Practical information, not legal advice. Every family’s circumstances are different; no schedule or organisational approach suits everyone.
How alternating weeks work
In this example, Home A has all seven nights of week one, and Home B has all seven nights of week two. The pattern then repeats. A Monday-to-Sunday example is shown below, but families may use a different agreed handover day.
| Week | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Home A | Home A | Home A | Home A | Home A | Home A | Home A |
| Week 2 | Home B | Home B | Home B | Home B | Home B | Home B | Home B |
Home A and Home B are labels for the two households. Each cell represents an overnight in this example; agree actual changeover times separately.
Choose an exact handover point
Write down the day, time and place rather than only “every Monday”. If changeover is after school, clarify what happens during school holidays, on public holidays and when a child is away from school.
Record who transports your child and how you communicate a delay. A recurring calendar entry needs enough context that both households understand where the week begins.
Think about the whole school week
Each household needs the details for every weekday: school times, childcare, activities, appointments and equipment. Check whether both parents’ work commitments make the entire week workable, including early finishes or unexpected school closures.
School bags, uniforms and activity materials may need to move with your child or be organised in both homes. Make a short checklist rather than relying on memory at changeover.
Practical considerations
Alternating full weeks involve fewer routine changeovers than shorter-block examples. They also involve longer intervals between stays in each household. Consider your child’s needs, the distance between homes and any appropriate, agreed contact during the week.
Neither fewer transitions nor equal overnight totals make this pattern universally suitable. Compare the practical impact of different 50/50 schedule structures.
Keep exceptions explicit
Holidays, birthdays and one-off events can interrupt the usual pattern. Record the dates of any agreed exception and whether the regular rotation continues unchanged afterwards. Check the first changeover after the exception so neither household has to guess.
Organise dates and communication together
Use the co-parenting schedule checklist for routines and changeovers, and compare other schedule examples before settling on practical details.
SplitParent’s parenting schedules put the repeating dates alongside appointments and activities in a shared calendar.