Two-week pattern studio
Compare five common parenting patterns
Choose a pattern or filter by a practical feature. Every view uses the same repeating fourteen-night frame so the trade-offs remain comparable.
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2–2–3 schedule
What the pattern changesFrequent handovers keep stretches short, but the weekday pattern rotates between homes.
This compares schedule mechanics only. It does not recommend what is best for a child or interpret an order, agreement, support calculation or local law.
How to read this in the UK
Three things need to stay separate in a record. What the arrangement says, what actually happened, and the file that shows it. Blur them together and a reader has to take your word for it. Keep them apart and the record speaks for itself.
The UK is not one family-law system. England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own rules, forms and vocabulary. Use the words that appear in your own order or agreement rather than a term borrowed from somewhere else.
Keep the complete source file, not a crop of it. Write events in the order they happened, and say plainly where something is missing or unclear. A family solicitor can work with a record like that. They cannot work with a reconstruction.
Locality checklist for a UK review
Name the UK nation and court. Copy the key words from the current order or plan. Add places only when they help explain the event. Remove home or school addresses if the reader does not need them. Check the right court rules before you use a private timeline as a formal record.
How to read the comparison
Start with the two-week rhythm rather than the percentage alone. The overnight split shows allocation. Handovers show how many transitions the repeating cycle creates. Longest stretch shows the most consecutive nights at either home. Weekday rhythm identifies whether the same parent usually has the same school nights. Together, those measures describe the pattern without deciding whether it suits a particular family.
Equal time can have very different mechanics
The 2–2–3, 2–2–5–5, alternating-week and 3–4–4–3 examples each divide fourteen overnights equally. But their transitions differ. A 2–2–3 pattern creates short stretches and more handovers. Alternating weeks create long stretches and fewer handovers. The other patterns sit between those two ends. Equal arithmetic is not the same as an identical routine.
Use the filters as discussion prompts
The filters surface patterns with equal overnights, fewer handovers, stretches of four nights or less, or fixed weekdays. They are mechanical filters, not recommendations. A practical discussion may also need to consider school and childcare, travel time, work patterns, messages, siblings, activities, the child’s needs and the terms of any current order or agreement.
A repeating example is not a complete parenting plan
A real plan may need exact exchange times and locations, school-day rules, holidays, birthdays, travel, notice for changes, transport responsibility and a process for resolving clashes. Local law and expert advice can affect what should be written. Treat the visual pattern as one layer of a broader agreement.
The schedule is the plan; actual events are the record
Once a pattern is agreed, real life can diverge from it. A handover may move, a weekend may be missed, make-up time may be offered, or a temporary variation may be agreed in messages. Keep the planned arrangement separate from a dated account of what actually occurred. Casewell’s parenting-time log is designed for that second job.
A UK review note
Compare five common custody schedule patterns by overnight split, handovers, longest stretch and weekday consistency in a free visual tool. Sharing any of it in the UK takes a few more steps.
Before you share any of this, work from a copy. Remove private details the reader does not need, and leave the original file untouched.
Check each key sentence. Can you link it to a date or source? If not, change the summary. Do not fill the gap with a guess.
Name the UK nation and court on the review copy. Keep the words used in the order. Ask a family solicitor about court rules and what you may need to share.
Which custody schedule is best for a child?
This tool cannot answer that. A workable arrangement depends on the person child, family circumstances, travel, care needs, existing documents and local requirements. Use the comparison to identify practical questions for discussion with an appropriate expert.
Does a 50/50 schedule always mean seven overnights each?
In this fourteen-night visual, equal patterns show seven overnights at each home. Other systems or calculations may use different periods, count hours, or apply their own definitions. So check the method relevant to your situation.
Does Casewell replace a parenting schedule?
No. The comparison helps you understand a proposed routine. Casewell keeps private, dated records of what was planned, what actually happened and the supporting material you choose to attach.
Is my schedule selection sent to Casewell?
No. The comparison runs in your browser and your selection is not transferred into Casewell. If you later use Casewell, you decide what to record there.
Does this cover Scotland and Northern Ireland too?
No. England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate family-law systems, forms and terms. Use the page to organise a working record and get advice for the relevant legal system.
Sources
England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate family-law systems, forms and terms. The official source gives orientation only. This page is a records guide, not legal advice.