Sending Messages on the Parent System: A Quick Guide
Learn how to send messages quickly and efficiently on the Parent system to stay connected with your team and families.
Staying connected with your team, parents, and staff is crucial for effective communication in any childcare setting. With the Parent system's messaging feature, sending quick, clear, and organized messages has never been easier. Whether you need to send a reminder, share an update, or get quick feedback, this system is here to help you communicate seamlessly and effortlessly.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about sending messages, ensuring you stay organized and connected wherever you are.
Availability: Accessing the Message Feature on Both App and Portal
On the Portal:
The messaging feature on the Parent portal offers a full view of your messages, making it easy to manage communications, especially for bulk messages.
On the App:
The messaging tool is also available on the mobile app, allowing you to send and receive messages while on the go, keeping you connected anytime, anywhere.
Both platforms sync seamlessly, ensuring your messages are always up-to-date
How to Access the Messaging Hub on Both App and Portal
On Both Platforms:
To access the messaging hub on either the Parent portal or mobile app, simply click on the message icon located at the top-right corner of the screen. It’s positioned next to your personal account profile icon and name. This will open your messaging tool, where you can send and receive messages efficiently across both platforms.
Who Can Send and Receive Messages? ✉️
Messaging within Parent™ is designed to ensure secure and efficient communication. The ability to send and receive messages depends on user roles and permissions within the system.
📌 Company Owners
Company owners have the highest level of messaging permissions and can send messages to:
✅ All staff members across all locations with activated accounts.
✅ All location admins within the organization.
✅ All parents with activated accounts.
This makes it easy for company owners to share organization-wide updates, announcements, and important communications with all authorized recipients.
Location admins can send messages to:
✅ All eligible staff, parents, and admins within their designated locations.
✅ All Company owners with activated accounts, regardless of assigned classrooms or locations.
🔹 Company owners are visible to all class members and locations across the organization, ensuring seamless communication at all levels.
This ensures that communication remains focused and relevant to their specific location, making it easy to share updates with the right audience.
📌 Staff Members
Staff members can send and receive messages only if they have the "Send new message" permission enabled.
🔹 If this permission is enabled, staff members can:
✔️ Send messages to authorized recipients, including:
✅ All company owners, regardless of classroom assignment.
✅ All location admins at their assigned location, regardless of classroom assignment.
✅ All Staff and families in their assigned locations
✔️ Communicate with parents/contacts directly through the profiles of their assigned children in their primary or managed classrooms.
🔹 If this permission is disabled, staff members:
❌ Will not see the messaging tool.
❌ Will not appear as visible recipients in the messaging system.
❌ Will not see the messaging button on the profiles of their assigned children.
This setup ensures that only authorized staff with the correct permissions can initiate and manage communications, maintaining a secure and well-structured messaging system.
Note: Activated Accounts for Receiving Messages 📩
To ensure secure and efficient communication, only activated staff and parent accounts can receive messages within the system. If an account has not been activated or lacks the necessary access permissions, it will not appear as a recipient in the messaging feature.
This safeguard helps to: ✅ Maintain security by ensuring only authorized users are part of the communication.
✅ Prevent confusion or miscommunication by excluding inactive or unauthorized accounts.
✅ Streamline messaging by keeping the recipient list relevant and up-to-date.
By limiting messages to activated accounts, Parent™ ensures that all communications remain secure, targeted, and accessible only to those who should receive them.
Who Receives What Message?
Messaging in Parent™ follows specific rules depending on whether the message is sent through channels (such as classrooms, groups, or entire locations) or to individuals. Below is a breakdown of who receives messages based on different scenarios.
📢 Messages Sent Through Channels (Classrooms, Groups, or Entire Location)
🔹 Messages Sent to a Specific Classroom or Group:
If the message is sent to both staff and children or only one of these channel groups:
All children/parents in that classroom will receive the message (if their accounts are active).
All staff assigned to the classroom (either as their primary room or as a managed room) will receive the message.
Location admins will receive messages sent to classrooms since they manage all classrooms by design.
Location admins do not receive messages sent to groups.
🔹 Example:
📌 Staff-Only Channel:
If a message is sent to a staff-only channel within a classroom:All staff in that classroom will receive the message.
All location admins will receive the message.
Parents and children will not receive it even if they are members of the room
❌ Who Does Not Receive It?
Company owners do not receive messages sent to individual classrooms or group channels
📢 Messages Sent to the Entire Location (All Channels at Once)
When a message is sent to the entire location channel (named after the center’s location), the following recipients will receive it:
✅ All children/parents across the entire company.
✅ All staff in the entire company will receive it, regardless of whether a classroom is their primary or managed room, as each staff member will be assigned as a guardian of at least one class in the channel.
✅ All location admins in the center.
✅ All company owners will receive it.
📢 Messages Sent to a Specific Group
Only assigned staff receive the message (whether they are primary or collaborators managing the group).
A message cannot be sent to all groups at once.
Location admins and owners do not receive messages for groups
📌 What Is a Group?
📢 Messaging Individuals
Messaging an individual is straightforward:
Only the selected recipient(s) will receive the message, whether it’s a staff member, a parent, or both
If multiple individuals (staff, parents, group(s) and channel(s)) are selected together, all legitimate recipients in the channel, group, and individual selections will receive the message.
🔹 Special Cases:
If a channel and specific individuals are included in the same message, both the individuals and everyone who should receive the message via the channel will interact in the same conversation (if the message was sent as a group message).
This serves as a good alternative to including an admin or company owner in a group-related message, since they do not automatically receive messages sent through the group channel itself.
Similarly, this method allows an owner to receive classroom channel messages, as they do not normally receive classroom-related messages unless the message was shared universally with the entire location channel at once.
📌 Example:
A company owner wants to be part of a staff group discussion but does not receive group messages by default. Instead of adding them to the group permanently, they can be manually selected as a recipient in a specific message sent to the group. This allows them to participate in that particular conversation without being a full group member.
📌 Note
There is an option that allows admins, owners, and staff to have view-only access to all messages that involve staff members, even if they are not the intended recipients of the conversation.
More details on this setting are explained below in this section below: Allowing Admins, Owners, and Staff to View All Messages That Involve Staff Members
Allowing Admins, Owners, and Staff to View All Messages That Involve Staff Members
There is a setting that grants full visibility to admins, owners, and authorized staff, allowing them to have view-only access to all messaging interactions involving staff members, including conversations where they are not direct recipients.
🔹 How to Enable the Setting:
1️⃣ Go to ‘’Settings’’ on the bottom left of the screen.
2️⃣ Click "center managment"
3️⃣ select the last option ‘’communication."
4️⃣"Enable admin and staff to view all staff conversations."
5️⃣ Toggle the setting ON to activate it and save changes at the bottom of the screen.
🔹 Important Note:
Unlike owners and location admins, staff members require an additional permission to access this feature.
This permission is called "View all staff conversations" and must be added to their role separately.
Simply enabling the setting does not grant access—staff must have the specific role permission to view all staff-related messages.
🔹 What They Can See:
When enabled, admins, owners, and staff (based on permissions) will be able to view:
Staff-to-staff conversations (both group chats and one-on-one messages).
Staff-to-parent and parent-to-staff conversations (both personal and group messages).
Messages sent through classroom or group channels that include staff.
🔹 What They Cannot See:
Parent-to-parent conversations (both personal and group messages) unless they were specifically invited to the conversation.
🔹 Purpose of This Setting:
Ensures transparency and oversight within the daycare’s communication system.
Helps management monitor professional interactions while respecting privacy boundaries.
Provides owners and admins visibility into staff-related messaging for better operational awareness and support.
🔹 Additional Details on This Setting:
When this setting is enabled, messages involving staff that were sent a few hours before activation will become visible. However, older messages beyond that timeframe will not be accessible.
Similarly, if the setting is disabled, access to recently visible messages (sent within a few hours prior) will be removed, but much older messages will remain visible.
This ensures that only recent conversations are affected by the change while maintaining historical message visibility
🔹 Important Notes:
Admins, owners, and staff cannot modify or interact with these messages—view-only access is granted.
This setting helps maintain transparency, monitor professional interactions, and ensure operational oversight while respecting privacy boundaries.
Available Channels for Staff and Administrators to Communicate Through
Whether you are a staff member, location admin, or company owner, there are three main communication channels within Parent™:
1. Direct Staff Communication
Can send messages directly to other staff, location admins, or company owners.
If the staff-to-staff messaging option is disabled, no personnel—regardless of their role (owners, admins, or regular staff)—will be able to communicate with other staff or administrator members, either privately or within a channel.
However, staff and other working personnel can still interact with existing messages from past conversations and participate in any new group messages initiated by a parent.
Note: The staff-to-staff messaging setting is an internal option controlled by Parent™ and cannot be configured directly from the center's available messaging settings.
2. Child Contacts Communication
✅ Communicate with parents or guardians linked to a child's profile.
✅ Messaging is also accessible via the child's profile, allowing for quick and direct updates regarding the child’s care, attendance, or other important matters.
If Staff-to-Parent conversation is disabled, no personnel—regardless of their role (owners, admins, or regular staff)—will be able to initiate a new message with any parent , whether privately or within a channel.
However, if Parent-to-Staff conversation is enabled, staff and administrators can still receive messages initiated by parents and respond accordingly.
Additionally, they will still be able to reply to and engage with existing messages from past conversations.
Note: The staff-to-parent messaging setting is an internal option controlled by Parent™ and cannot be configured directly from the center's available messaging setting
3. Predefined Classroom, Groups and Location Channels
Parent™ provides structured group communication channels based on classrooms , groups and locations:
📌 Classroom channels are automatically created for each classroom, allowing messages to be sent to all staff and parents within that specific class.
Messages can be sent to only all staff , only all children’s contacts or both (e.g., a "Butterflies Children Only" channel for parents of children in that class).
Company owners and location admins do not receive these messages, as they are not part of the classroom channel unless they are assigned to that specific class.
Group Channels
📌 Entire Location Channel – Named after the location itself, this channel allows admins and company owners to send announcements to all staff and parents within the location.
As mentioned above, if Staff-to-Staff and Staff-to-Parent messaging are switched off, you will not be able to initiate a channel message with staff or parents, respectively. However, you can still interact with existing conversations and respond to new messages sent by families.
If a channel has no active members, whether staff or child contacts, it will not appear in the list.
For example, if the Bright Angels classroom has five children, but none of their parents have activated their accounts, the "Bright Angels - Children Only" channel will not be visible. However, if some staff members have activated accounts, the "Bright Angels - Staff" channel may still be available, but Bright Angels (Children and Staff) will not
Notes:
If both Staff-to-Parent and Staff-to-Staff messaging are disabled, all center personnel will lose the ability to create new messages. However, the messaging tool will remain visible, allowing them to access past conversations, receive messages from families, and respond accordingly.
If both Parent-to-Parent and Parent-to-Staff messaging are disabled, parents will lose the ability to create new messages. However, the messaging tool will remain visible, allowing them to access past conversations, receive messages from staff, and respond accordingly.
If Parent-to-Parent, Parent-to-Staff, Staff-to-Parent, and Staff-to-Staff messaging are all disabled, both parents and staff will be completely restricted from using the messaging feature. They will not be able to initiate new conversations, access old messages, or receive new ones. The entire messaging section will be disabled for them.
Parents of withdrawn or upcoming children cannot be messaged, even if they have an activated account and access to the system. However, if a parent has other active children enrolled, they can still be messaged for those active children.
Hence, if you cannot see a parent’s or child’s name as a recipient, check whether the child is withdrawn or upcoming and whether the parent has no other attending children, as this may be the reason they are not appearing in the messaging list.
🔹 Organization of Recipients in the Messaging System
In the recipient list, message groups are separated by category:
✔ Staff (Admins, Owners, and Staff members)
✔ Children’s Contacts (Parents/Guardians linked to a child’s profile)
✔ Classroom and Location Channels
🔹 Why This Structure?
✅ Easy Navigation – Users can quickly find the right recipients without confusion.
✅ Secure & Targeted Communication – Messages go only to relevant individuals, reducing unnecessary notifications.
✅ Organized & Efficient – Separating categories ensures clear communication paths and prevents mix-ups between staff, parents, and location-wide announcements.
This structured approach ensures smooth and effective communication, allowing staff, admins, and company owners to connect with the right people effortlessly
✉️ How to Create a Message on the Portal
The Messaging Tool in the Parent™ portal allows you to communicate easily with parents, staff, and other educators. Follow these steps to send a message quickly and efficiently.
📌 1. Access the Messaging Tool
Open the Parent™ Portal and navigate to the Messages section.
Click the orange plus (+) icon next to “Messages” in the left column to start a new conversations
🎯 2. Select Recipients
Click inside the "To" search box to choose recipients.
You can search for a class, staff member, parent, or child, or scroll through the available list.
📝 3. Compose Your Message
Type your message in the text box at the bottom.
Need more space? Click the arrow icon in the top-right corner to expand the text box for better visibility.
🔄 4. Choose Group or Individual Messaging
Group Message: Recipients will see and reply within the same conversation.
Individual Message: Each recipient gets the message separately, and responses remain private.
Example:
✅ Sending a group message to all parents in a classroom means everyone can see and reply in the same thread.
✅ Sending an individual message means each parent gets a private message, and their responses are seen only by you.
📎 5. Attach Images or Files (Optional)
Click the 🖼️ image icon (first icon to the left) to attach pictures.
Click the 📂 file icon (second icon) to upload documents.
⚙️ 6. Adjust Message Sending Preferences
Click the three-dot menu next to the purple "Send" button to select a sending option:
🔹 Press Enter to Send – Sends the message instantly when you press Enter.
(For a new line, use Ctrl/Alt + Enter or Option + Enter (Mac)).
🔹 Clicking "Send" – Requires you to click the Send button, preventing accidental sends.
Which Option is Better?
✅ Press Enter to Send is great for quick replies but can lead to accidental messages.
✅ Clicking "Send" gives you more control, ensuring your message is polished before sending.
🚀 7. Send the Message
Press Enter (if enabled) OR
Click the Send button to deliver your message.
👀 8. View Sent Messages
Your sent messages appear at the top of the conversation list.
In group messages, participant names will be visible until the group is renamed.
Click on the message to view or continue the conversation.
🔹 Accessible to All Participants:
Group description 📄 – Overview of the chat’s purpose.
List of participants 👥 – See who is part of the conversation.
Access to files 📂 – View shared images, documents, and videos.
Personal preferences ⚙️ – Manage individual chat settings.
🔹 Personal Settings Available:
Archive the chat 🗄️ – Hide the conversation from the main chat list.
Mute notifications 🔕 – Disable alerts for new messages.
Exit the group 🚪 – Leave the chat permanently.
🔹 Admin-Only Features:
However, only admins of the group can make changes that affect the group settings and impact all participants:
Add or remove participants ✂️
Modify group settings 🔧
Edit the group description 📝
Assign or remove admin roles 🎖️
Remove other admins ❌ – Admins can remove each other from the role.
Kick other admins from the group 🚫 – Admins have the authority to remove one another from the group entirely.
📌 Now that we’ve covered the important notes, let’s dive into the various settings and options available in conversations
✏️ Changing Group Name & Description (Accessible to Admins Only)
How to Change Group Name & Description
1️⃣ Tap the pen (edit) icon next to the group name.
2️⃣ Enter a new group name and update the group description.
3️⃣ Click "Save" to apply the changes.
🖼️ Upload a Group Image
Personalize your group by adding an image:
1️⃣ In the Group Info screen, tap the current group image (or placeholder if no image exists).
2️⃣ Select "Upload Image."
3️⃣ Choose an image from your device.
4️⃣ Confirm and save the new group image
🔕 Mute the Group or individual message (Accessible to All Participants)
If you want to silence notifications from a group or a specific conversation without leaving the group or deleting the message, you can mute it.
This allows you to stay in the conversation and access messages at your convenience without receiving notifications for new messages
Note: On the app, swipe all the way to the end to access options for muting, archiving, and exiting the group.
How It Works:
Muting a group or conversation means you will not receive message notifications, but you can still read and send messages within the conversation.
This is useful if the group or conversation is very active, but you still want access to updates when needed.
🔕 How to Mute a the conversation (Accessible to All Participants)
You can mute a conversation to stop receiving notifications while still having access to it.
Option 1: From the Group/Message Info Screen
1️⃣ Open the Group Info screen.
2️⃣ Tap "Mute" to silence notifications for the group.
Option 2: From the Messages List
1️⃣ Locate the conversation in your Messages list.
2️⃣ Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) next to the message.
3️⃣ Select "Mute" to disable notifications for the conversation
🗂️ Archiving and Deleting Conversations
Groups cannot be deleted, even if no one has responded to the messages. Instead, you can archive a group to remove it from your active chat list while still keeping the conversation accessible.
Solo conversations can be either archived or deleted, allowing you to either temporarily hide them from your messages or remove them permanently if needed.
📌 Note on Deleting and Archiving Messages
🗑️ Deleting a Message:
Only the sender of the message (whether a parent or staff) can delete it.
When a message is deleted by the sender (whether a parent or staff), it is removed for all recipients as well.
Messages in a conversation can only be deleted within 24 hours after they have been sent.
📂 Archiving a Message:
Each recipient can archive a message for themselves only—this does not affect others.
If a message is archived (even by the sender), it remains visible and accessible to all other recipients, especially in a group conversation.
Archiving is a personal action that does not remove the message for others, while deleting permanently removes it for all participants. 🚀
📂 How to Archive a personal or Group Message (Accessible to All Participants or Users in the conversation)
Archiving a conversation removes it from your active chat list without deleting the conversation. You can still access it later if needed.
Option 1: From the Message Info Screen
1️⃣ Open the Message Info screen.
2️⃣ Select "Archive."
Option 2: From the Messages List
1️⃣ Locate the group/message you want to archive.
2️⃣ On the Portal: Click the three-dot menu (⋮) next to the message.
3️⃣ On the App: Hold the message and swipe left to reveal options.
4️⃣ Select "Archive."
📝 Note:
Archiving a group does not delete the messages—you can always access the conversation in the archive, which is only available on the application, not the portal.
📢 If a new message is sent in an archived conversation, it will automatically reappear in your active chat list.
🗑️ Removing a Participant or Assigning Them as a Moderator
You can either remove a participant from the group or assign them as a group admin. Both parents and staff members can be assigned these roles.
How to Remove or Promote a Participant:
1️⃣ Open the Group Information screen.
2️⃣ Locate the participant's name under the Participants list.
3️⃣ Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) next to their name.
4️⃣ Choose from the following options:
"Make a Group Admin" – The user will now have admin privileges (multiple admins can be assigned).
"Remove from Group" – This will remove them from the conversation.
5️⃣ If removing, confirm by clicking "Yes."
📝 Note:
Removed members will no longer receive or send messages in the conversation.
They will still have access to past messages but won’t be able to participate in future discussions.