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Parenting Time Calculator
A parent's share of parenting time is their overnights ÷ the nights in the year. On an every-other-weekend schedule from Friday to Monday morning, 3 of every 14 nights, the weekend parent has about 78.2 overnights a year, 21.4%. Alternating weeks, 2-2-3, 2-2-5-5 and 3-4-4-3 all come out at 50%.
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Work out overnights and percentage for a schedule
The example is filled in already: every other weekend, Friday to Monday morning. Change any box and the answer updates.
| Parent A | Parent B | |
|---|---|---|
| Regular pattern (365 nights) | 286.8 | 78.2 |
| Summer (0 nights) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Holidays moved | 0 | 0 |
| Overnights per year | 286.8 | 78.2 |
| Share of overnights | ||
| Nights per 14, base pattern | 11 | 3 |
First four weeks of the base pattern. Each box is the night that starts that evening; summer and holiday changes are not drawn.
How it's calculated
The calculator counts overnights: where the children sleep each night of the year.
pattern nights = (parent's nights in the 14-night cycle ÷ 14) × nights outside summer
overnights = pattern nights + summer nights given to that parent ± holiday nights moved
share = parent's overnights ÷ (Parent A overnights + Parent B overnights)
Every night belongs to one parent, so the totals always add up to the year and the share equals overnights ÷ 365 (or 366).
Adjustments replace nights; they never add to them. In a summer week given to Parent B, the regular pattern would already have given Parent B some nights. So the calculator takes those 7 nights out of the pattern first, then gives all 7 to Parent B. Adding 7 on top would count some nights twice. A holiday night moved from Parent A to Parent B comes off one total and onto the other.
The figures are averages, which is why they carry a decimal. A year is 26 full cycles plus one night (two in a leap year), so a date-by-date count on a real calendar can differ by up to one night (two in a leap year), depending on the day the cycle starts.
Worked example
Every other weekend, Friday to Monday morning: Parent B has the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights of every second week, 3 of every 14 nights.
3 ÷ 14 × 365 = 78.2 overnights for Parent B and 286.8 for Parent A. As shares, 78.2 ÷ 365 = 21.4% and 78.6%.
Now give Parent B two summer weeks. Those 14 nights come out of the pattern, leaving 351. Parent B's pattern share is 3 ÷ 14 × 351 = 75.2, plus the 14 summer nights: 89.2 overnights (24.4%). Adding 14 to 78.2 would give 92.2, counting the 3 pattern nights in those weeks twice.
Move two holiday nights from Parent A to Parent B as well, and Parent B has 91.2 (25.0%) while Parent A falls by the same two nights, to 273.8.
Common schedules at a glance
Each schedule repeats every 14 nights from a Monday; Parent B is the weekend parent. No summer or holiday changes.
| Schedule | Parent B nights | Parent B per year | Parent B share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alternating weeks (week on, week off) | 7 of 14 | 182.5 | 50.0% |
| 2-2-3 | 7 of 14 | 182.5 | 50.0% |
| 2-2-5-5 | 7 of 14 | 182.5 | 50.0% |
| 3-4-4-3 | 7 of 14 | 182.5 | 50.0% |
| Every other weekend, Fri to Mon morning (3 nights) | 3 of 14 | 78.2 | 21.4% |
| Every other weekend, Fri to Sun evening (2 nights) | 2 of 14 | 52.1 | 14.3% |
| Every other weekend (2 nights) + 1 midweek night weekly | 4 of 14 | 104.3 | 28.6% |
| Every other weekend (3 nights) + 1 midweek night weekly | 5 of 14 | 130.4 | 35.7% |
The four rotating schedules are all 50%. What separates them is how long the children go between homes: at most 3 nights on a 2-2-3, 5 on a 2-2-5-5, a week on alternating weeks. Which rhythm suits a family is a question a count cannot answer.
A projection, and a record
This page projects a schedule, assuming every cycle runs as written. The Custody Documentation System works the other way round: its Custody Calendar has a box for every night, you mark A, B or a holiday code as nights happen, and it counts each parent's nights by month and for the year. Its percentage is a parent's nights ÷ all nights marked, so a blank day counts for neither parent: the same share formula, applied to a record instead of a plan. A plan and a record can drift apart quietly, and a running count shows it early.
Common questions
How do I calculate custody percentage?
Count each parent's overnights in a year and divide by the nights in the year. For a schedule that repeats every two weeks there is a shortcut: a parent's nights in the 14-night cycle divided by 14. Three nights in 14 is 21.4%; seven in 14 is 50%.
What percentage is every other weekend?
It depends on when the weekend ends. Friday to Sunday evening is 2 overnights every 14 nights: 52.1 a year, 14.3%. Friday to Monday morning is 3: 78.2 a year, 21.4%. Adding one midweek overnight every week to the 2-night version gives 104.3 a year, 28.6%.
What percentage is a 2-2-3 schedule?
50% for each parent: 7 of every 14 nights, or 182.5 overnights in a 365-night year. The 2-2-5-5, 3-4-4-3 and alternating-weeks schedules come out at 50% as well; they differ in how often the children move between homes, not in the total.
Does a daytime visit or a dinner count?
Not in this calculator, which counts overnights only. Some places give credit for daytime care or count hours or days instead, so a parent with substantial daytime time may have a different figure under their local rules.
Is this the number a court or support worksheet will use?
Not necessarily. Jurisdictions measure parenting time in different ways and set their own thresholds, and this calculator does not calculate child support. Use it to understand a schedule, then check the figure against the rules that apply to you with your attorney or mediator.
Is anything I type stored or sent anywhere?
No. It runs entirely in your browser and nothing is sent to a server. If you copy the page link after changing the inputs, the inputs travel in the link itself.
Honest scope
This is a planning aid, not legal advice, and it does not calculate child support.
States and countries measure parenting time differently. Many count overnights; some count days or partial days, some count hours, and some give credit for daytime care. Where parenting time affects child support, the thresholds that matter, and what happens when one is crossed, vary as well. Check the guideline or worksheet that applies to you, ideally with your attorney or mediator, before relying on any figure.
The figures assume the schedule runs exactly as written all year. Real years include swapped weekends, travel and illness, so a projection and a record of what happened are different things, and both can be worth having.
Also working through the separation paperwork and shared costs? The Divorce and Co-Parenting Spreadsheet Bundle puts a divorce planner, the custody records workbook and a co-parenting expense ledger together (see it on Etsy).
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