For anyone who just heard a schedule said like it settled something

Wait. What does 2-2-5-5 mean?

A free visual guide to three schedules that are all 50/50, so you can see what Tuesday looks like before you agree to a number.

Fifty-fifty. Two-two-five-five. Every other weekend. Maybe an attorney said it, maybe a mediator, maybe the other parent. Whoever said it said it like it settled something.

It didn’t. Fifty-fifty tells you how the nights add up. It doesn’t tell you who has Wednesday, how many times the kids pack a bag, or how long they go without seeing one of you.

You can agree completely on the label and disagree completely on the calendar. The calendar is the one your family lives.

What’s inside

Three two-week calendars, all seven and seven: alternating weeks, 2-2-3 and 2-2-5-5, drawn side by side.
The counts that matter: how many times the kids move in two weeks (two, six or four) and the longest stretch away from a parent.
Seven more structures, named, including the even split where one parent can end up with every weekend.
The summer problem: everything “we’ll just switch to 50/50 for summer” leaves unanswered.
One question to ask before anything is signed: does this schedule still work when your five-year-old is ten?

Try the test

Someone tells you it’s 50/50. What happens on Tuesday?

If nobody can answer that yet, you don’t have a schedule. You have a label.

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Which schedule is right for your children is not a question this guide answers. I’m not an attorney. It draws three common structures so the next time someone says a number at you, you know what to ask, and it contains no state law and no recommendations.

Read before downloading

This is an educational publication, not legal advice and not a substitute for an attorney. The author is not an attorney. Downloading does not create an attorney-client relationship, and no information shared with the publisher is protected by attorney-client privilege. Family law is state law and varies significantly; an attorney licensed in your state is the only person who can tell you what applies to you. If your matter is filed, treat this guide as private reading: don’t file it or send it to the other party.

Go directly to a licensed family law attorney if any of the following applies: domestic violence; an active protective order; substance abuse affecting parenting; CPS or DCFS involvement; abuse allegations, substantiated or not; an active mental health crisis; international parental abduction risk; significant special needs; complex finances or hidden-asset concerns; or active parental alienation.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. Free, confidential, 24 hours a day. 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, any time. In immediate danger: 911, always.

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