At a glance
| Split | 50/50 — 7 of every 14 nights each |
|---|---|
| Overnights in a year | 182–183 overnights per parent per year |
| Exchanges | 1 exchange a week (2 per two-week cycle) — the fewest |
| Longest stretch for the child | 7 nights |
Week on / week off — alternating weeks — is the simplest custody schedule there is: the child lives one full week with Parent A, then one full week with Parent B. No midweek moves, no counting nights, one handover a week. For older children it feels like having two homes in the normal sense. For a three-year-old, seven nights is a very long time, and that single fact decides whether this schedule belongs in your plan.
The two-week pattern
| 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 |
A = night at Parent A’s home B = night at Parent B’s home. The pattern then repeats.
How it works
Parent A has the child from the exchange day (often Friday or Monday) for seven nights; then Parent B has seven nights; repeat. Some families add a midweek dinner or overnight visit for the off-duty parent, which keeps contact but technically turns the split into roughly 57/43 if the visit includes an overnight every week — the plain version below has no midweek night.
Advantages
- The fewest exchanges of any 50/50 schedule — one a week.
- A full week lets school, homework projects and activities run without interruption.
- Easiest schedule to explain, remember and write into a parenting plan.
- Works over longer distances better than the short rotations.
Drawbacks to weigh
- Seven nights is too long apart for toddlers and most preschoolers.
- The off-duty parent can feel out of the loop on school and health matters for a whole week.
- A bad week (illness, exams) lands entirely on one parent.
- Holidays need explicit rules, because a holiday week is a big block to give or lose.
Who it suits
Best for older children and teenagers, roughly age 10 and up, who can handle a week away and manage their own belongings. Also the common choice when parents live further apart. Some families add one midweek overnight for the off parent to soften the gap.
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
Is week on/week off really 50/50?
Yes. Each parent has 7 of every 14 overnights, so a year works out to 182–183 overnights each — the same as every other 50/50 rotation. What changes is the shape of the time, not the amount.
What day do most families exchange on?
Friday after school and Monday morning are the most common, because school absorbs the handover. Whichever day you choose, the calculator starts the rotation on your chosen start date, so pick the start date to match your real exchange day.
Is alternating weeks bad for young children?
Seven nights is a long stretch for children under about five, and many child-development guides suggest shorter rotations (2-2-3, 3-4-4-3) for that age group, moving to alternating weeks as the child grows. Your court order and your child’s needs come first — this is a planning guide, not advice.
Other schedules
2-2-3 · 2-2-5-5 · 3-4-4-3 · 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.