Set up who has the children, and when

This is the part that makes the rest of Coparia work. Once the pattern is in, every day on the calendar is colored by whose day it is, for as far ahead as you want to look, without anybody entering anything.

It is also the part people put off, because it feels like it has to be exactly right. It does not. You can change it later, and single days can be swapped without touching the pattern.

Before you start. Add your children first, because a schedule is built for named children.

Create the schedule

1. Select your picture in the top right corner, then Settings.
2. Select Parenting schedule.
3. Select Create new schedule.
4. Choose which children it covers. Most families cover all of them with one schedule.
5. Choose the pattern and the day it starts from.
6. Save.

The calendar fills in immediately. Each day takes the color of whichever parent has the children.

If your arrangement does not match a common pattern

Build the closest pattern, then change the days that differ. Most arrangements that sound unusual are a standard rotation plus a handful of exceptions, and exceptions are easier to hold in a calendar than in a pattern.

Different children, different weeks

If one child is with a parent on days the others are not, create a second schedule covering just that child. Days where the children are in different homes are drawn split, so you can see it at a glance rather than working it out.

Changing one day without changing the pattern

Do not edit the schedule for a one-off. On the calendar, select the day and swap it. See Swap a day. The pattern stays as it is and the calendar records that this particular day went differently, which is also what you want if anyone ever asks how the year actually went.

When it does not work

You cannot find Create new schedule. You are signed in as a helper. Only parents can set the parenting schedule.

The colors are not what you expected. Check the start date. A pattern that is right but starts on the wrong day puts every day in the wrong home. Change the start date rather than rebuilding it.

A holiday should override this. It can. See holidays and special days.