Week on, week off (7/7)
Week on, week off gives the child seven consecutive days with each parent. It involves fewer handovers than any other equal-time pattern — about 52 a year against roughly 130 for a 2-2-3 rotation — which is why it is common once children are settled in school.
| Week 1 | Week 2 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | ||
| Parent A | |||||||||||||||
| Parent B | |||||||||||||||
A fortnight of this rotation. The top row is one parent, the bottom row the other.
How the rotation works
The handover lands on the same weekday each week, most often Friday after school or Sunday evening. Each parent gets a full week including both school days and a weekend, so neither ends up carrying only the morning routine or only the leisure time.
Often works when
- The child is school-age, roughly 8 or older, and manages a week away from each parent.
- Both homes are in the same school catchment, so the week runs the same from either address.
- Each parent can cover a full week of school runs, meals, and activities without help.
Worth watching
- Seven days is a long gap for younger children. Under about 6, most families use a shorter rotation and move to 7/7 later.
- Anything left behind at handover — kit, homework, medication — is gone for a week. A shared packing list prevents most of it.
- Contact during the off week needs its own agreement. A video call on a fixed evening works better than leaving it to whoever thinks of it.
Questions about this pattern
How many handovers does week-on/week-off involve?
One a week, so about 52 a year. That is fewer than any other equal-time schedule — a 2-2-3 rotation involves roughly 130.
At what age does week-on/week-off usually start?
Most families introduce it once the child is settled in school and comfortable with longer stretches away from each parent, commonly from around 8. Younger children more often start on a 2-2-3 or 2-2-5-5 rotation and move to 7/7 later.
How do you keep contact during the week apart?
A fixed contact point works better than leaving it open — a video call on the same evening each week, for example. Agreeing the time in advance avoids calls that interrupt whichever home the child is in.