Today’s Parenting Arrangements After Divorce
The days of divorced dads picking up their kids every other Friday evening and bringing them back home to Mom Sunday nights may not be Completely gone yet, but they’re dwindling. Today’s divorced parents are changing the child custody landscape with continued co-habitation, nesting and other creative, non-traditional co-parenting arrangements.
Nesting
Divorce can be hard on kids, no matter what age they are. While dealing with the separation of their parents is by far the hardest thing to handle, moving back and forth between homes is almost equally as disruptive. To combat this, some parents are giving children custody of the family home in an arrangement called nesting.
Instead of moving the kids in and out of the house, each parent takes turns living in the family home with the kids. This allows the children to remain in familiar surroundings,continue going to the same schools, remain involved in their established extra-curricular activities and stay in close contact with their friends. Mom and Dad maintain separate residences where they live temporarily while the other stays with the children, parenting them in the “nest” for set time periods.
Shared Space
Maintaining two or three residences is cost-prohibitive for many divorced couples. Some divorced parents opt instead to continue sharing their former “marital home” with their children after divorce. They may live together as room-mates while co-parenting simultaneously or they might establish a schedule allowing them to take turns. If the house is large enough, they might each have their own smaller removed … Continue Reading ...