While in a small minority of cases, joint custody does mean an equal split of time between moms house and dad's house, the majority of custody cases see children spend anywhere from 65% to 85% of their time in one parent's house, with the remaining in the other parent's house.

How you determine the time is usually worked out between parents, and should always put their children first, before their own personal needs. Some children prefer to stay with one parent more that the other, due to many different reasons. Some possibilities for this include being near a certain parent during puberty, or a small child prefering to be with just their mom or just their dad while sick.

Particularly when children are older, you may find that when and how your child spends time with each parent differs, particularly as extracurricular activities and friendships become more important. In these cases, joint custody percentages often change, and as long as both parents are agreeable, it can work out positively for all involved.