Belonging and Belongings
Children’s Sense of Home in Shared Custody Arrangements
By Laura Merla and Bérengère Nobels
ISBN
978-1529236583Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressISBN
978-1529236590Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University Press
Belonging and Belongings
In the media:
Visit the virtual exhibition
Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.
Based on in-depth fieldwork with Belgian children aged 10 to 16, this book examines how children in shared physical custody define and negotiate their place within the household of each parent.
The authors analyse how family practices within and between each dwelling shape children’s sense home, and the strategies and skills children develop to manage and position themselves in these different environments.
Challenging common stereotypes and giving voice to children in shared custody, the book provides valuable insights for practitioners and scholars to better understand and support children and their parents.
Laura Merla is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Families and Sexualities (CIRFASE) at the University of Louvain.
Bérengère Nobels is Scientific Collaborator at the University of Louvain.
1. Shared Custody and Sense of Home: The Child's Point of View
2. Parental Islands
3. The Journey Between Islands: Transitioning from One Dwelling to the Other
4. Routines and Rituals of Return
5. Making Each Island 'One's Own Island': Defining and Negotiating One's Place
6. Maintaining One's Place During Absence
7. A 'Singular-Plural' Sense of Home
Concluding Reflections
