3-4-4-3 Custody Schedule: A Balanced 50/50 Pattern

The 3-4-4-3 schedule is a 50/50 pattern where the kids spend three days with one parent, then four with the other, then four with the first, then three with the second — repeating every two weeks. It's a bit gentler than 2-2-3 (fewer transitions) and a bit livelier than week-on/week-off (kids see each parent more often).

How it works

The structure: parent A gets three days, parent B gets four, then parent A gets four, then parent B gets three. Each parent ends up with seven days over the two-week cycle. Most families align the cycle so the longer block (4 days) covers a weekend, but you can rotate it however suits your weeks.

A typical 3-4-4-3 cycle (over two weeks):

• Day 1-3: Parent A (3 days, e.g. Mon-Wed)
• Day 4-7: Parent B (4 days, e.g. Thu-Sun)
• Day 8-11: Parent A (4 days, e.g. Mon-Thu)
• Day 12-14: Parent B (3 days, e.g. Fri-Sun)
• Then back to Day 1.
• Each weekend (Fri-Sun) lands with a different parent.
• 14-day cycle, 7 days each.

What it means for kids

3-4-4-3 strikes a middle ground for kids: never away from a parent for more than four days, always know roughly which house they'll be at on a weekend (alternating). The transitions are more spaced out than 2-2-3, which means fewer 'where's my…?' moments and more time to settle in. For elementary-age kids who still need frequent contact but cope with a few days apart, this is often the sweet spot. Older kids might find the 3-day blocks a bit short, but the 4-day blocks let them really decompress at each home.

What it means for parents

For parents, 3-4-4-3 spreads weekends evenly — neither of you ends up always handling Saturday cleanups or Sunday family events. The handoffs land at predictable points (start of the 3-day or 4-day block), so you can plan work meetings and personal time around them. The two-week cycle takes a few rounds to internalize — most parents end up looking at a calendar to remember where they are. The schedule rewards parents who can be flexible about which specific days the cycle starts on; some families anchor the 4-day block to school weekends, others prefer it to span a weekday-to-weekday stretch.

How SplitDay makes it easy

SplitDay's 3-4-4-3 template handles the alternation automatically — pick your start day and the cycle plays out for the next year. Both parents see the same calendar, so the question 'who has the kids for this weekend?' has a one-tap answer. The two-week pattern is exactly the kind of cycle that's hard to keep in your head — print the next month and it becomes obvious. When a swap or sick day comes up, log it once and both phones update.