker is pausing to think about mothering and that necessary emotional connection with kids. The celebrity, who is also the owner of Poosh and reality star, shared an image on Instagram, where she showed her gratitude for the parenting doctor Erica Komisar’s chat that was featured in the new episode of ‘The Kardashians.’ Kourtney Kardashian Barker said that, at the same time, she became a bit nervous about the major issue of parenthood and constantly referred to the work of Komisar through her charitable organization, which caused her to receive many comments from people about the modern way of parenting being so real and so full of pressures.
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But it is not only Kourtney Kardashian Barker, who is revealing the glam and the real mom life—she is getting real about it. In her long reflective post, she talked about having psychoanalyst and parenting expert Erica Komisar over at her place for an open discussion. The discussion was shown on the family’s Hulu series and dealt with subjects like attachment theory, emotional regulation, and the critical early years of a child’s development, among others. Barker said that he first discovered Komisar through a podcast and felt an instant connection with her.
“I feel both blessed and a little unsure of how to prioritize everything on my plate,” Barker said, corresponding to the feelings of many parents. She raised the issue of Komisar’s organization, Attachment Circles, whose goal is to foster strong and lasting relationships between kids and caregivers, claiming that such bonds are “a prerequisite for lifelong mental wellness.” The post served not just as a show recap but rather like an invitation to a more intimate and weaker side of Kourtney’s world-the part where she is struggling to get things right, just like the rest of us.
The video clip that happened to be part of his presentation opened the door to Komisar’s no-nonsense method. The expert said that in her practice, she had met children as young as two years being treated with drugs to curb their behavioral issues; this eventually led to her unveiling hard neuroscience and giving practical tips to others. Komisar said, “If you yourself are emotionally regulated, if you are calm, you model it for your children.” She even pointed to Kourtney’s own choice to go with her infant son Rocky to Australia, saying, “If you have to work and travel, always take your baby with you.”
Yet, as it is always the case with parenting advice—particularly when it is coming from a person with a huge following like Kourtney, reactions were mixed. A lot of people saw it as a nice message. “I’m a brand new mom and literally just this week I was thinking, ‘Wow, Kourtney is awesome; I wish she would let us into her mothering & motherhood,’” was the message of one commenter. “You’ve been one of the best public role models on this topic for so many, including me.”
There were also people who shared their own heartwarming stories that matched the attachment theory. “I slept with my mom until I turned ten,” one user shared. “My childhood was full of…I always felt so safe.” Another user agreed, “My daughter has my shirt with her to sleep every night. We co-slept for a long time. I think that is why she is so courageous now.”
Not a few people took the opposite view, arguing that the advice was not only questionable but also misapplied in its style. One user, who called himself a therapist, was the author of a rather comprehensive critique. He called for people to “not haste in discarding the criticism of this particular therapist,” and proceeded to label Komisar’s approach as “too simplistic” and “too maternal-centered.” The person warned that such a paradigm could inflict harm, “forcing issues like daycare to be seen in opposition to the attachment theory” and creating guilt for working mothers in the process. “Happy parents raise happy kids,” he summed up. “You don’t have to be stuck to your kids all day every day in order to guarantee healthy mental development.”
This triggered a broader discussion about privilege and reality. “You do you, but for every mother out there doing their best don’t feel bad. This is not real life,” one user said, indicating the vast chasm between Kourtney’s financial and other resources and the typical family. Another simply commented, “In an ideal world, we would be allowed to stay with our babies till they are ready for school. Unfortunately, almost every household these days needs two incomes just to make ends meet.”
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Some people simply viewed the whole thing as no longer relevant and out of touch with the public. “This was the most tone-deaf scene I’ve ever seen on the show,” was one critic’s verdict. “Everyone is tiptoeing trying to protect your bubble, bubble of ignorance.” Another one bluntly remarked that taking a four-month-old on a long-haul flight is a topic that reminds many of the emotional family moments discussed by Kris Jenner.