What custody schedules may work best for you and your kids?

It’s common for Toronto family law judges to encourage parents to sort out a custody schedule among themselves. Many parents here in Ontario find deciding how to trade off time with their child difficult to do. There are some popular custody schedules that you may be able to use in negotiating with your ex though.

Alternating weeks schedules are perhaps the most common. Your child would spend an entire week at one parent’s house and then the following at the other’s as part of this custody schedule. You may do tradeoffs on the weekends.

You’ll both want to provide your child with a room, electronics, and toys at each of your houses if you want them to feel a sense of normalcy.

If the thought of being away from your child every other week rubs you the wrong way, then you may want to consider doing an alternating week schedule with a single daytime visit or overnight midweek.

One of the benefits of pursuing one of these schedules is that it allows you and your child to physically be together with one another during a portion of the noncustodial week. You otherwise may be relegated to only chatting by phone or computer.

This parenting schedule may be easier for your child to adjust to since they won’t have to go an entire week without seeing their other parent. This may result in fewer behavioral concerns. It also gives you as a mom or dad a reprieve from parenting duties for a night in case you need to stay at work late or have an event to attend.

Another custodial schedule that you may want to consider for your kids is a rotating one. There are many different types of these including a 2-2-3 to 3-3-4-4 and a 2-2-5-5 one. Each of these numbers refers to how many consecutive days a child generally spends with one parent before transitioning to the other’s home.

Rotating custody schedules can be customized to fit your needs. You can keep the days that your child spends with one parent the same each week or alternate them.

Parents often base their custodial arrangements on what works best for their work schedule and lifestyle. Moms and dads should take into account what’s best for their children and development though. A family law attorney can help you make sense of what’s best for your kids and help you advocate for that.