Support & Help

Getting started

When you first sign up, a short setup walks you through four steps:

1. Set up your family — name your family (e.g. "The Dawsons"); you're the parent/owner.
2. Add your first child — first name, grade, school, and any allergies.
3. Invite your people — co-parent, caregiver/grandparent, or coach/tutor.
4. Choose alerts — activity reminders, pickup & carpool alerts, message alerts.

You can change all of this later from the relevant tab or from Profile.

Activities

Add an activity

1. Tap + Add activity from the Dashboard quick actions, or the + button on the Activities or Calendar tab.
2. Enter the Activity Title and pick the Child (or children) it's for.
3. Choose a Category (Sports, School, Music, etc.) — or add your own with the + in the category list.
4. Set Start Date / End Date and Start Time / End Time.
5. Choose One-Time or Recurring. For recurring, select the Days of Week.
6. Optionally set the Assigned Adult, Drop-off Adult, Pickup Adult, a Reminder (e.g. "15 minutes before"), Location, and Notes.
7. Tap Save.

Edit or delete an activity

1. Tap the activity card (on the Dashboard, Activities, or Calendar) to open its detail screen.
2. Tap the Edit (pencil) button, change any field, and save.
3. To remove it, tap Delete activity at the bottom of the edit screen.

Find an activity

On the Activities tab, use the search bar and the filters for kid, category, pickup person, and recurring to narrow the list.

Calendar

1. Open the Calendar tab.
2. Switch views with the Day / Week / Month selector.
3. Day view: toggle between Today and Choose Day… to pick any date.
4. Week / Month view: use the ‹ › arrows to move between months; tap a date to see that day's schedule. Colored dots show which children have activities.
5. Filter by child with the All kids / kid-name chips, or tap Recurring to show only repeating activities.

Messages

Send a new message

1. Open the Messages tab and start a New Message.
2. Pick To: a person or All (the whole family).
3. Add a Subject, choose a Category, type your Message, and tap Send Message.

Reply in a conversation

1. Tap a conversation to open it.
2. Type in the Message… field at the bottom and tap the send (paper-plane) button. Tap Done above the keyboard to dismiss it.

Edit a message (fix a typo)

1. Press and hold your own message bubble.
2. Choose Edit, change the text, and send. The message will show a small · edited label.

Show more conversations

The list shows Recent 10 by default. Tap All (N) to see every conversation. You can also search and filter by category or recipient.

Alerts & notifications

Browse your alerts

On the Alerts tab, use the filter row to switch between Recent 10 (default), All, Unread, and Require Action. Alerts are sorted newest first and show the date and time.

Act on an alert

Alerts that need a response show buttons such as I'll cover it (for a pickup) or Reschedule, plus Dismiss.

Create an alert for your family

1. On the Alerts tab, tap + to create a notification.
2. Enter a Title and Body.
3. Choose For Child (all or one) and For Parent/Caregiver (all family or a specific member).
4. Pick a Date, optionally link it to an Activity, and toggle Requires action? if recipients should respond.
5. Tap Send Notification.

Choose which alerts you receive

On the Alerts tab you can toggle:

• Push Notifications (the master switch)
• Activity Reminders
• Pickup & Carpool alerts

You can also set Lock-screen privacy to Detailed, Limited, or Private to control how much of an alert shows on your lock screen.

Notification sounds

KidSync uses your iPhone's default notification sound. Sound, banners, badges, and vibration are controlled by iOS, not inside the app:

1. Open the iPhone Settings app.
2. Go to Notifications → KidSync.
3. Adjust Sounds, Banners, Badges, and the Lock Screen / Notification Center options there.

Inside KidSync, the toggles control which types of alerts you get (reminders, pickups, etc.); your device settings control how they sound and appear.

Family & members

Add a member

1. Go to Profile → Family & members.
2. Tap Invite, enter their Email and Phone, choose a Role (Co-Parent, Grandparent, Caregiver, Coach — or add your own), and tap Send Invite.

Edit a member's role or phone

1. In Family & members, tap the member's card.
2. Change their Role or Phone and save. (Phone uses the format (123)-456-7890.)

Remove a member

1. Open the member's card and tap Remove Member.
2. If they're assigned to pickups or activities, you'll be asked to reassign those to another member (or leave them unassigned to flag for later), then confirm.

Children

Add or edit a child

1. Go to Profile → Children.
2. Tap Add Child (or tap an existing child to edit).
3. Set Name, Age, Grade, School, and any Allergies.
4. Add Emergency essentials: a primary Emergency Contact and a Backup (chosen from your family members, so their phone comes from their member profile), plus an optional Pediatrician name and phone.
5. Save. To remove a child, open them and tap Delete Child.

KidSync intentionally keeps only allergies and these contacts — it does not store detailed medical records.

Carpools & pickups

1. Open a carpool from the Dashboard (the Live Carpool Status card or the Carpool quick action).
2. See the driver, ETA, seats, and the rider/stop list. Use Track ride or Message driver.
3. Tap Edit (pencil) to change the driver, seats, day, or activity.
4. Use Add Rider to add someone (select a rider and enter their PIN).
5. When a pickup needs covering, you'll get an alert with I'll cover it — tap it to accept; the pickup shows as Confirmed.

Account, security & privacy

Open Profile by tapping your name/greeting on the Dashboard.

Security Center

• Two-factor authentication (SMS OTP & TOTP)
• Change password (minimum 6 characters)
• Phone number (format (123)-456-7890)
• Active devices — review and Revoke old sessions
• Security log — recent sign-ins and sensitive actions

Privacy Center

• Lock-screen privacy — Detailed / Limited / Private
• Share real-time pickup location — on/off
• Share medical notes & allergies — on/off
• Caregiver access logs — who viewed what

Sign out

Scroll to the bottom of Profile and tap Sign out.

Troubleshooting

I'm not getting notifications

1. Check Settings → Notifications → KidSync on your iPhone and make sure Allow Notifications is on.
2. Make sure the matching toggle is on in the app's Alerts tab.
3. Open the app once after enabling, so it can register your device.

New messages or activities aren't showing

Pull down on the list to refresh. KidSync also updates automatically in the background while the app is open.

How do I delete my account?

In the app, go to Profile → Security Center → Delete account to permanently delete your account and all associated data. You can also email support@affordableiws.com from your account email. See the Privacy Policy for details.