Guides for co-parents

Care arrangement

Care arrangements explained

An overview of the most common models — alternating weeks, 3-4-4-3, 2-2-5-5, and others. What works for different age groups?

Handover

Handover day — how to make transitions easier

Practical tips for smoother handovers between homes.

Equipment

What your child needs in each home

A practical checklist — what should be in both homes, and what should follow the child.

Residence

Shared residence vs. primary residence — what is the difference?

What it means in practice for everyday life, decision-making, and the child's rights.

Communication

Communication between co-parents

Why structure helps, and how to keep the tone factual when it concerns the child.

Holidays

Summer holidays across two homes

How to split the break, handle travel and consent, and keep the child settled across two homes.

Getting started

The first months as co-parents — finding your footing

Practical guidance for parents navigating the first months after separation.

Agreement

Writing a care agreement — what it should cover

A practical guide to what belongs in a written care agreement between co-parents.

Birthdays

Birthdays across two homes

How to plan birthdays when a child has two homes — splitting the day, celebrations, and keeping the focus on the child.

Money

Splitting expenses across two homes

What counts as a shared cost, how to split it fairly, and how to keep money conversations from spilling into everyday messages.

Relationships

Introducing a new partner to your children

When and how to introduce a new partner — timing, telling the other parent, age-appropriate pacing, and what to expect from the child.

Everyday life

Different rules in two homes — what consistency really matters

Some differences between homes are fine; a small number genuinely need to match. A practical guide to which is which.

School

School and co-parenting — staying coordinated

How to keep two homes aligned with school — contacts, parent-teacher meetings, homework, sick days, and what to do when a child is struggling.

Age stages

Co-parenting a teenager — when schedules need flexibility

How shared-care arrangements change as a child becomes a teenager — flexible schedules, social autonomy, and when to renegotiate.

Research

What research says about shared care and child wellbeing

What systematic reviews and Nordic research find about which care arrangements help children — and the factors that matter more than the schedule.

Young children

Shared care for babies and toddlers

What developmental research says about overnight stays, routines, and protecting attachment for children under three.

Holidays

Sharing holidays and school breaks

Common ways separated parents divide school breaks and the long summer, plus why agreeing dates early prevents most conflict.

Distance

Long-distance co-parenting

How shared care works when one parent moves away — schedules across distance, staying present between visits, travel, and protecting the child.

High conflict

Parallel parenting

What parallel parenting is, when it helps high-conflict parents, and how structure and limited contact protect the child while both stay involved.

Reviewing

When a care agreement needs to change

Why an arrangement that fitted a young child stops working as they grow, the ages that trigger a change, and how to revise it without reopening every disagreement.