Alternating weeks custody schedule calendar

Why it’s the simple one

Of the 50/50 rotations, alternating weeks is the easiest to remember and the easiest to run between homes that are far apart: there is one changeover a week, always on the same day.

What two weeks look like

Shown with a Friday handover. The top row is the first week, the bottom row the second.

What it’s good at, and what it costs

• One handover a week, always on the same day.
• A full weekend with each parent every other week.
• Seven nights is the longest stretch away from either parent, the longest of the 50/50 rotations.
• No fixed weekdays: a weekly activity is with one parent one week and the other the next.

Choosing the handover day

• Friday: each parent’s week starts with a weekend.
• Sunday evening: the children start the school week settled in the home they’ll be in.
• Monday at school: one parent drops off in the morning and the other picks up, so the parents don’t need to meet.

If a week feels long, a midweek dinner or overnight with the other parent is a common addition. The generator covers the plain 7-7; add the midweek visit as its own repeating event.

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.
• 3-4-4-3 custody schedule calendarThree nights and four, then four and three. Six of the seven weekdays never change hands.

Compare all 50/50 rotations

Questions

What day should the week-on, week-off handover be?

There’s no standard day. A Friday handover gives each parent a weekend at the start of their week; a Sunday-evening or Monday school handover settles the children before the school week. Use the day your parenting plan names.

How many overnights does each parent get on alternating weeks?

Seven of every fourteen, which comes to 182 or 183 a year.

Is alternating weeks the same as 7-7?

Yes. Week on, week off, alternating weeks and 7-7 are names for the same rotation.

Can I add a midweek visit to alternating weeks?

Yes, as a separate event. Add the visit to your calendar on the chosen day, repeating every other week, so it falls in the other parent’s week.