Custody scheduling

How a 2-2-3 Custody Schedule Works

The 2-2-3 fortnight laid out day by day, the six-handoff cost nobody mentions, who it suits, and how it handles holidays, sick days and summer.

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Written by the CoHaven team · Updated August 1, 2026

Here's the pattern, plain and simple: two days with parent A, two days with parent B, then a three-day stretch back with parent A. Flip it the next week — three days start with parent B instead. Over two weeks that's exactly seven nights each, and every other weekend ends up being a full one instead of split down the middle.

The fortnight, laid out

Week 1

Parent AParent AParent BParent BParent AParent AParent A

Week 2

Parent BParent BParent AParent AParent BParent BParent B

The full 2-2-3 cycle. It repeats from here. Over the fortnight that is 7 nights with Parent A, 7 nights with Parent B, and 6 handoffs.

Notice what the second week does. The three-day block swaps sides, which is what makes the weekends alternate without needing a separate rule for them. It is also the bit that takes a cycle or two to feel natural, because the "off" weekend is not in the same place each time.

What people actually like about it

Nobody goes more than three days without seeing the kids — matters a lot when they're younger.
Weekends alternate on their own. You don't need a separate rule for it, the rotation just handles it.
Once you've lived through one full cycle, you stop needing to check a calendar. It just clicks.

What it costs you, because there is a cost

Six handoffs every two weeks instead of two or three — that's the real tradeoff, and it's worth being honest about it up front. If the two homes are twenty minutes apart, fine, that's a minor logistics detail. If it's forty-five minutes, or handoffs are already a little tense between you two, that adds up fast. Six chances every fortnight for something to go sideways instead of two. Worth pulling up a full two-week preview before you commit, specifically to see how the driving and the timing actually feel once they're real dates and not just a pattern name.

Pattern	Handoffs per fortnight	Longest gap from a parent
2-2-3	6	3 nights
3-4-4-3	4	4 nights
2-2-5-5	4	5 nights
Alternating weeks	2	7 nights

The same seven nights each, arranged four different ways.

That table is the whole decision. If the short gap is what your child needs, 2-2-3 is the pattern that delivers it and you pay for it in driving. If the driving is the thing that is going to wear you down, you are really choosing how long a gap you can accept in exchange.

Where 2-2-3 gets awkward, and what to do about it

Situation	What tends to go wrong	The fix that works
Activities on a fixed weeknight	Football is every Wednesday, but Wednesday changes home every week, so the kit and the driving keep moving.	Make the activity the constant: whoever has that night does that run, and the kit lives in the bag, not the house.
Homework across a two-day block	Longer projects get split across two homes and neither parent sees the whole thing.	Keep school work in one bag that always travels, and put due dates in the shared calendar rather than in either home.
A sick child	Six handoffs a fortnight means more chances that a transition lands on a day nobody can drive.	Agree the default before it happens: the parent whose night it is covers, and the handoff simply moves to the next day.
Summer	Without school days to anchor them, six handoffs a fortnight starts to feel relentless.	Many families switch to longer blocks for the summer and return to 2-2-3 in September. Decide it in spring, not June.

Bottom line: 2-2-3 means frequent contact and predictable weekends, at the cost of six handoffs every two weeks instead of two or three. Great if the two homes are close. Preview the full cycle before committing if they're not.

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Is 2-2-3 a 50/50 schedule?

Yes, across a two-week cycle. Each parent gets seven of the fourteen nights, just spread out rather than in one long block.

How many handoffs does 2-2-3 have?

Six per fortnight, counting the change that rolls from the end of one cycle into the start of the next. That is three times as many as alternating weeks, which is the main reason families move away from it.

Who is 2-2-3 best for?

It tends to work best when both homes are close enough that a handoff is not a production, and when the kids do better seeing each parent every few days rather than going a full week without one.

What is the longest a child goes without seeing a parent on 2-2-3?

Three nights. That is the shortest maximum gap of any common pattern, and it is the main reason it gets recommended for younger children.

Does the pattern ever feel confusing to keep track of?

It can, for the first month or two, because the "off" weekend alternates. Most families find it clicks once they have lived through one full two-week cycle and can see the shape of it.

When do families usually move off 2-2-3?

Most often when the child starts secondary school and wants their things in one place, or when one home moves further away and the six handoffs stop being cheap.