Free tool
Co-Parenting Schedule Builder: plan your 14-day pattern
Most co-parenting routines repeat every two weeks. Tap the days below to switch them between you, watch the overnight split update, and print the pattern to bring to a conversation or a mediation session. Everything happens in your browser, and nothing is stored or sent anywhere.
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The idea is simple: sketch a repeating 14-day pattern showing which nights the children spend with each parent. Common patterns include alternate weeks, the 2-2-5-5 rotation, and every other weekend. Our guide to how family mediation works explains how a pattern becomes a parenting plan.
Runs entirely in your browser. Names and choices are never stored or sent anywhere, and disappear when you leave the page.
Why start with a 14-day pattern?
It is how routines actually work
School weeks, work shifts and clubs mostly repeat fortnightly. A pattern you can see beats a vague agreement about “roughly half the time”.
It turns feelings into numbers
Seeing the overnight split as a simple count takes the sting out of the conversation. 7-7 and 9-5 look very different once they are on the page.
It is mediation-ready
Print your pattern and bring it to a mediation session. A working draft, even one you disagree about, gives the conversation somewhere to start.
The common patterns, decoded
Alternate weeks means a full week with each parent, with one handover a week, and suits older children who manage longer stretches. The 2-2-5-5 rotation gives children two nights with each parent, then five with each, so nobody waits more than five nights to see the other parent. The 2-2-3 pattern rotates even faster, which can suit younger children, and every other weekend patterns are common where one parent works away or lives at a distance.
There is no legally standard split, and courts do not start from any fixed division of time. What matters is what works for your children’s ages, school run and your work patterns. When a pattern is agreed, mediation can record it in a parenting plan, and our guides explain how that process works and how agreements become binding. If you cannot agree a pattern at all, start with a MIAM.
Frequently asked questions
Does a 50/50 overnight split have special legal status?
No. There is no default split in the law of England and Wales. Courts and mediators start from what is best for your children, and that can be any pattern.
Is the pattern I build here legally binding?
No. It is a planning aid. An agreed pattern can go into a parenting plan, and it only becomes legally binding if a court turns it into a consent order. See is mediation legally binding.
What about holidays, birthdays and Christmas?
Special occasions usually sit on top of the everyday pattern. Our School Holiday and Special Occasions Planner handles those, including odd and even year rotations.
What if we cannot agree on a pattern?
That is exactly what family mediation is for. A mediator helps you test patterns against real life, and children aged 10 and over can have a voice through child-inclusive mediation.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Making child arrangements if you divorce or separate, gov.uk. Accessed 4 July 2026.
- Cafcass, resources to help you make arrangements in your child’s best interests, cafcass.gov.uk. Accessed 4 July 2026.
- Family Mediation Council, family mediation and parenting agreements, familymediationcouncil.org.uk. Accessed 4 July 2026.