Bird’s nest parenting offers increased family stability during divorce and can be beneficial to both parents and children, providing increased family cohesiveness and parenting opportunities that otherwise might not exist. These continued family connections and interactions may lessen the impact of the divorce on the family.
Stabilize Family Structure
The emotional trauma associated with divorce affects the entire family. In many divorces, parents struggle to maintain their connection with their children, while children suffer stress from the loss of parental relationships and family stability.
When appropriate, a child custody attorney may recommend bird’s nest parenting as an approach to lessen the emotional trauma of divorce on the entire family. The concept of bird’s nesting is simple.
- Parents share custody of the children
- Children remain in the family home (the nest)
- Parents rotate living in the home with the children
The benefits of this child custody arrangement are many. Children remain connected to both parents and are not forced to move back and forth between the parents’ homes. Parents continue to have access to their children’s home and are not forced into situations that allow only minimal contact. The family structure remains more intact and stable for all parties.
May Not Be for Everyone
Although it can resolve many of the family stress issues of divorce, bird’s nest parenting may not be for everyone. For it to work parents must agree to share custody and agree to co-parent, have another place to stay when it is not their turn in the home, and agree to the expense of maintaining separate households. Bird nesting works best when the divorce is amicable and parents are dedicated to providing an ongoing family structure for children.
Successful Bird’s Nest Parenting
To be successful, bird’s nest parenting requires the child custody attorney to structure an agreement formalizing the responsibilities of each parent, the home live-in schedule, and methods for resolving future disputes away from the children. The most important factors, however, are the parents, who must be willing to maintain family cohesiveness and continued shared parenting despite the divorce.
