Every Third Week Custody Schedule (70/30)

Every Third Week is a 70/30 custody pattern: one parent has the kids for two consecutive weeks, then the other parent has them for one week. The cycle repeats every three weeks. It's commonly used when parents live far apart, when one parent travels frequently, or when school logistics make a closer split impractical.

How it works

Three-week cycle. The 'primary' parent has weeks 1 and 2. The other parent has week 3. Then back to the primary for two more weeks. Over the cycle, the primary parent has 14 days, the other has 7 — a clean 70/30 split.

A typical Every Third Week cycle:

• Week 1 — Mon to Sun: Primary parent
• Week 2 — Mon to Sun: Primary parent
• Week 3 — Mon to Sun: Other parent
• Then back to Week 1 (Primary), and the cycle repeats every 21 days.
• Handoffs happen on the same day of week, every three weeks.

What it means for kids

For kids, this schedule works best when distance or travel makes more frequent transitions impractical. The two-week stretch with the primary parent gives real settling-in time; the one-week visit with the other parent is long enough to actually live together (not just visit). Kids do need a strong communication routine — video calls, texts, simple voice messages — to bridge the gap during the off-weeks. The pattern asks more of older kids, who can understand the cycle, than of toddlers, who may struggle with two full weeks away from one parent.

What it means for parents

For the primary parent, this schedule is heavy on logistics — two-week stretches mean managing every school week, every weekend, every weeknight. The relief of week 3 is real but short. For the other parent, the one week is intense — you fit 'parent time' into seven days, often with travel involved. Both parents benefit from clear handoff days, packed-bag rituals, and direct communication about school events that fall during the other's stretch.

How SplitDay makes it easy

SplitDay's Every Third Week template handles the 21-day cycle automatically — pick the start week and the calendar lays out a year of which-parent-when. Both parents see the same schedule. Print the next month for the fridge so kids can see exactly when each parent's stretch begins and ends. When something needs swapping (a school event during the other parent's week), log it once and both phones update.