Creative option to help your kids cope with divorce

When you realized your marriage was headed for divorce, you began to consider ways you might be able to help your children come to terms with idea. A main concern of yours involved telling your kids you’d all be moving to a new home. They really like where they live now, have been at the same school for a long time and have established friendships, as well as participate in various sports and community activities. You don’t want to bear the news that all that’s about to change.  

The good news is you may have another option! Many Colorado parents implement a creative form of co-parenting in divorce known as bird nesting. You can research the topic to determine if you think it may be a viable option in your situation. It definitely doesn’t work in all cases; however, if you try it and decide it’s not best for your family, you can always ask the court to modify your parenting plan. If you know where to seek support ahead of time, that process needn’t be difficult. 

This is how bird nesting works     

While there are various ways to carry out a bird-nesting plan, the main idea behind the system is that kids stay living in the house they shared when their parents were married and parents take turns living with them. The following facts explain the process further and may be useful to help you determine whether bird nesting is a good option for you: 

• Bird nesting works best for parents who get along well and are able to amicably communicate on a regular basis. The process requires cooperation and compromise, so if you and your former spouse are constantly at each other’s throats, you may want avoid a bird-nesting arrangement. 
• With bird nesting, you can help your children maintain a sense of normalcy and bring the least amount of disruption to their lives as possible regarding your divorce. They won’t have to shuttle back and forth between households although you will, so that’s something to consider as well.  
• As with all post-divorce parenting plans, you need to seek the court’s approval before entering a bird nesting arrangement.  
• Another major decision in a bird-nesting plan is whether you and your former spouse will take up separate residences when it’s not your turn to live with your kids or will share a single residence, rotating in and out of it as you do your children’s home. 

You may benefit from talking to other Colorado parents who are currently bird nesting or have tried it in the past. Seeking opinions on both sides of the issue, those that found bird nesting agreeable and those who didn’t, can help you make informed decisions regarding your own family’s future.  

If a legal problem arises before, during or after you begin bird nesting, you can seek support to negotiate a solution to the problem. Like all parenting arrangements, there will likely be challenges along the way; if you have a strong support system in place, you may be able to overcome most problems before they get out of hand.