Schedule guide · 2-2-5-5
The 2-2-5-5 schedule: fixed weekdays, long alternating weekends
Each parent has the same two weekdays every week, and the weekends alternate as five-night stretches. Half the nights each, with a predictable weekly routine.
How it works
Parent 1 always has Monday and Tuesday nights. Parent 2 always has Wednesday and Thursday nights. The weekend, Friday through Sunday, alternates. That means one parent's weekend joins their two fixed weekdays into a five-night stretch.
Over two weeks, the pattern reads 2, 2, 5, 5, which is where the name comes from.
The two-week grid
At a glance
Counts come from the two-week pattern shown. Holidays, school breaks and vacations in a real plan change them.
Who it may suit
- Families who want each parent tied to fixed school nights, which makes activities, homework routines and work schedules easier to plan.
- Parents who want an equal split with fewer exchanges than 2-2-3.
- Children who are comfortable being away from each parent for up to five nights.
Trade-offs to weigh
- The longest stretch away from a parent is five nights, which some parents of very young children find too long.
- Four exchanges every two weeks, often at school or daycare, which can keep handoffs low-key.
- The fixed weekdays work only if both parents' work schedules allow them every week.
Putting it in your parenting plan
Colorado's official parenting plan form, JDF 1113, has a section for the school-year schedule, where you list each parent's days and times, and separate sections for summer and holidays. Our walkthrough of the form explains each part. Write exact exchange times and places; "alternating weekends" alone leaves too much to argue about.
Before you commit, load the pattern in the planner, add your holidays and summer, and download the year to your calendar to see how it actually lands.
Your lawyer, start to finish
Attorney Charles E. Liken Jr.
Attorney Liken has written the kind of report a judge reads in a custody case, as a court-appointed Colorado Child & Family Investigator. He can tell you how a schedule like this one fits your children and your facts.
- Former Colorado Deputy District Attorney
- Colorado court-appointed Child & Family Investigator
- 700+ government fraud investigations
- 30+ years in the legal field
- Licensed in Colorado
Talk it through
Is this the right schedule for your family?
Bring the schedule to a free 20-minute call with Attorney Liken. No charge and no obligation.
Office telephone 303-406-2791
Office fax number 720-713-7147
Email charles@longmont.law
Office mailing address
The Longmont Law Firm, LLC
1601 29th St. Suite 1292
Boulder, CO 80301
Please do not send confidential details by email before we speak. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.