Some may agree, while others might hesitate to admit it, but deep down, everyone dreams of building a family. The ideal picture often looks like this: your partner and child cuddled up on the couch, with a playful pup running around. But when reality strikes, those dreams can sometimes fall apart. Relationships don't always last.

Unlike earlier times, when the end of a relationship often meant one parent becoming distant, today, many separated couples choose to stay equally involved in their child's life. This is why more and more estranged couples are turning to co-parenting.

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But does this approach truly have a future? And can former partners really remain that civil and cooperative after a breakup?

The rise of co-parenting

Ruchika Kanwal, founder and clinical psychologist, Anamkaaruh Therapy Care and Counselling, New Delhi, tells India Today that after a separation or divorce, co-parenting is when two parents continue to work together to raise their children.

"The idea behind it is that even though the relationship between adults may end, the commitment to raise and teach a child stays the same. When it comes to education, healthcare, morals, or everyday routines, co-parenting means that people have to put aside their differences and work together as a team, where everyone's opinion is important."

Kanwal goes on to explain that more and more separated parents are cho