Schedule guide · 3-4-4-3
The 3-4-4-3 schedule: three- and four-night blocks
Three nights with one parent, four with the other, then four and three. Each parent has half the nights, and only Thursday changes hands from week to week.
How it works
As laid out here, Parent 1 has Monday through Wednesday every week, and Parent 2 has Friday through Sunday every week. Thursday alternates: Parent 2 has it in week one, Parent 1 in week two.
You can start the blocks on a different day so the weekend falls differently. Use the planner to shift nights and see the effect.
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 an equal split with a mostly fixed weekly routine.
- Parents whose work schedules fit a set part of each week, such as one parent who works weekends.
- Children who do well with stretches of three or four nights.
Trade-offs to weigh
- In this layout, one parent has every weekend and the other has every school-week start. Some parents see that as a fair fit for their jobs; others want weekends shared. Changing the start day changes who gets weekends.
- Four exchanges every two weeks.
- The longest stretch away from a parent is four nights.
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.