Birdnesting: Everything you need to know about the new divorce trend

In this day and age, there’s far too many lifestyle ‘trends’ to get our heads around, from dating to food and fitness.

So it makes a refreshing change when one of them actually seems to make a whole lot of practical sense.

Enter: ‘birdnesting’, the divorce trend to know about.

The concept of birdnesting is all to do with living arrangements after a divorce.

Instead of the children moving between both parents’ homes in order to spend time with them, birdnesting involves having one home for the children, which the parents take turns living in, much the way birds return to and from their nests where their chicks are – hence the name.

Sounds sensible, right?

Why is it a good idea?

First and foremost, birdnesting eradicates one of the worst aspects of divorce: the uprooting of the children’s lives.

Instead of having to pack their bags and travel to mum or dad’s at the weekend, birdnesting allows them to have one base where they can call home.

They can keep all of their toys and belongings in one place, allowing them to deal with the change at an easier pace.

Children of newly divorced parents can also avoid long annoying travel situations. With birdnesting, they can enjoy staying near their school, not having to leave at the weekend and spending time with friends if they wish.

To add to that, divorce often means one parent moving into a smaller apartment or home (temporarily or not) where they need to ‘make space’ for their children. This way, there’s no cramming of kid’s beds and pop-up play areas.

Bonus.

What are the cons?

With any divorce, communication and compromise is required, and surely never more so than with birdnesting.

The unique living set-up would require strict rules regarding who will do the chores, pay the bills, take and collect the children from school and deciding who will stay during which days of the week.

And that’s before all of the emotional aspects, which are sure to be points of conflict for couples in the throes of breakup.

What if one party outstays their welcome?

What if they invite their new partner over?

Birdnesting is a bit of an ‘ideal situation’ set-up – how many divorced couples do you know that would want to share the same bed as their ex?

It’s also worth noting that birdnesting is a concept that assumes both parties are able to afford their own place as well as the shared home for the children. Which is pretty rare in costly break-ups.

Still, as far as divorce set-ups go, we think one makes a lot of sense.

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