Default schedules
Common schedules include alternating weekends with a midweek dinner, a 2-2-3 rotation, or a week-on/week-off pattern for older children. The right schedule depends on the children's ages, school location, and each parent's work hours.
Holidays and school breaks
Holiday and break schedules are typically set separately from the regular weekly pattern. Courts encourage detailed orders — odd vs even years, exchange times, transportation responsibility — because vague holiday provisions are the single most common source of post-judgment friction.
Supervised visitation
When safety concerns warrant, the court can order supervised visitation — either professionally supervised (paid agency) or by a designated family member. Supervision is intended to be temporary in most cases; the path back to unsupervised time depends on the underlying concern.
Enforcement
When one parent is denied court-ordered time, remedies include makeup time, modification of the order, and in extreme cases contempt of court. Documentation matters — a contemporaneous record of denied visits is far more persuasive than a recap months later.