3-4-4-3 Custody Schedule
Each parent keeps the same anchor days every single week. Only one day of the week changes hands, and the split still comes out even.
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The repeating cycle, day by day
| Days 1 to 7 | Day 1A | Day 2A | Day 3A | Day 4B | Day 5B | Day 6B | Day 7B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days 8 to 14 | Day 8A | Day 9A | 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.
What the 3-4-4-3 calendar looks like
Read the cycle in four blocks: parent A takes three nights, parent B takes four, parent A takes four, and parent B closes with three. Fourteen nights, seven per parent, four handoffs.
The hidden feature sits in the weekday layout. Anchor the cycle on a Monday and parent A holds Monday through Wednesday nights in both weeks, while parent B holds Friday through Sunday in both weeks. Only Thursday alternates.
That single swing day is what separates 3-4-4-3 from the busier rotations. A child can say that Mondays are at one home and weekends at the other and be right every week of the year, which makes piano lessons, tutoring, and standing playdates easy to book.
The trade hides in the same stability. Whichever parent the anchor hands the Friday-to-Sunday block keeps it permanently in the strict template. Families who need weekends to rotate usually pick 2-2-3 instead and accept its extra exchanges.
No parent waits more than four nights to see the child, a step up from the three-night maximum of 2-2-3 but well short of the seven-night gap in a full-week rotation.
Where 3-4-4-3 earns its keep
This rotation suits families who plan around the school week. Because each household knows its permanent weekdays, recurring commitments can live at one home without renegotiation every cycle.
Four changeovers per fortnight is a comfortable middle. It is fewer than 2-2-3 demands and more frequent than week on week off provides, so children who need contact every few days still get it without a handoff every other day.
The weekend question deserves a decision before anyone signs. Some families rotate the anchor at the school-year boundary so weekend ownership trades twice a year. Others treat the second four-night block as the built-in compensation and leave the template alone.
When this pattern tends to fit
- School-age children with standing weekday activities
- Parents who want equal time on a predictable weekly map
- Households that can absorb a four-night stretch apart
Honest downsides
- Weekends sit with one parent unless the plan adds a fix
- The alternating swing day is easy to lose track of without a shared calendar
- Four consecutive nights can be long for a very young child
Overnights over a year
The math over a year: 26 cycles cover 364 nights, 182 per parent, and the 365th night goes to whichever block happens to be running. The 50/50 billing is exact, not rounded.
Longest stretch apart: 4 nights. Handoffs: four per fortnight.
See it on real dates
Open the custody schedule generator and choose the 3-4-4-3 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.
3-4-4-3 schedule FAQs
How is 3-4-4-3 different from 4-3-3-4?
Same wheel, mirrored. Reversing which parent starts turns one into the other, and both deliver seven nights per parent per fortnight. The label in a written plan usually just reflects who holds the first block.
Does each parent keep the same days every week?
Three of them, yes. Anchored to a Monday start, parent A always has Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, parent B always has Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, and Thursday alternates between them. That one moving piece is the entire rotation.
Why do weekends not alternate in 3-4-4-3?
Because the blocks fall on the same weekdays every cycle. Whoever the anchor gives Friday through Sunday keeps it all year. Plans that need shared weekends either flip the anchor periodically or use 2-2-3, where the weekend changes sides by design.
How many handoffs does 3-4-4-3 take per year?
Four per cycle, roughly 104 across a year, about two thirds of what 2-2-3 requires. Many families arrange for most of them to happen at school, with one parent dropping off in the morning and the other collecting in the afternoon, so the adults rarely need to meet.
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.