Divorce is difficult, particularly if you have children. If you are trying to figure out ways to make your divorce easier on your kids, you are not alone. Millions of Americans are experimenting with a variety of different living situations to help their children adjust to life after divorce.
Often, one of the most challenging aspects is adjusting to your family’s new living situation. According to Psychology Today, more Americans are turning to a novel living arrangement in hopes of smoothing the transition into divorced life: nesting.
What is it?
The moniker nesting comes from this living situation’s similarities to the movement of parent birds attending to children in the nest. That is, baby birds do not leave the nest; rather, the parents are the ones who move in and out.
This is the idea behind nesting. Instead of setting up two separate houses for your children to move between, you keep the children in one living situation and it is the parents that rotate according to the custody schedule. Essentially, nesting leaves one parent “on-duty” in the family home while the other parent is “off-duty” and lives elsewhere.
Is it for us?
Nesting provides many benefits, but it only suits families under certain conditions. Namely, you and your ex-spouse must be on good enough terms to maintain the family home in a joint matter. If you and your ex-spouse cannot have a conversation without it turning into an argument, it is unlikely that nesting will be a successful situation for you. However, if you and your spouse want to work together to provide the most stable environment possible for your children, nesting is worth a second look.
