Many divorce cases lead to shared custody, and couples address this by moving their kids back and forth between their homes. The kids may live with one parent for a week and then move to the other parent’s house.
But there is an alternative, which is having the kids live in the same house all the time, while the parents move in and out. This custody arrangement is known as birdnesting.
Benefits for the children
For the kids, birdnesting creates stability. They’re always in their own home, with all of their toys, books, clothes and other familiar items. They don’t have to go through the hassle of moving every week or every few days. They still get to see both parents and life may seem relatively similar to how it was before the divorce.
Drawbacks for the parents
Most of the downsides are related to how this arrangement works for the parents. It is beneficial that they both get to see their children, but birdnesting can be very expensive. At a minimum, the parents need two different places to live, and that’s only if they agree to share both of them.
Additionally, birdnesting can be difficult after a divorce because parents still have to communicate and work together in many different areas. How do they divide up household chores? Who pays the mortgage? Who is responsible for doing maintenance and upkeep or covering those costs? There’s not nearly as much separation between the parents, so this arrangement won’t work for all couples.
Child custody options
Even so, birdnesting shows how many child custody options there are and why it’s so important to consider all of them carefully when going through the legal process of getting a divorce.