Posted in Child Custody
If you share joint custody with your child’s other parent, then finding a schedule to work for your situation may be tricky. If one parent lives farther away from the child’s school and regular activities, it can be especially challenging to find a routine that works smoothly for all involved. Chances are, you’ll need to do some prioritizing to figure out what things are most important to your family – keeping time away from each parent to a minimum or keeping an easy-to-remember schedule, for example – as you plan. Knowing about the benefits and challenges that come along with some common options for how to share custody of your child before you set your schedule can help to keep surprises and inconveniences down.
As a Manhattan Beach, CA child custody lawyer can share, a straightforward option is to alternate weeks so that the child spends one full week with one parent, and then spends the next full week with the other parent.
Benefits And Challenges Of The One Week On, One Week Off Schedule
Benefits:
- Easy to remember
- Allows each parent to spend a long time period with the child
- Exchanges are less frequent than for other options
- Is more consistent, thus minimizing the amount of change for a child to handle
Challenges:
- Means parents must live within a reasonable distance to the child’s school and regular activities
- Requires parents to communicate frequently to keep each other updated about school and activities
- Parents and/or child may struggle being apart for an entire week
For parents looking to split the week, the following common options help to ensure that they also get to share weekend time.
Benefits And Challenges Of The 2-2-5-5 Child Share Schedule
In this scenario, a child spends two days with one parent, then 2 days with the other parent, then 5 days with the first parent, followed by 5 days with the second parent. As our Avvo top-rated lawyers can share, typically this means that one parent has custody on Monday and Tuesday, the other parent has Wednesday and Thursday, and then the parties switch off having the weekends from Friday after school to Monday return to school.
Benefits:
- Child and parents get to spend time together every week
- Time apart from each parent is lower than alternating weeks
- May work well for parents with nontraditional work schedules
- May also be a good option for younger children who aren’t in school
Challenges:
- Can be tricky to keep track of dates
- Two days with a parent may not feel like enough time
- Child may struggle to adapt with frequent changes
- Parents both need to live near child’s school and regular activities
Benefits And Challenges Of The 3-4-4-3 Child Share Schedule
In this scenario, a child spends three days with one parent, then 4 days with the other parent, then 4 days with the first parent, followed by 3 days with the second parent.
Benefits:
- Easy to remember since each parent has the same nights each week, except for one night that switches
- Provides significant time together for parent and child
- Minimizes time spent away from either parent
Challenges:
- Weekend time is either always or never split
- Requires good communication between parents about the child and the schedule
- Works best when both parents live fairly close together and close to the child’s school
Benefits And Challenges Of The 2-2-3 Child Share Schedule
In this scenario, a child spends two days with one parent, then two days with the other parent, then 3 days with the first parent. The schedule repeats, resulting in weekends alternating as our Certified Family Specialist can share.
Benefits:
- Limited time away from either parent
- Structured schedule that’s more predictable than other options
- Allows for each parent to have a full weekend with the child
Challenges:
- Frequent exchanges so parent and child do not have much time together before it’s time to switch again
- Constant moving around may be stressful for the child and parents
- Weeknights alternate each week, so schedule may be tricky for those with regular activities
Finding The best 50/50 Child Care Split For Your Family
Do not be afraid to do something a little bit different if it works best for your family. For example, a spin on the 2-2-3 option where parents alternate weekends instead of repeating the cycle might work great for those looking for an easy-to-remember arrangement. Unlike the traditional 2-2-3 where weeknights also alternate for parents (one week you have Monday, Tuesday, and Friday through Sunday where the next week you have Wednesday and Thursday only), in this scenario, each parent keeps their days of the week. So, one parent always has Mondays and Tuesdays and the other parent always has Wednesdays and Thursdays, and then weekends switch. While this option means a child spends 5 days away from one parent each week, it also keeps the schedule predictable and simplifies planning activities ahead of time because you do not have to refer to a calendar to know what’s happening on a given weekday.
No matter which scenario you choose, splitting custody means your child will be moving between two homes. Strong communication and cooperation between parents are essential to keeping the stress around all of the change more manageable for everybody. Still figuring out your custody arrangements? The experienced and compassionate team at Skarin Law Group is here to help!