The week-pattern builder inside the Parenting Planner is the structured editor for clause 2 (Live with / spend time with). Where clause 2’s text describes the routine in legal-friendly prose, the week-pattern builder lets you set the routine block-by-block in a visual interface — and then generates the clean clause text from your inputs.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.rytz.com.au/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
When to use the builder vs writing clause 2 directly
The clause 2 surface accepts free-form text. Many users draft clause 2 directly because their routine is simple (“Monday-Friday with father, Saturday-Sunday with mother, alternating weeks”). The week-pattern builder pays off when:The routine is more nuanced
Different weekdays have different arrangements. Mid-week dinners with the non-resident parent. After-school care variations. Different hand-over points for different days.
You're negotiating with the other party
Visual editing is faster to negotiate against than text. Both parties can see exactly what each proposed change does. Less ambiguity.
You want clean clause text
The builder generates clause text in a consistent house style. Particularly useful for filings as Consent Orders where drafting consistency matters.
You're considering alternatives
The builder can store multiple routine options (“week-on-week-off”, “5/9”, “alternate-weekends-plus-Wednesday”) and switch between them. Useful for testing what each looks like on the parenting calendar.
What the builder produces
A typical week-pattern builder output includes:- The base routine — who the children are with on each weekday and weekend day
- Time blocks — start and end times for each block
- Changeover points — where the children are physically handed over (school pickup, residence, third-party location)
- Mid-week contact — phone calls, dinners, after-school activities
- The alternating pattern — which week is which (week 1 / week 2, or odd / even week numbers, or other patterns)
- Term-time vs school-holiday distinction — many routines vary across these two contexts
Building a routine
Choose a starting pattern
The builder offers common patterns as starting points:
- Week-on / week-off — alternating full weeks with each parent
- 5/2/2/5 — children with one parent Monday-Tuesday, the other Wednesday-Thursday, alternating weekends (Friday-Sunday)
- 2/2/3 — alternating two-day blocks with a three-day weekend, rotating which parent has the weekend
- 9/5 — children primarily with one parent (9 days per fortnight), substantial-and-significant time with the other (5 days per fortnight)
- Custom — start blank and build from scratch
Set the day blocks
For each day of the week (Monday through Sunday), specify which parent has the children for which time block.A day might be a single block (“Monday — with father, all day”) or split into multiple blocks (“Monday — with father 6am-3pm, with mother 3pm-bedtime”).Most routines use whole-day blocks. Multi-block days appear in routines with mid-week dinners or shared after-school care.
Set the changeover points
For each transition between parents, specify:
- Where the changeover happens — school pickup, the residence of one parent, a neutral location, a third-party’s residence
- At what time — exact time or time range
- Who delegates if needed — can a trusted family member or friend collect the children if the parent can’t be there?
- Late or no-show protocol — what happens if the receiving parent is late or doesn’t show
Set mid-week contact (if any)
Phone calls, video calls, after-school visits, dinner-only contact — anything that crosses the routine schedule.Each contact has: which parent calls (or visits), how often, what duration, what time of day.
Set the alternating pattern
For routines that alternate (week-on/week-off, alternate weekends), specify which week is which:
- Reference start date — the first day of “week 1” or “week A”
- Pattern — week 1 / week 2 / week 1 / week 2, or AA-BB, or other
- Holidays exception — does the alternation reset across school holidays? Continue through? See clause 2’s school-holiday allocation.
Set term-time vs school-holiday distinction (if applicable)
Many routines have a term-time pattern and a school-holiday pattern. The builder lets you set one for each:
- Term-time — the default routine when school is on
- School holidays — a separate pattern for when school is on holiday (often: alternating week blocks, or first-half / second-half splits)
Preview on the calendar
Click Preview to see the generated routine on the parenting calendar. Walk through the next 3–6 months. Check it produces what you intended.Common things to spot:
- Do public holidays land where you’d want?
- Do special occasions (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays) land cleanly or overlap with awkward routine boundaries?
- Is the time-percentage split what you intended? The platform shows the actual split alongside the calendar.
Common patterns and what they produce
| Pattern | Term-time time split | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|
| Week-on / week-off | 50/50 | Simple. Long blocks may be hard for younger children. Single-week absences from each parent. |
| 5/2/2/5 (children with each parent every 2 weeks) | 50/50 | Children see each parent every week. More handovers. |
| 2/2/3 | 50/50 | Even shorter blocks. Highest handover frequency. Often used with younger children. |
| 9/5 (alternating weekend + Wednesday) | ~64/36 | Primary-care pattern with substantial-and-significant time. Most-common pattern in matters with one primary carer. |
| 13/1 (occasional contact) | ~93/7 | Far rarer; usually only with safety considerations driving it. |
What the builder will not do
- It will not negotiate the routine for you. Visual building is faster than text negotiation, but the negotiation itself is yours.
- It will not predict whether the court will accept the routine. The Strategic briefing does that evaluation.
- It will not handle special-occasion overrides automatically. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, children’s birthdays are clause 5; the builder leaves those to clause 5’s editor.
What’s next
The eleven clauses
Clause 2 (Live with / spend time with) in legal context.
Parenting calendar
Where the builder’s output renders visually.
Strategic briefing
Where the routine you build is strategically evaluated.
Best-interests analysis
How the routine maps to s60CC considerations.