What is “nesting” and why is it becoming popular?

On Behalf of | Feb 2, 2021 | Custody And Visitation |

There are several reasons why getting a divorce with children is exceedingly difficult, and one may be figuring out your living situation. Traditionally, both parents set up separate living situations and the children move between them. However, this can be a problematic situation for many families.

In response, some families have decided to experiment with “nesting.” As per Psychology Today, in this living situation, it is the parents that move in and out of the house that the children permanently live in, rather than the children moving to the parents.

Why would we want to do this?

There are several reasons why moving children between two different living situations may not be favorable. One reason may be a special-needs child. If your child requires specialized medical equipment of some kind, moving him or her between two households could be dangerous.

This may also be a remedy for older children who might balk at moving between houses so often. Nesting keeps them in one spot and may stop a lot of arguments. It is also possible that you live in a very expensive area and that you would not be able to keep your children in the same school district if both parents needed to maintain living arrangements as singles.

How long does this last?

Most nesting situations are somewhat temporary, as the parents typically do want to create their own living situations at some point. But it is also possible for nesting situations to last for years. An example would be raising children until they were old enough to graduate high school.

Nesting may require you to work harder to get along with the other parent and step back from your former relationship than if you did not share a household. However, the tradeoff can be very helpful for your children.

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