Co-parenting schedules explained: alternate weeks, 2-2-3 and 2-2-5-5
A co-parenting schedule is the repeating pattern of which home children sleep at each night. The three most common equal-time patterns are alternate weeks, 2-2-3 and 2-2-5-5. Each gives both homes 7 of every 14 nights. They differ in how often children move between homes and how long they go without staying with each parent.
This guide shows each pattern night by night, so you can see the difference before you choose. It is practical planning help, not legal advice.
What does each schedule look like, night by night?
Here is one fortnight of each pattern, starting on a Monday. "A" and "B" are the two homes.
| Schedule | Week 1 (Mon to Sun) | Week 2 (Mon to Sun) | Nights each per fortnight | Handovers per fortnight | Longest stretch away from one home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternate weeks (7-7) | A A A A A A A | B B B B B B B | 7 and 7 | 2 | 7 nights |
| 2-2-3 | A A B B A A A | B B A A B B B | 7 and 7 | 6 | 3 nights |
| 2-2-5-5 | A A B B A A A | A A B B B B B | 7 and 7 | 4 | 5 nights |
| 3-4-4-3 | A A A B B B B | A A A A B B B | 7 and 7 | 4 | 4 nights |
| Every other weekend (Friday and Saturday) | A A A A B B A | A A A A A A A | 12 and 2 | 2 | 12 nights |
A handover is any night the children sleep at a different home from the night before. Counts repeat every fortnight.
How does alternate weeks work?
Children spend a full week in one home, then a full week in the other. The swap happens on the same day each week, often Friday after school or Monday morning. It has the fewest handovers of the equal-time patterns, two a fortnight. The trade-off is that children go seven nights without staying with the other parent.
How does 2-2-3 work?
One home has Monday and Tuesday, the other has Wednesday and Thursday, and the first home has Friday to Sunday. The next week it flips. No stretch away from either home is longer than three nights. It has the most handovers, six a fortnight, and the weekday nights change from one week to the next, so school bags and clubs need planning.
How does 2-2-5-5 work?
Each home keeps the same two weekday nights every week: one has Monday and Tuesday, the other has Wednesday and Thursday. Weekends alternate, so each home gets a five-night stretch once a fortnight. That gives four handovers a fortnight. Fixed weekday nights make regular clubs and activities easier to place.
How do you choose a schedule that fits your family?
Most families weigh up the same practical things:
- How far apart the two homes are, and how far each is from school
- Work patterns, including shifts and weekend working
- How many handovers everyone can manage in a week
- How long children go between nights with each parent
- Regular clubs, activities and time with grandparents
- Brothers and sisters at different schools
Patterns can change as children get older and routines move on. Cafcass's Our Child's Plan is an online tool that helps parents write down the arrangements they agree, including where children live.
What happens in school holidays and at Christmas?
Many families pause the regular pattern for school holidays. Two common approaches are splitting each holiday in half, or alternating whole holidays from year to year. Term dates vary by council, so check your child's school or GOV.UK's school term dates search. For Christmas itself, see our Christmas co-parenting schedule guide.
How many nights a year does each pattern give?
Any equal-time pattern gives each home about 182 or 183 nights a year. Every other weekend, Friday and Saturday, gives the second home about 52 nights a year, roughly 14% of nights. To check your own pattern, including holidays, use the free custody time calculator. To see a dated four-week plan for alternate weeks, 2-2-3, 2-2-5-5, 3-4-4-3 or a custom fortnight, use the free co-parenting schedule planner.
How do you keep the schedule where both homes can see it?
Once you have agreed a pattern, it helps if both homes see the same plan. In Haevn's Co-Parenting space:
- A shared calendar for two homes shows whose night it is
- A custody handover log records each handover
- Child View gives children a read-only calendar, so they can see where they are staying
- Messages cannot be edited or deleted, so changes to the plan stay on record
- One subscription covers both parents
Events can be added to Google or Outlook in one click. Two-way sync coming soon.
See how Haevn works for co-parents, how to share a calendar with your ex without sharing everything, or how UK co-parenting apps compare.
Where can you get help agreeing a schedule?
If you and the other parent can agree, you can usually make arrangements yourselves. GOV.UK's guide to making child arrangements explains the options, including family mediation. Cafcass's Our Child's Plan helps you write the agreement down.
Frequently asked questions
What is a 2-2-5-5 schedule?
A 2-2-5-5 schedule gives each home the same two weekday nights every week, for example Monday and Tuesday in one home and Wednesday and Thursday in the other. Weekends alternate, so each home also has one five-night stretch a fortnight. Each home has 7 of every 14 nights, with four handovers a fortnight.
What is the difference between 2-2-3 and 2-2-5-5?
Both give each home 7 of every 14 nights. In 2-2-3 the weekday nights swap every week and no stretch is longer than three nights, with six handovers a fortnight. In 2-2-5-5 the weekday nights stay fixed, there is one five-night stretch in each home, and there are four handovers a fortnight.
How many nights a year is alternate weeks?
Alternate weeks gives each home 7 of every 14 nights, which is about 182 or 183 nights a year each. School holidays can change the total if you split them differently. The free custody time calculator works it out for your own pattern.
Which co-parenting schedule has the fewest handovers?
Of the equal-time patterns, alternate weeks has the fewest, with two handovers a fortnight. 2-2-5-5 has four and 2-2-3 has six. Fewer handovers mean longer stretches away from each home, so families usually weigh the two together.
What is an every other weekend schedule?
The children live mainly in one home and spend Friday and Saturday nights in the other home every other weekend. That is 2 of every 14 nights, about 52 nights a year, roughly 14%. Adding one midweek night each week gives the second home 4 of every 14 nights.
What is a 3-4-4-3 schedule?
One home has three nights and the other has four in the first week, then it flips in the second week. Each home has 7 of every 14 nights, with four handovers a fortnight and no stretch longer than four nights.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Making child arrangements if you divorce or separate (read 3 November 2026)
- Cafcass, How an Our Child's Plan can help (read 3 November 2026)
- GOV.UK, School term and holiday dates
Night counts are our own arithmetic from the patterns shown. Spotted something wrong? Email support@haevn.co.uk.
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