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Dad Field Manual · Field card 78 · Co-Parenting

2-2-3, 5-2-2-5 or week on, week off: compare schedules

If you and your co-parent are talking about a shared schedule, it helps to see the common patterns on paper. You'll map 2-2-3, 5-2-2-5 and week on, week off across two weeks, see what state court guides say about each, and leave with good questions, not an answer.

Time
45 min
Cost
$0
Ages
All ages
Where
Kitchen table

What you need

  • Two printed blank two-week calendars
  • Two colored pens, one for each home
  • Your court order or parenting plan, if you have one
  • The school calendar and both work schedules

Before you start

  • This isn't legal advice. These are common patterns to talk about, not a recommendation for your family. A family-law attorney can tell you what applies where you live.
  • Follow your court order or parenting plan. Don't change the schedule on your own. Ask an attorney or mediator how to propose a change.
  • If there's a protective order, don't negotiate directly. Ohio's court guide warns that talking schedules with a parent the order bars you from contacting can violate it. Talk to an attorney first.

Steps

  1. Start from what's already decided. Read your current order or plan first. These are patterns to discuss, not a decision.
  2. Map 2-2-3 on two weeks. 2-2-3: two days, two days, three days, flipping each week. Frequent contact; the days change every week.
  3. Map 5-2-2-5 on two weeks. 5-2-2-5: the same two weekdays each, weekends alternate. Steady school days; five-day stretches apart.
  4. Map week on, week off. Week on, week off: seven days each, maybe a midweek visit. Few handoffs; long stretches apart.
  5. Line it up with your kid's age. Match the pattern to the kid: shorter gaps for little kids, fewer handoffs for school age, flexibility for teens.
  6. Talk through the questions. Weigh distance and school, who did daily care, how you communicate, work and activities, and how each kid handles time apart.
  7. Bring options, not a verdict. Share two or three options as ideas. If you're stuck, ask about mediation and talk to a family-law attorney.

If it stalls

  • If your co-parent wants a different pattern, ask what problem it solves for them: a commute, a work shift, a kid's practice. The answer is often a tweak, not a fight.
  • If your kids are different ages, Michigan's guide notes that separate time with each child sometimes makes sense, and that siblings should often get to stay together.
Questions you and your co-parent have talked through
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date