Three nights, then four, and the following week it swaps. Two handovers a week, and no gap longer than four nights.
One parent has three nights and the other has four. The next week the numbers swap: the first parent has four and the second has three. Over two weeks each parent has seven nights. What makes it different from the other patterns is that six of the seven weekdays stay with the same home every week, and only one day swings between them.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | B | B | A | A | A | B | B |
| Week 2 | B | B | A | A | A | A | B |
A and B are the two homes, with the cycle starting on Wednesday. Wednesday to Friday is always A, Sunday to Tuesday is always B, and Saturday swings.
Children from preschool onward who are past the three-night gaps of 2-2-3 but not ready for the five of 2-2-5-5. Parents who want the weekdays to be mostly predictable without the weekend disappearing from one home for a whole fortnight. And families where one parent works a fixed set of days that lines up with their block.
Two handovers a week, the same as 2-2-5-5, with a shorter longest gap. Most of the week is fixed, so activities and carers can be planned on the same days every week. Set so that the weekend is split, each parent has a weekend day every week, which some families prefer to a whole weekend every second week. The one swing day is the only thing anyone has to think about.
The swing day is easy to get wrong, and when it is wrong, both parents turn up. The weekends are split rather than whole, so a weekend away needs a swap. Started on a Monday, one parent holds every weekend, which is only fair if that is what both want. And because the two blocks are different lengths, the week never feels symmetrical, which some children notice.
Two land on the same weekday every week and can be set up once. The other two shift by one day between the odd and the even week, so they need a calendar rather than memory. Write the time and the place for each, and keep the swing day in a place both parents look at.
Families who want whole alternating weekends sometimes run 3-4-4-3 for the weekdays and alternate the weekend on top, which brings it close to 2-2-5-5. Others swap which parent holds the long block each term. 3-3-4-4 is a cousin with the same totals and a different set of handover days.
You set the rotation once and it runs: the calendar shows who has the children on any day, in both homes, with holidays and special dates laid over the top without touching the pattern. Each changeover has its own time and place, each way, so there is nothing to re-agree on a Thursday evening. The swing day is exactly the kind of thing a shared calendar is for: it shows the right home on the right Saturday, in both homes, without anyone counting.
Both give each parent seven nights a fortnight with two handovers a week. In 2-2-5-5 the long gap is five nights and the weekend alternates whole. In 3-4-4-3 the long gap is four nights and the weekend is shared out by the day instead of alternating whole.
Not on their own. Six of the seven days stay fixed and one day swings, so how the weekends fall depends on where the cycle starts. Start it on Sunday and each parent has one weekend day every week; start it on Monday and one parent keeps the weekends unless you add an alternation.
From preschool onward. The four-night gap sits between 2-2-3 and 2-2-5-5, and the stable weekdays make it easier to run than 2-2-3.
Four in two weeks. Two of them land on the same weekday every week and the other two move by one day between weeks.
No. In 3-3-4-4 each parent has three nights, then each has four, so the pairs of handover days are different, though both are 50/50 over a fortnight.
There is no perfect schedule, and this is a guide rather than a rule. What works depends on the children’s ages, the distance between the two homes and how each parent works, and it changes as they grow. General information, not legal advice.