The week on / week off schedule
A week on / week off schedule has the children spend seven nights in a row with one parent, then seven with the other, alternating every week. It is an even 50/50 split with one handover a week, usually on Friday after school or on Sunday evening.
Also called alternating weeks, 7-7, one week on, one week off.
Two weeks of the week on / week off schedule
Parent A: 7 nightsParent B: 7 nights
- Nights every two weeks
- 7 and 7, an even split
- Handovers every two weeks
- 2
- Longest time away from either parent
- 7 nights
- Weekends
- Alternate every week
- Cycle starts on
- Friday
How the week on / week off schedule works, night by night
- Week 1, Friday night to Thursday night: Parent A, 7 nights
- Week 2, Friday night to Thursday night: Parent B, 7 nights
Then the two weeks repeat.
Advantages
- The fewest handovers of any 50/50 schedule: two every two weeks.
- Each parent gets a full week, including a whole weekend, so routines and plans run without interruption.
- It is easy for everyone, the children included, to remember whose week it is.
Drawbacks
- Seven nights is the longest time away from each parent of the common 50/50 schedules, which younger children can find hard.
- Anything missed in your week, from a school event to a sick day, waits a full week to be made up.
- Each home needs everything school asks for across a whole week, not just a night or two.
Who the week on / week off schedule suits
Older children, and parents who live far enough apart that a midweek changeover is a burden. The trade is the longest stretch away from each parent of any common schedule, which is why it suits younger children least.
Common variations
Many families add a midweek dinner or a single overnight with the other parent, which shortens the seven-night gap. Some move the changeover to Sunday evening so the school week starts in the home it will finish in. Others hand over at school, with one parent dropping off in the morning and the other picking up, so the parents never need to meet at a door.
Questions about the week on / week off schedule
Is week on / week off 50/50?
Yes. Over every two weeks each parent has seven nights, so the time is split exactly evenly, and each parent has one full weekend in every two.
What day should a week on / week off handover be?
Friday after school and Sunday evening are the most common. Friday gives each parent a weekend at the start of their week. Sunday evening means the children start the school week in the home they will be in all week.
What age suits week on / week off?
It most often suits school-age children and teenagers, who can manage a week away from a parent. For very young children, schedules with shorter gaps, such as 2-2-3, are more often suggested. Your own agreement or court order decides what applies to your family.
Setting it up in Coparia
Week on / week off is one of Coparia's built-in schedules. Choose it, pick the day the first week starts, and the calendar fills in for as far ahead as you look.
Both parents see the same calendar, each day colored by whose it is, and a single day can be swapped without touching the pattern.
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