If you are getting divorced and have children, it is likely that you and your ex-spouse will hold joint custody of your children in the aftermath. Known as co-parenting, this legal division of custody has many benefits for children. Even if you and your ex-spouse divorce, being equally involved in the lives of your children after is important.
However, this does not make co-parenting an easy situation. One of the common issues associated with co-parenting is moving the children between two separate households. In an attempt to solve this problem, some families have been engaging in “nesting,” which is where the children stay in one home and the parents rotate in and out like birds at the nest.
How is this beneficial?
Moving children back and forth between two separate residences can be stressful. Often, parents need to have two separate sets of all vital items like toothbrushes and pajamas. It is very easy for a child to forget a precious stuffed animal or an important school assignment at the other parent’s house. Keeping the children in one home alleviates these issues.
Additionally, nesting may be the only way families can keep their children in the same school district with the same friends if they reside in an expensive neighborhood. Nesting allows the parents to financially maintain the family home without both parents needing to live there at the same time.
Where does the “off-duty” parent go?
This depends on the arrangement, but in some cases the parent who is not in the house will live with other family or friends. Sometimes, the parents agree to maintain a separate apartment for the parent who is not “on-duty” to live in.
