3-4-4-3 custody schedule calendar

The catch that’s easy to miss

The 3-4-4-3 is the most predictable 50/50 rotation: only Wednesday switches between weeks. That predictability has a price you only see when it’s laid out. The weekends don’t alternate.

What two weeks look like

The top row is the first week, the bottom row the second. Then it repeats.

What it’s good at, and what it costs

• Six fixed weekdays: only Wednesday alternates.
• Four handovers every two weeks; the longest stretch with one parent is four nights.
• Weekends don’t alternate: in this layout one parent has every Friday and Saturday night and the other every Sunday night.

If both parents want full weekends, 2-2-5-5 keeps four fixed weekdays and alternates the weekends instead. If the weekend pattern suits your family, for example because one parent works weekends, the predictability is hard to beat.

Can a different start day fix the weekends?

No. Because only one weekday alternates, at least one weekend night always stays with the same parent, whichever day you start on. A different start day only changes which nights those are. Try it in the generator and check the preview before you commit.

How to add it to your calendar

The file works with every major calendar app. Import it once and the rotation fills in for as long as you chose.

1. 1

   Find the rotation and start date in your parenting plan

   Check the plan for the pattern’s name or the days it lists for each parent, and the date the arrangement begins.

2. 2

   Set up the calendar

   Pick the schedule, enter both names so each block reads “Kids with …”, then choose the first day and who has the children that day.

3. 3

   Check the preview

   Flip to a month you already know and compare. If the days look shifted, the first day or the parent who has it is off.

4. 4

   Download the calendar file, or print it

   The .ics file holds one all-day event per block, each repeating every two weeks until the end date you picked. Add a handover time to get a short handover entry on each changeover day. For paper, Print or save as PDF puts each year on one page.

5. 5

   Import it

   iPhone or iPad: open the file and tap Add All. Mac: double-click it, or File → Import in Calendar. Google Calendar: on a computer, Settings → Import & export → Import, then pick the calendar. Outlook: Add calendar → Upload from file.

What a calendar file can’t do

• It’s a copy of your schedule, not the schedule. Your parenting plan or court order is what counts; where the two differ, the order wins.
• It contains the regular rotation only. Holidays, school breaks and birthdays usually replace the rotation for a few days, and every plan words them differently. Add those as separate events and delete the single days they replace.
• An imported file doesn’t sync. If each parent imports it, an agreed swap only changes the copy that gets edited. To keep one version you both see, create a shared calendar in iCloud or Google Calendar, import the file into it, and invite the other parent.
• Nothing you type is uploaded. The file is built in your browser and saved straight to your device; we only count which rotation was downloaded.

Never miss a handover

The calendar file shows whose day it is. Smart Calendars adds what a file can’t: an alarm before each handover that rings until you stop it, with three sounds and Snooze, on iPhone and iPad with iOS 26 or later. Describe the schedule in a sentence, the way you’d explain it to a friend, and ask for the alarms; the calendar maker above writes that sentence for your exact schedule.

Add the dates your plan treats differently, like holidays, school breaks and agreed swaps, by typing them the way you’d text them or by photographing that page of the plan. You check every event before it’s saved, and you can share the calendar with your co-parent by link, QR code or .ics file.

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Other rotations

• 2-2-5-5 custody schedule calendarAlso called 5-2-2-5. Same weekdays every week, alternating weekends.
• 2-2-3 custody schedule calendarTwo nights, two nights, three nights. Then the same again with the parents swapped.
• Alternating weeks custody schedule calendarWeek on, week off. One handover a week, always on the same day.

Compare all 50/50 rotations

Questions

Does a 3-4-4-3 schedule alternate weekends?

No. Only one weekday changes hands between the two weeks, so at least one weekend night always stays with the same parent. If alternating weekends matter, look at 2-2-5-5 or 2-2-3.

How many handovers does a 3-4-4-3 have?

Four every two weeks: Sunday and Wednesday in the first week, Sunday and Thursday in the second.

What’s the difference between 3-4-4-3 and 2-2-5-5?

Both have four handovers a fortnight. A 3-4-4-3 keeps six weekdays fixed but never alternates weekends; a 2-2-5-5 keeps four weekdays fixed and alternates weekends, at the cost of five-night stretches instead of four.

Is 3-4-4-3 a 50/50 schedule?

Yes. Each parent has 7 of every 14 nights.