Messaging in the app

Who can message whom

Messaging happens in the Hi Kiddo mobile app, between people of the same center:

• Parents can write to the center's teachers and to the director.
• Teachers can write to parents and to the director.
• Directors can write to anyone at their center.

Each conversation is private between the people in it.

How to start a conversation

1. Open the Messages tab.
2. Tap the round button at the bottom of the screen.
3. In New Conversation, find the person with Search by name.... Each name shows their role, such as Teacher or Parent.
4. Tap the person. The conversation opens.

If you already have a conversation with that person, the app opens it instead of starting a new one.

How to send a message

1. Tap a conversation in the Messages list.
2. Type in the Message... box.
3. Tap the arrow button to send.

While a conversation is open, new replies appear by themselves within a few seconds. Messages are text only.

How to delete a message

1. Press and hold one of your own messages.
2. In Delete Message, tap Delete.

The other person then sees "This message was deleted" in its place. You can only delete messages you sent.

Finding a conversation

The Messages list shows your conversations with the latest message and its time. Conversations with unread messages show a count. Use Search conversations... at the top to find one by name.

Notifications

• When someone writes to you, your phone shows a notification with their name and the start of the message. Tap it to open the conversation.
• The Messages tab shows a red number with your total of unread messages.
• Teachers also see a banner on Home, such as "2 unread messages", when parents are waiting for an answer. Tap it to go to Messages.

Make sure you allowed Hi Kiddo to send notifications when your phone asked.

Good to know

• The director can turn messaging off for the whole center in Center settings. When it is off, the Messages tab disappears from the app, and past conversations are kept for when it is turned back on.
• Hi Kiddo platform administrators can view conversation history from the platform dashboard.
• For an urgent matter during the day, such as a pickup change, calling the center is often faster. Its phone number is in Profile, then Center info.

More about the app: Using the app as a parent and Using the app as a teacher.

Troubleshooting

• There is no Messages tab: messaging is turned off for your center. Ask the director.
• "Chat is disabled": same reason; messaging has been turned off for your center.
• "No users available" in New Conversation: there is nobody you can write to yet at your center, for example no teacher has been added.
• The person I want isn't in the list: parents only see staff, and teachers only see parents and the director. Teachers can't message each other in the app.
• I don't get message notifications: check that notifications are allowed for Hi Kiddo in your phone's settings.