gistfile1.txt

package com.your.packagename.here;

import android.content.Context;
import android.util.AttributeSet;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.FrameLayout;

import java.util.ArrayList;

/**
 * When using fragments, the xml used for the Fragment's view (that is used in onCreateView) cannot
 * have the root element be a <merge/> or <include/> tag. To fix this deficiency, this
 * View will serve as a valid view to inflate a merge or include element into. When this view is
 * attached, it will then remove itself from its parent and add all its children to the parent.
 */
public class ReParentViewGroup extends FrameLayout {

    public ReParentViewGroup(Context context) {
        this(context, null);
    }

    public ReParentViewGroup(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
        this(context, attrs, 0);
    }

    public ReParentViewGroup(Context context, AttributeSet attrs, int defStyleAttr) {
        super(context, attrs, defStyleAttr);
    }

    @Override
    public void onAttachedToWindow() {
        super.onAttachedToWindow();
        ViewGroup parent = (ViewGroup) getParent();

        //remove myself
        parent.removeView(this);

        //get my children
        ArrayList<View> children = new ArrayList<>();
        for (int i = 0; i < getChildCount(); i++) {
            View child = getChildAt(i);
            children.add(child);
        }

        //remove my children
        removeAllViews();

        //add my children to my parent
        for (View v : children) {
            parent.addView(v);
        }
    }
}

I Use tags in layout and when I inflate it and attach to root it works just fine. Done dozen custom views and none of them crashed.