Custody schedule

The Nesting (birdnesting) schedule

The children stay in one home and the parents rotate in and out of it.

50/50

overnight split

night cycle

182

nights a year (parent A)

The rotation

A = one parent, B = the other. Each cell is one overnight. This rotation divides regular school-year overnights 50/50 — about 182 and 182 nights a year.
Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
2	B	B	B	B	B	B	B

Who it tends to suit

The first months after a separation, families who want to keep the children in one school and one bedroom while things settle.

The honest trade-off

Gentlest possible arrangement for the children and the hardest on the adults: it requires three homes' worth of cost, or a shared off-duty space, and a level of cooperation that a separating couple may not have. Most families use it as a bridge for a defined period rather than a permanent answer — so write the end date in.

Exchanges

The exchange is the parents swapping places; write down who cleans, who shops, and who pays for what in the shared home.

Also called: birdnesting, bird's nest custody.

Build a plan with this schedule Count the overnights

Compare with

Week-on / week-off (50/50)2-2-3 (50/50)2-2-5-5 (50/50)3-4-4-3 (50/50) All schedules →