Home › Custody Schedules
Every custody schedule, compared
Fifteen patterns with a two-week calendar, the overnight split, how many exchanges each involves, and which ages it suits. Pick one, see it on a real calendar, then write it into your parenting agreement.
Which schedule fits which age
The single most useful filter. Young children need short gaps and can tolerate many exchanges; teenagers want long blocks and few moves. Three dots means well suited, two means workable, one means usually poor.
| Schedule | Split | Infants | Toddlers | Preschool | School age | Teens |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-2-3 | 50/50 | ●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●● | ● |
| 2-2-5-5 | 50/50 | ● | ●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●● |
| 5-2-2-5 | 50/50 | ● | ●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●●● |
| 3-4-4-3 | 50/50 | ● | ●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●● |
| 3-3-4-4 | 50/50 | ● | ●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●● |
| 4-3 | 60/40 | ●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●● |
| 4-4-3 (4+4+3) | 50/50 | ● | ●● | ●● | ●●● | ●● |
| 5-2 | 70/30 | ●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●● |
| Week-on, week-off | 50/50 | ● | ● | ●● | ●●● | ●●● |
| Every other weekend | 80/20 | ●● | ●● | ●● | ●● | ●● |
| 2-3-2 | 50/50 | ●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●● | ● |
| Every extended weekend | 60/40 | ●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●● |
| 60/40 | 60/40 | ●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●● |
| 70/30 | 70/30 | ●● | ●● | ●●● | ●●● | ●● |
| 80/20 | 80/20 | ●● | ●● | ●● | ●● | ●● |
50/50 custody schedules
Each parent has seven overnights in every fourteen. The patterns differ in how long the blocks are and how many exchanges that costs.
2-2-3
50/50 · 7/7 overnights per 14 · 6 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | B | B | A | A | A |
| Week 2 | B | B | A | A | B | B | B |
Never more than two or three nights apart. The most common 50/50 schedule for toddlers and preschoolers.
2-2-3 details, pros and cons, plan wording →2-2-5-5
50/50 · 7/7 overnights per 14 · 4 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | B | B | A | A | A |
| Week 2 | A | A | B | B | B | B | B |
Fixed weekdays for each parent plus alternating long weekends. A gentle step up from 2-2-3.
2-2-5-5 details, pros and cons, plan wording →5-2-2-5
50/50 · 7/7 overnights per 14 · 4 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | A | A | A | B | B |
| Week 2 | A | A | B | B | B | B | B |
Each parent keeps the same two weekdays every week and weekends alternate. The most popular 50/50 for school-age children.
5-2-2-5 details, pros and cons, plan wording →3-4-4-3
50/50 · 7/7 overnights per 14 · 4 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | A | B | B | B | B |
| Week 2 | A | A | A | A | B | B | B |
Three nights, then four, then the reverse. Even time with a rotating weekend and only four exchanges a fortnight.
3-4-4-3 details, pros and cons, plan wording →3-3-4-4
50/50 · 7/7 overnights per 14 · 4 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | A | B | B | B | A |
| Week 2 | A | A | A | B | B | B | B |
Fixed three-night blocks for each parent, then the four-night weekend block alternates.
3-3-4-4 details, pros and cons, plan wording →4-4-3 (4+4+3)
50/50 · 7/7 overnights per 14 · 4 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | A | A | B | B | B |
| Week 2 | B | A | A | A | B | B | B |
Four nights, four nights, three nights, rotating through an eleven-day cycle so the weekend moves.
4-4-3 (4+4+3) details, pros and cons, plan wording →Week-on, week-off
50/50 · 7/7 overnights per 14 · 2 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| Week 2 | B | B | B | B | B | B | B |
One full week with each parent. The simplest 50/50 and the most searched. Best for older children and teens.
Week-on, week-off details, pros and cons, plan wording →2-3-2
50/50 · 7/7 overnights per 14 · 6 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | B | B | B | A | A |
| Week 2 | B | B | A | A | A | B | B |
Two nights, three nights, two nights, alternating who has the middle block. Short gaps with a fixed weekend.
2-3-2 details, pros and cons, plan wording →60/40, 70/30 and 80/20 schedules
Where equal time is not practical because of work, distance or the children's age. In most states the overnight count feeds the child support formula, so the split has a cost.
4-3
60/40 · 4/3 overnights per 7 · 2 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | A | A | B | B | B |
| Week 2 | A | A | A | A | B | B | B |
Four nights with one parent and three with the other, every week. A simple 60/40.
4-3 details, pros and cons, plan wording →5-2
70/30 · 5/2 overnights per 7 · 2 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | A | A | A | B | B |
| Week 2 | A | A | A | A | A | B | B |
Five weeknights with one parent and the weekend with the other, every week. About 70/30.
5-2 details, pros and cons, plan wording →Every other weekend
80/20 · 11/3 overnights per 14 · 2 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | A | A | B | B | B |
| Week 2 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
One parent has the children in the week and alternate weekends; the other has every other weekend. About 80/20.
Every other weekend details, pros and cons, plan wording →Every extended weekend
60/40 · 4/3 overnights per 7 · 2 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | A | A | B | B | B |
| Week 2 | A | A | A | A | B | B | B |
One parent has every Thursday evening to Monday morning; the other has Monday to Thursday. About 60/40 with the weekend fixed.
Every extended weekend details, pros and cons, plan wording →60/40
60/40 · 8/6 overnights per 14 · 4 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | A | A | B | B | B |
| Week 2 | A | A | A | A | B | B | B |
Patterns that give one parent about eight or nine nights in fourteen: 4-3, extended weekends, or week-on week-off with a midweek overnight.
60/40 details, pros and cons, plan wording →70/30
70/30 · 10/4 overnights per 14 · 4 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | A | A | A | B | B |
| Week 2 | A | A | A | A | A | B | B |
Patterns giving one parent about ten nights in fourteen: 5-2, or every other weekend plus a weekly midweek overnight.
70/30 details, pros and cons, plan wording →80/20
80/20 · 11/3 overnights per 14 · 2 exchanges
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A | A | A | A | B | B | B |
| Week 2 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
The traditional pattern: one parent has the children most of the time; the other has alternate weekends, often with a midweek dinner.
80/20 details, pros and cons, plan wording →How to read these patterns
Every pattern is written as a sequence of overnights. 2-2-3 means two nights with one parent, two with the other, then three back with the first. Because most patterns only come out even over two weeks, the parenting plan should always describe the full two-week cycle and name the date it starts.
Exchanges matter as much as nights. Each one is a moment of contact between two parents who have separated, and a transition for the child. Exchanging at school or daycare, so one parent drops off in the morning and the other collects in the afternoon, removes the contact without changing the schedule.
Overnights also matter for child support. Most state formulas adjust the figure by the number of nights each parent has, so a move from 50/50 to 60/40 is a financial decision as well as a parenting one. Nothing here is legal advice about your case; check your state's guidelines or ask an attorney licensed where you live.
Write the schedule into your parenting agreement
The Complete Co-Parenting Kit includes the fillable parenting agreement with a ready-made schedule section and holiday rotation clauses, a completion guide, the 30-Day Reset workbook and 20 message scripts for the conversations that come with any schedule change.
See what is in the Kit ($297)Delivered by email. 30-day money-back guarantee.