Shared parenting, shared residence, joint residence, shared custody or joint physical custody is a child custody arrangement after divorce or separation, in which both parents share the responsibility of raising their children, with equal or close to equal parenting time. A regime of shared parenting is based on the idea that children have the right to and benefit from a close relationship with both their parents, and that no child should be separated from a parent.
The term Shared Parenting is applied in cases of divorce, separation or when parents do not live together; in contrast, a shared earning/shared parenting marriage is a marriage where the partners choose to share the work of child-raising, earning money, house chores and recreation time in nearly equal fashion across all four domains. Shared parenting is different from split custody, where some children live primarily with their mother while one or more of their siblings live primarily with their father.
Bird's nest custody is an unusual form of shared parenting where the child always lives in the same home, while the two parents take turns living with the child in that home. Its long-term use can be expensive as it requires three residences, and it is most commonly used as a temporary shared parenting arrangement until one parent has found a suitable home elsewhere.
Frequency.
The popularity of shared parenting is increasing. The frequency of shared parenting versus sole custody varies across countries, being most common in Scandinavia.
In a comparative survey of 34 western countries conducted in 2005/06, the proportion of 11-15-year-old children living in a shared parenting arrangement versus sole custody was highest in Sweden (17%), followed by Iceland (11%), Belgium (11%), Denmark (10%), Italy (9%) and Norway (9%). Ukraine, Poland, Croatia, Turkey, the Netherlands, and Romania all had 2% or less. Among the English-speaking countries, Canada and the United Kingdom had 7% while the United States and Ireland had 5%.
Shared parenting is increasing in popularity and it is particularly common in Scandinavia. By 2016/17, the percentage in Sweden had increased to 28%; with 26% for children aged 0-5 years, 34% among the 6-12 year old age group, and 23% among the oldest children ages 13-18.
