2-2-3 Custody Schedule
A 50/50 rotation built for short gaps: two nights, two nights, then a three-day weekend, with the weekend flipping to the other parent each week.
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The repeating cycle, day by day
| Days 1 to 7 | Day 1A | Day 2A | Day 3B | Day 4B | Day 5A | Day 6A | Day 7A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days 8 to 14 | Day 8B | Day 9B | Day 10A | Day 11A | Day 12B | Day 13B | Day 14B |
This pattern is commonly described as a 50/50 split. That figure comes from counting the overnights in the cycle above. It is the pattern's own arithmetic, not a legal standard, and no state requires this or any other rotation.
How the 2-2-3 rotation works
The pattern repeats every 14 days. Parent A starts with two overnights, parent B takes the next two, and parent A closes the week with a three-day weekend. The second week runs the same shape in reverse, so the weekend lands with parent B.
That flip is the signature of 2-2-3. Neither household owns the weekend. Each parent gets a full Friday-to-Sunday stretch every other week without any side trades.
Count the letters in the cycle and each parent holds 7 of every 14 overnights. That is the 50/50 label the pattern advertises, and here the calendar backs the label exactly.
The price of the short gaps is motion. A full cycle takes six changeovers, the most of any common equal-time rotation. Families who pick 2-2-3 usually route handoffs through school or daycare, so one household drops off in the morning and the other picks up in the afternoon.
Because the child is never away from either home for more than three nights, this rotation is a frequent recommendation for toddlers and preschoolers, who tend to track time in days rather than weeks.
Who tends to choose 2-2-3
Short memories drive this choice. Very young children often struggle with long silence from a parent, and 2-2-3 caps the longest wait at three nights, the shortest of any pattern in this library.
Geography matters more here than in any other equal-time design. Six changeovers only stay painless when the homes, the school, and both jobs sit close together. A 40-minute drive that feels fine twice a month wears everyone down twelve times a month.
Gear has to travel well. With the child moving every two or three days, homework, medication, and comfort items are always in transit. Many families keep duplicate basics in both homes and pass a single small bag with the rest.
When this pattern tends to fit
- Children young enough that three nights apart is the real limit
- Parents living close to each other and to school or daycare
- Co-parents who can manage quick, low-friction handoffs
Honest downsides
- Six exchanges per cycle, the most of the common 50/50 rotations
- The weekday layout shifts every week, complicating lessons and practices
- A single missed handoff ripples through the rest of the week fast
- Hard to sustain once the two homes sit far apart
Overnights over a year
Year math: 7 of 14 nights is exactly one half. A 365-night year holds 26 full cycles plus one extra night, so each parent lands on 182 overnights and one household picks up a 183rd.
Longest stretch away from either parent: 3 nights. Changeovers per year: about 156.
See it on real dates
Open the custody schedule generator and choose the 2-2-3 schedule to lay the cycle over an actual calendar, starting from any anchor date. To turn the rotation into a yearly overnight count for a support formula, use the parenting time calculator.
2-2-3 schedule FAQs
How many exchanges does a 2-2-3 schedule involve?
Six per 14-day cycle, or about 156 in a full year. That count is the main reason families outgrow 2-2-3 and move to 3-4-4-3 or 2-2-5-5 as children get older: those rotations keep the equal split but cut the changeovers to four per cycle.
Is 2-2-3 really 50/50?
Yes, by the calendar itself. Each parent has 7 of every 14 overnights, so no rounding is involved. Across a 365-night year each household hosts about 182 nights, with the odd extra night falling wherever the rotation happens to land.
What ages does 2-2-3 tend to fit?
The pattern became popular for toddlers and preschoolers because the child never waits more than three nights to see either parent. Older children often find the constant movement harder than a longer block would be, which is why many plans step up to a five-night or week-long rotation around school age.
Who gets weekends in a 2-2-3 schedule?
Both parents, in alternation. The three-night block sits on the weekend and swaps sides each week, so each household gets a full Friday-through-Sunday every other week. No separate weekend rotation has to be bolted on.
Can 2-2-3 keep the same weekdays instead of flipping?
A related rotation called 2-2-5-5 does exactly that. Each parent keeps the same two weekdays for good and the longer blocks alternate. Families who like the 2-2-3 rhythm but want stable weekday anchors usually compare the two side by side.
About the numbers on this page
Custody schedule patterns are scheduling conventions used by families, mediators, and courts. They are not law. No statute mandates any rotation on this page, and no agency publishes an official version of them, so this page cites no statutes. Every count and percentage above comes from the pattern's own cycle, which you can verify against the day-by-day table. For how a state's support formula treats parenting time, see that state's page on this site.
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Changelog: page first published as part of the custody schedule library. Material changes are dated in the update log.