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Parenting time / Visitation

The schedule of time a child spends with each parent under the order or plan. Deviations from it, late, missed, denied, are the most commonly documented custody events.

What parenting time means

Parenting time, still called visitation in some places and older orders, is the schedule of time the child spends with each parent under the parenting plan or court order. Many jurisdictions have moved to the term parenting time deliberately, because it frames both parents as raising the child rather than one merely visiting.

Deviations from the schedule are the single most commonly documented category of custody events, and for good reason: late arrivals, missed time, denied time, and last-minute cancellations are concrete, datable, and directly tied to what the order requires. They are exactly the kind of pattern courts look at.

Example: an entry noting that scheduled Friday time was denied, with the date, the reason given, and any message about it, is far more useful than a general sense that the schedule is not being honored. Each specific instance is a data point; enough of them form a pattern.

Because the terminology and enforcement mechanisms vary by state, check what your own order calls the schedule and route questions about enforcement through your attorney.

Related terms

Custody exchange / Handoff
The scheduled transfer of a child between parents. A frequent friction point, and one of the most useful things to document consistently: time, place, and how it went.
Contempt (of court)
Violating a court order, such as repeatedly withholding court-ordered parenting time. Proving a pattern usually requires dated documentation of each violation.
Parenting plan
The document setting out the custody schedule, holidays, exchanges, decision-making, and often how expenses are shared. The baseline your documentation gets compared against.

Keep reading: How to Document Custody Violations (So Your Record Holds Up), or return to the full glossary.

This definition is general information, not legal advice. Terms and their exact meanings vary by state, county, and case; for how this concept applies to your situation, consult a qualified family-law attorney.