Children & Parenting
Common Parenting Time Schedules in BC and How They Work
By SiLaw Group Family LawyersPublished Nov 13, 2026 · 6 min read
There is no standard parenting time schedule in British Columbia. The Family Law Act says no particular arrangement is presumed to be in a child's best interests, so week-on week-off, 2-2-3, 2-2-5-5 and alternating weekends are all just patterns. Which one fits depends on the child, not a template.
SiLaw Group Family Lawyers helps parents build schedules by agreement, in mediation and in court. This post walks through the common patterns night by night, the legal yardstick behind all of them, and where the 40 percent child support line falls. For what parenting time means, start with our parenting time and contact page, and for the rest of the plan see our parenting plan guide.
What Does BC Law Say About Choosing a Schedule?
Parenting time is the time a child is with a guardian, as allocated under an agreement or order (section 42(1) of the Family Law Act). In making an agreement or order about parenting arrangements, the parties and the court must consider the best interests of the child only (section 37(1)). Section 37(2) lists what must be considered, including the child's health and emotional well-being, the child's views, the child's relationships with significant people, the history of care, the need for stability given age and stage of development, each guardian's ability to exercise their responsibilities, the impact of any family violence, and whether requiring the guardians to cooperate would increase any risk.
Under section 40(4) of the Family Law Act, no particular arrangement is presumed to be in the best interests of the child, and it must not be presumed that parenting time should be shared equally, that parental responsibilities should be allocated equally, or that decisions should be made separately or together. There is no default to argue up or down from.
For married parents, the Divorce Act runs alongside. Section 16(1) of the Divorce Act directs the court to consider only the best interests of the child in making a parenting order, and section 16(6) adds that a child should have as much time with each spouse as is consistent with the best interests of the child.
How Do the Common Schedules Work, Night by Night?
Every pattern below runs over a two-week cycle of 14 nights. The counts are arithmetic, not law.
Week-on, week-off. Seven nights with one parent, then seven with the other, changing over on a fixed day. Each parent has 7 of 14 nights, there are 2 exchanges per fortnight, and the longest stretch away from either parent is 7 nights. Many families change over at school so the handover is not face to face.
2-2-3. Two nights with parent A, two with parent B, then a three-night weekend with parent A. The next week the pattern flips, so the weekend goes to parent B. Each parent has 7 of 14 nights, there are 6 exchanges per fortnight, and no stretch is longer than 3 nights.
2-2-5-5. Each parent has the same two weeknights every week, say Monday and Tuesday with parent A and Wednesday and Thursday with parent B, and the Friday-to-Sunday weekend alternates, producing two nights, two nights, five nights, five nights. Each parent has 7 of 14 nights, there are 4 exchanges per fortnight, and the longest stretch is 5 nights.
School-week base with alternating weekends. The child lives at one home on school nights and spends alternating weekends with the other parent, often Friday after school to Sunday evening, sometimes with a midweek overnight. Alternating weekends alone give the second parent 2 of 14 nights. A weekly midweek overnight makes it 4 of 14, about 29 percent, and extending the weekend to Monday morning makes it 5 of 14, about 36 percent.
Our post on shared parenting arrangements in British Columbia has a quick table of the equal-time patterns.
Where Does the 40 Percent Line Come In?
Child support is where the arithmetic meets the law. Under section 9 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines, if each spouse exercises not less than 40 percent of parenting time with a child over the course of a year, the amount of child support must be determined by taking into account the table amounts for each spouse, the increased costs of shared parenting time arrangements, and the conditions, means, needs and other circumstances of each spouse and of any child for whom support is sought. The Guidelines do not say how the 40 percent is to be counted. Overnights per year is a common counting approach, and it is a practice, not a rule.
By that count, week-on week-off, 2-2-3 and 2-2-5-5 all sit at 50 percent, while alternating weekends with one midweek overnight sits well below the line and even the extended version, at about 36 percent, does not reach it. Our parenting time calculator counts the nights for you, and our page on shared and split parenting time and child support explains what changes once the line is crossed.
One caution. Section 37(1) of the Family Law Act requires the best interests of the child only, so a schedule designed around a support threshold rather than around the child does not fit that test. Settle the schedule first.
Which Pattern Fits Which Child?
The section 37(2) factors in the Family Law Act turn into practical questions. How long can this child go without seeing each parent before it shows? How many handovers a week can the child, and the parents, manage without friction? Does the child have a view, and how much weight does it deserve given age and maturity? Where family violence or high conflict is part of the picture, can exchanges happen at school or in a public place so the parents do not meet, and would a pattern that depends on frequent cooperation increase risk? Where parents live far apart, time is usually concentrated in school breaks and summer instead, with phone or video contact in between.
Shorter rotations mean more transitions and shorter gaps, longer rotations the reverse, and neither is right for every child. A schedule can also step from one pattern to another at a set age or on a set trigger. Our plain-language page on the best interests of the child works through each factor.
How Do Holidays and Summer Fit Around the Pattern?
The regular pattern is the baseline, and holiday terms override it. A plan should say how school breaks, long weekends, summer, cultural and religious days and birthdays are divided, which parent has which in odd and even years, and what happens when a holiday lands on the other parent's regular time. Our co-parenting communication guide covers the habits that keep those conversations short.
How Do You Make a Schedule Enforceable?
Two or more of a child's guardians may make an agreement about parenting time (section 44(1) of the Family Law Act). The agreement is binding only if it is made after separation, or when the parties are about to separate for the purpose of being effective on separation (section 44(2)). Once a written agreement respecting parenting arrangements is filed in the court, it is enforceable under the Act as if it were an order of the court (section 44(3)). On application by a party, a court must set aside or replace an agreement that is not in the best interests of the child (section 44(4)). Where agreement is not possible, a guardian may apply for an order respecting parenting time (section 45(1)).
Most schedules we see are reached by agreement, often through family mediation, where a neutral helps parents test these patterns against their child's week. If a schedule is not being followed, our guide to enforcing parenting time in BC explains the remedies.
Talk to a Parenting Time Lawyer About Your Schedule
Whether you are choosing a first schedule or changing one that no longer fits, we can help you weigh the patterns against the law. The first 30 minutes with SiLaw Group are free, by phone, video, or in person in South Surrey. Call (778) 381-9977 or Book Now for a Free Consultation.
This post is legal information, not legal advice. Rules and fees are current to the date of writing and can change.
About SiLaw Group
SiLaw Group Family Lawyers is a Surrey, BC firm practising family law and mediation. Founder Sandy Sihota is an accredited Family Law Mediator, Arbitrator and Parenting Coordinator (Law Society of BC). Articles are legal information, not legal advice.