Jon and Kate plus Eight: Out of the marriage and into the bird nest?

By: Mike Mastracci


The world looks on as Jon and Kate travel down the path to divorce. Those eight angels deserve stability along with the right and expectations to have two parents raise them. Both Jon and Kate Glosselin have indicated that they plan to take turns leaving the family home, a practice known in the divorce circles as “bird nesting” or simply “nesting.” This shared parenting practice has only recently started to gain broad acceptance, but with Jon and Kate in the lime-light it will likely emerge as a viable alternative to many tradition “visitation” arrangements.

The “research” is all over the map as to what is in the “best interests” of children caught in the middle of separation and divorce. Research clearly demonstrates that how a couple divorces is more telling than the divorce itself. It is always in the children’s best interests to have parents who can put their anger, bitterness and selfishness aside and demonstrate by their words and actions that they love their children more than they may dislike their ex. Nesting provides such an opportunity. Generally speaking, the best schedule to follow is whatever works best for the kids and not necessarily what is most convenient for mom or dad.

For the very wealthy, as well as for the economically challenged, nesting can work well for everyone. The children did not ask for the divorce so why should they have to change houses, make new friends, lose old friends, change schools and go back and forth like a family Frisbee? When the family has money, each parent can have a new “freedom pad” for their own single life when they do not have the kids. When that parent does not have them, the other one will be back at the former marital home, “the nest,” with the children and exercising their parenting time. For the economically challenged, their “freedom pad” might be back to mom’s basement or on a trusted friend’s couch for a few days a week.

For the Glosselin family it would be nearly impossible to design a more traditional child access schedule such as every other weekend and a night or two during the week for the non-custodial parent. For anyone who has watched the show, the potential difficulties are all too obvious and such chaos would not likely be in anyone’s best interests. For varied reasons, some people don’t care for Jon, and for others, Kate is no great catch. But, give credit where credit is due.
Jon and Kate claim that they bought their dream house for the kids. It looks like they meant it.


Mike Mastracci is a nationally recognized family law attorney and is the author of the newly released and highly praised book, Stop Fighting Over the Kids: Resolving Day-to-Day Custody Conflict in Divorce Situations. He maintains a very popular family law Blog: www.DivorceWithoutDishonor.com For more information visit www.StopFightingOverTheKids.com

Posted by: ChildSharing.com

ChildSharing, Inc Provides $10 Off Classes for Parents During National Child-Centered Divorce

The third annual recognition of National Child-Centered Divorce Month is being launched with complimentary gifts for parents throughout the month of July.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Jul 01, 2009 – Divorce book author, Rosalind Sedacca, CCT, founder of the Child-Centered Divorce Network, initiated National Child-Centered Divorce Month. “These weeks are dedicated to helping parents make the best possible decisions regarding their children during and after a divorce.”

To help spread the word throughout North America, ChildSharing, Inc. ,along with a group of other leading divorce experts, will be providing free ebooks, coaching sessions and other complimentary gifts for divorcing and divorced parents throughout July.

As a participant, ChildSharing, Inc. will be offering a $10 discount during the month of July, to individuals in an effort to better educate divorcing/separating parents who have been court ordered to attend a parenting program

Julie Johnson, ChildSharing, Inc.’s Vice President, says “We are happy to be supporting National Child Centered Divorce Month in an effort to bring about more awareness of the children and their specific needs. Cost-effective educational programs to aid parents in today’s economy is ever present. As counties across the nation adopt new processes and procedures and become aware of advancing technologies, we are happy to provide both counties and residents new alternatives to meet the changing demand. ChildSharing is a cost effective and efficient solution to meeting the court mandated parent education requirement.”

“I am thrilled to have an award winning website such as ChildSharing.com participating with us during National Child-Centered Divorce Month,” adds Sedacca. “This website and resource is a welcome addition to our outstanding team of participants.”

Parents can access all the divorce and parenting-related gifts by visiting http://www.ChildSharing.com/ChildCenteredDivorceMonth where they can click on descriptions of each item as well as background information about each expert.

To learn more about the free teleseminar series and other activities connected with National Child-Centered Divorce Month visit: www.childcentereddivorce.com or www.childsharing.com/ChildCenteredDivorceMonth. Media are invited to contact Sedacca directly at Rosalind@childcentereddivorce.com.

Media interested in scheduling an interview with ChildSharing, Inc. representatives regarding its online program should contact Julie Johnson in the development planning office at: 949-275-3127 or Julie@ChildSharing.com.

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Founded in 2008, ChildSharing, Inc. is dedicated to advancing the field of child-sharing as a means of better educating families faced with divorce. Guided by a strong development team, ChildSharing works with experts throughout the United States to provide its members with the most comprehensive information and other resources for educating families in transition. For more information about ChildSharing, Inc and its team of experts, visit http://www.ChildSharing.com.