2-2-5-5 Custody Schedule (Also 5-2-2-5)

How the 2-2-5-5 schedule works

In a 2-2-5-5 schedule the same parent has the child on the same weekdays every week: here, parent A on Monday and Tuesday and parent B on Wednesday and Thursday. Only the long weekend rotates. Parent A has Friday through Tuesday one time round (five nights, the weekend plus the following Monday and Tuesday), and parent B has Wednesday through Sunday the next (five nights, the midweek plus the weekend).

Each cell shows which parent the child sleeps with that night. A and B are the two parents; the rotation repeats every two weeks.

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	A	A	B	B	A	A	A
2	A	A	B	B	B	B	B

The name counts the blocks across the two weeks: 2 nights, 2 nights, 5 nights, 5 nights. Because the grid is a loop, it can be written from any block: 5-2-2-5 and 2-5-5-2 are the same schedule with the cycle read starting from a different place.

Overnights and percentages

Each parent has 7 of 14 nights: 50%, about 182 to 183 nights a year each. Weekend nights (Friday and Saturday) split evenly, 2 each over a full rotation.

Pros of 2-2-5-5

• Consistent weekdays. Each parent has the same two weekdays every week, so school routines, homework and activities that fall on a fixed day are easy to plan.
• Fewer exchanges than 2-2-3. 4 every two weeks against 6, with a longest gap of 5 nights against 3.
• Alternating long weekends. Each parent gets a five-night stretch to do things that need more than a weekday evening.
• Both parents handle ordinary days and weekends. Even split with no make-up days.

Cons of 2-2-5-5

• Five nights is a long gap for a young child. If 5 nights is too long, 2-2-3 or a different split fits better.
• Midweek exchanges still happen every week. Both homes need to be near the school.
• The fixed weekdays are inflexible. If one parent works late on Tuesdays, the schedule has to be swapped by agreement rather than flexed.
• Easy to misread the cycle. The 5-2-2-5 and 2-5-5-2 names cause confusion, so write down the start date and who has which block.

Who 2-2-5-5 tends to suit

It is a common choice for school-age children and for parents who want a predictable weekday and a clear weekend, with fewer handovers than 2-2-3. It works best when the parents live near enough that the midweek exchange is easy, and when children are old enough to manage five nights away from a parent.

Making 2-2-5-5 work in practice

• Fix the exchange times. With the same exchange days each week, a standard time becomes habit.
• Put the start date in the calendar. Since 5-2-2-5 and 2-5-5-2 describe the same loop, the only thing that matters is which parent has the first five-night block, and from what date. A shared calendar makes it unambiguous. See one shared calendar for both homes.
• Plan activities around the fixed days. A class on Tuesdays is always the same parent's responsibility.
• Agree on holiday overrides. The loop pauses for holidays; pick a rule for when it resumes.

Setting up the 2-2-5-5 schedule in the Co-parenting app

the 2-2-5-5 schedule is one of the schedule templates in the app. Pick it in the calendar, choose the date the first rotation starts, and see how it falls across the year before you send it to your co-parent.

A schedule is only a proposal until the other parent accepts it, so you can try it out without committing either of you to anything. Once it is active, neither of you can change it on your own: every change is a request the other parent has to accept, and what you both see in the calendar is always what you both agreed to.

School holidays and public holidays are filled in for where you live, so you can see where the rotation runs into spring break or a long weekend while it is still a proposal. The FAQ covers templates, change requests and holidays in more detail.

Related schedules

Compare with 2-2-3 (more exchanges, shorter gaps), alternating weeks (fewer exchanges, longer gaps) and 3-4-4-3. See them all in custody schedule examples.

Frequently asked questions