At a glance
| Split | 50/50 — 7 of every 14 nights each |
|---|---|
| Overnights in a year | 182–183 overnights per parent per year |
| Exchanges | 4 per two-week cycle (about 2 a week) |
| Longest stretch for the child | 4 nights |
The 3-4-4-3 is the middle path among the 50/50 rotations. Instead of the quick two-night hops of a 2-2-3, the child settles in for blocks of three and four nights — long enough to unpack, short enough that neither parent disappears from the child’s week. It trades a little of the 2-2-3’s constant contact for a noticeably calmer rhythm.
The two-week pattern
| 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 |
A = night at Parent A’s home B = night at Parent B’s home. The pattern then repeats.
How it works
The blocks run 3, 4, 4, 3. Week 1: Parent A has three nights (Monday–Wednesday), then Parent B has four (Thursday–Sunday). Parent A’s four-night block then runs from Monday to Thursday of week 2, and Parent B closes the cycle with three nights (Friday–Sunday). Each parent ends the cycle with 3 + 4 = 7 overnights, and each gets one four-night block per cycle.
Advantages
- Blocks of 3–4 nights feel settled — the child is not packing a bag every other day.
- Maximum time away from either parent is four nights, still short for younger school-age children.
- Four exchanges per cycle — a third fewer than a 2-2-3.
- A clean 50/50 in overnights.
Drawbacks to weigh
- Weekdays are not fixed: a given Tuesday belongs to different parents in different weeks, so recurring activities take more planning than a 2-2-5-5.
- Less well known than 2-2-3 or alternating weeks, so you may need to explain it to school or family.
- Still too choppy for teenagers, and too long a stretch for some toddlers.
Who it suits
A good fit for children roughly ages 4 to 10, and for families who found the 2-2-3 exhausting but do not want week-long separations. It needs the same basics as every rotation: nearby homes and predictable handovers.
Holidays will move the real number
Everything above counts the rotation alone. Real parenting plans layer alternating holidays, school breaks and summer weeks on top — and those layers change the yearly count, sometimes by dozens of nights. The free calculator applies your actual holiday dates on a real 12-month calendar and counts the result exactly, and its compare mode shows this schedule against any other with the same holidays applied to both.
Build this schedule on your real dates — free
Frequently asked questions
How is 3-4-4-3 different from 2-2-3?
Both are 50/50 and both alternate weekends. The difference is block length: 2-2-3 moves the child every 2–3 nights (six exchanges per cycle), while 3-4-4-3 moves every 3–4 nights (four exchanges per cycle). Children get longer settled stretches; parents give up the fixed-weekday simplicity of the 2-2-5-5.
Is 3-4-4-3 a true 50/50?
Yes — 7 of every 14 overnights for each parent, which works out to 182–183 overnights each across a real year before holidays are counted.
What is the longest a child is away from a parent on 3-4-4-3?
Four nights. That is the design: no block is longer than four nights, in either home.
Other schedules
2-2-3 · 2-2-5-5 · Week on / week off · Every other weekend · 70/30 · 60/40 · Custody schedules explained (all splits compared)
This guide is general information about common schedule patterns, not legal advice. Custody law and counting rules vary by state and by your court order.