Common 50/50 Child Custody Schedules

Here are some common 50/50 child custody arrangements and tips to help co-parents navigate them.

• 3 min read
• custody

Custody agreements and schedules vary significantly based on individual situations, however, many parents with joint custody operate on a 50/50 split. There are many ways that a 50/50 custody schedule can be divided up. Some of the most common include alternating weeks, splitting the week in half, the 2-2-5-5 custody schedule, and the 3-4-4-3 custody schedule.

Each 50/50 child custody arrangement has pros and cons

In the alternating weeks custody schedule, co-parents have custody of their children every other week. This 50/50 split allows each parent to spend a full week with their kids. The arrangement is of course beneficial when it comes to consistency for the kids and less frequent exchanges, however, each parent and child must also go a full week without seeing each other.

When splitting the week in half, each parent has the child for half a week at a time. This 50/50 split allows co-parents to see their children every week. While this helps with communication between parents and children, it requires more frequent exchanges, which can be more difficult for your children and your schedules.

With a 2-2-5-5 split, one parent has 2 days with the children and then the other parent has 2 days with the children. After that, each parent has 5 days with the children. This custody arrangement offers variety, which can help with changing schedules and situations. It also allows parents and children to see each other for varying lengths of time. However, this 50/50 split is less consistent than the aforementioned arrangements and can be more confusing to navigate.

In a 3-4-4-3 custody schedule, one parent has the child for 3 days and then the other parent has the child for 4 days. It then switches the next week. This custody schedule offers many of the same pros and cons that the 2-2-5-5 arrangement does, just split up a little differently.

There are ways that you and your co-parent can make the 50/50 custody split easier on you and the children

Encourage communication. It’s important for each parent to foster frequent communication between their kids and the other parent. Encouraging messages, phone calls, and/or video calls is beneficial since both parents must go several days, or even a week, without seeing the children. Depending on which 50/50 split you operate under, frequent communication between you and your child when you’re not together can be especially important (like with the alternating weeks arrangement).

Make a checklist. A custody exchange checklist should be made for items that your child doesn’t keep at both homes. This might include certain clothing items, backpacks, books, toys, and more. If your relationship allows, you and your co-parent should make this checklist together.

Document. Documenting information about your child when they are with you is crucial so that your co-parent can be easily filled in. You should record significant details related to your child’s health, schedule, moods, habits or interests. Keeping track of this information allows both parents to stay in the loop at all times.

TalkingParents offers tools designed to help with all types of custody schedules

A co-parenting communication service can make your custody arrangement much easier to coordinate. TalkingParents has a Shared Calendar, which allows you and your co-parent to keep track of your custody schedule in one, secure place.

Additionally, features like Secure Messaging and Accountable Calling can help with communication between you and your co-parent, and between you and your children. You and your co-parent can also easily document important information regarding your children with the Info Library feature. This tool allows you to create customizable cards with vital details like allergy information, emergency contacts, phone numbers, and more for you and your co-parent to access later.

No matter which child custody schedule you operate under, TalkingParents can help. Our features are designed to help make your co-parenting journey easier. Get started today.