Los Angeles, CA – December 2, 2025 – In a candid confessional that has resonated with new parents worldwide, Kourtney Kardashian Barker, the eldest of the Kardashian-Jenner siblings, revealed the raw vulnerability she experienced upon becoming a mother for the first time at age 30. Despite her poised public persona and the family's burgeoning fame, Kardashian Barker admitted to feeling utterly adrift, stating, "Nobody told me what to do. I didn’t read any books," during the latest episode of Hulu's The Kardashians, which aired on November 27. This revelation came as part of a broader discussion on her parenting evolution, highlighting how, as the first in her famous family to welcome a child, she navigated motherhood without a roadmap—relying solely on instinct.
Kardashian Barker's journey into parenthood began on December 14, 2009, when she and then-boyfriend Scott Disick welcomed their son, Mason Disick, now 15. At 30, she was stepping into uncharted territory not just personally, but as a trailblazer for her siblings. Kim Kardashian wouldn't give birth to her first child, North West, until 2013, when she was 32; Khloé followed in 2018 with True Thompson at 33; Rob Kardashian's daughter Dream arrived that same year; Kylie Jenner debuted as a mom in 2018 with Stormi Webster at 20; Kendall Jenner remains child-free at 30; and Kris Jenner, the family's matriarch, had her own children much earlier, starting with Kourtney in 1979 when Kris was just 24. "Kourtney was the first of the Kardashian-Jenner clan to have children of their own," confirmed sources close to the family, underscoring the irony of her isolation in that milestone.
The episode, titled "Attachment Issues," featured Kardashian Barker hosting a seminar at her sprawling Los Angeles mansion with renowned parenting expert Erica Komisar, author of Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood Is the Next Feminist Frontier. Amid discussions on co-sleeping and breastfeeding—practices she still employs with her youngest, son Rocky Thirteen Barker, now 2—Kardashian Barker opened up about those early days with Mason. "When I was 30 and I had Mason, nobody told me what to do," she shared in a voiceover, her tone a mix of nostalgia and bemusement. "I didn’t read any books, but the way that I felt, my maternal instinct, was to do attachment parenting." Attachment parenting, a philosophy popularized by Dr. William Sears in his 2001 book The Attachment Parenting Book, emphasizes responsive caregiving, physical closeness, and emotional bonding—elements that, for Kardashian Barker, emerged organically rather than from study.
This admission echoes sentiments she expressed over a decade ago in a 2011 interview with CNN, where she described bringing Mason home from the hospital: "I remember coming home... and having no idea what we were doing. Scott and I changed his diaper together, but after a day, it was like 'Oh!' I got it." Even then, as a 31-year-old new mom, she confessed to limited prior experience with infants, having been in high school and college during the births of her younger half-sisters, Kendall and Kylie. That lack of hands-on preparation amplified the shock of motherhood's demands, a feeling compounded by the couple's decision to film the birth for Keeping Up with the Kardashians (KUWTK), which was in its early seasons and catapulted the family to stardom.
Kardashian Barker's path to Mason's arrival was far from straightforward. She and Disick, who began dating in 2006 after meeting at a party, faced public scrutiny from the outset. KUWTK premiered in 2007, capturing their whirlwind romance and the subsequent pregnancy announcement in 2009, which shocked even her family. "We weren't young parents, but at 30 and 26, it felt like stepping off a cliff," Kardashian Barker reflected in the recent episode, noting how she continued working through her pregnancy—managing the launch of her boutiques, D-A-S-H in Calabasas—because "I didn’t really think it was an option not to work." This hustle mirrored the family's ethos under Kris Jenner's guidance, but it left little room for prenatal classes or downtime. "Now, I have the option not to work, and I feel grateful to be able to find what I connect to," she added, a nod to her current life as founder of the wellness brand Lemme and stepmother to Travis Barker's children.
As her family grew, so did her parenting acumen. Before welcoming daughter Penelope Scotland Disick in 2012 at age 33, Kardashian Barker dove into research, finally cracking open The Attachment Parenting Book. "It was more intentional," she explained, crediting it with shaping a more structured approach amid the chaos of raising a toddler while filming KUWTK. Penelope's birth, like Mason's, was televised, but this time with greater confidence. Son Reign Aston Disick followed in 2014, born via emergency C-section after a placental abruption, a health scare that tested the family's resilience and marked the beginning of tensions with Disick, who struggled with substance abuse issues documented on the show. The couple split in 2015 amid Disick's infidelity and rehab stints, but co-parenting their three children has remained a focal point, often fraught with disagreements over education and lifestyle—most recently, Kardashian Barker's advocacy for homeschooling, which Disick has publicly opposed as "irresponsible."
Today, at 46, Kardashian Barker's blended family with husband Travis Barker—whom she married in 2022 after a Portofino elopement and Santa Barbara ceremony—numbers seven children, including stepchildren Landon (21), Alabama (19), and Atiana De La Hoya (25) from Barker's prior marriage to Shanna Moakler. Their son Rocky, born November 4, 2023, after a harrowing pregnancy involving urgent fetal surgery for fluid around his lungs, represents a triumphant chapter. "I’m really just all about nourishing my body and eating the best foods to keep up my milk supply," she shared in a 2024 The Kardashians episode, contrasting this intentional postpartum period with her "rookie" days. Notably, she continues extended breastfeeding with Rocky, a choice she discussed at a Women's Wear Daily event in November 2025, attributing her energy to sobriety and supplements despite the physical toll.
Kardashian Barker's reflections have sparked a broader conversation on modern motherhood, particularly for high-profile women balancing fame, business, and family. In the seminar with Komisar, she grappled with "mom guilt" over habits like scrolling on her phone during breastfeeding—a practice the expert advised against for fostering connection. "I did not know the breastfeeding phone [thing]. Now I’m like, the guilt that I have," she confessed, a relatable admission that humanizes her amid the glamour. Social media reactions have poured in, with fans on X praising her authenticity: "Kourtney is a good example of it’s never too late... she had her first child at 30," one user noted, challenging societal timelines for milestones. Another echoed, "20s are for self-growth, 30s for loving others," aligning with Kardashian Barker's own timeline.
Her story also underscores the evolution of the Kardashian empire. Before KUWTK, Kourtney was the family's quiet achiever—a University of Arizona graduate with a theater arts degree who co-founded D-A-S-H in 2006 with Kim and Khloé. She even predated the family's reality TV fame by starring in E!'s Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive in 2005. Motherhood amplified her wellness advocacy, leading to Poosh in 2018 and Lemme, which won "Brand of the Year: Wellness" at the 2025 WWD Beauty Inc Awards. Yet, as she told British Vogue in 2023 amid her pregnancy with Rocky, the judgments of "mature motherhood" persist: "Something about being a more mature mum seems to encourage well-meaning people to tell you how they see it."
Kardashian Barker's openness serves as a beacon for women entering motherhood later in life, a demographic on the rise. According to the CDC, the average age of first-time mothers in the U.S. has climbed to 27, with many in their 30s citing career stability and personal readiness as factors—mirroring her experience. By sharing her "no idea what to do" moments, she dismantles the myth of the perfect parent, reminding us that even in a family synonymous with curation, vulnerability is the ultimate authenticity.
As The Kardashians enters its seventh season, expect more from this chapter: teases of family holidays, co-parenting dynamics, and perhaps Rocky's first on-camera glimpses (face obscured, per Kourtney's protective stance). For now, her words linger: Instinct over instruction, grace over guilt. In the high-stakes world of celebrity parenting, that's a revolution worth watching.
