Co-Parenting Strategies for Divorced Parents

 Posted on March 28, 2018 in Child Custody

If you are a parent who is considering divorce, you are most likely concerned about how the divorce will affect your child. While divorce can be a difficult concept for a child to understand and accept, there is nothing that says a child living with divorced parents will automatically be less fulfilled or content in life than a child whose parents are still married. There are several methods that parents can use to share custody of their children after a divorce which do not decrease the quality of the parent-child relationship.

Traditional Two-House Arrangement

The most common arrangement after parents divorce is for one parent to stay in the family home and the other to move out. Sometimes both parents move out of the family home and establish themselves as a single people elsewhere. Parents can share parental responsibilities (formerly called custody) and parenting time (visitation) by creating a schedule which works with their particular circumstances. Some families find that an every-other weekend visitation schedule is best while others prefer closer to fifty-fifty when it comes to parenting time.

The Bird’s Nest Strategy

Some experts believe that transporting children between two houses can be unnecessarily burdensome for both the children and the adults. As an alternative to the traditional co-parenting approach, some families have turned to the “bird’s nest strategy.” In this scenario, parents take turns living at the “nest” home while the children always live there. For example, the children stay in the family home while their mother and father each have their own apartment. The first two weeks of every month the father stays in the nest home and the last two weeks of every month, the mother stays in the nest home. While this method eliminates the need to move children between two houses, it can be quite expensive.

Living Together as Divorced Parents

Although it may seem strange, some divorced parents choose to continue living together after their divorce. Families in high cost of living areas such as New York City or Chicago are more likely use this strategy than in other places. While it may not be ideal, this strategy can save significant money for those struggling to make ends meet.

Parallel Parenting

Sometimes, parents want to share custody of their children but they simply cannot get along. A parallel parenting strategy means that parents have little interaction with each other but are still both an important part of their child’s life. In situations where parents are hostile toward each other, parents can communicate about their children through a third party in order to eliminate the risk of confrontation.

If you are a parent planning to get divorced, the experienced DuPage County family lawyers at Pesce Law Group, P.C. can help you put together a reasonable parenting arrangement that protects your rights. To speak with a member of our team call 630-352-2240 today.

Sources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/co-parenting-after-divorce/201307/birds-nest-co-parenting-arrangements

https://www.redbookmag.com/love-sex/relationships/advice/a14116/living-with-an-ex-after-divorce/

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/tiffany-benyacko/5-reasons-why-parallel-parenting-is-better-than-co-parenting_b_8679076.html