How to set up a registration for parents and children, e.g. VBS or Youth camp.

Registration for events with children or students should begin with a parent group where family information can be collected first, then each child registered.

Why 2 groups?

  • Shared household information can be collected in the parent group, making the registration process for each child faster (for multi-children families).
  • Family roles and text-to-register phone records could accidentally be changed when using Text-to-Register.  This is because the software recognizes the phone number being used to Text-to-Register. 

In order to make the registration process quick and simple, we recommend that you create a parent group first.  This is where the main information that applies to all family members, as well as payment, is collected.  

Insert the Keyword for Text-to-Register in the settings on the Parent Group.  This will ensure that the parent's mobile number is properly associated with the adult, not the child, for use of other Text-to-Church features including Text-to-Give.

The separate Child or Student Group is where minor details such as t-shirt or roommate info can be selected. The Family Role on the Registration settings page should be set to Child or Student for this group. Use completion options in the settings for the parent registration to link it to the child or student group.

Having two groups allows a leader to be able to only text/email the parents or only communicate with the students, which is often necessary.  

The Setup Steps

  • First create the parent group, just as you would create any group, then add the necessary registration attributes.  Add "Parents" or "Adults" as part of this group name, such as VBS - Parents or Youth Camp - Parents, so that the groups are easy to distinguish later. Below is an example of registration attributes (1) for a Youth Camp - Parent group. 
    • In the Registration Settings for this group, be sure to make the Default Family Role be Adult (2) and set a Secondary Registration for your Child or Student Group (3) - this is usually added after you create the Child or Student group.

Youth Camp - Parents - Reg Settings -1

  • Second, create the child or student group and add the necessary registration attributes for this group.  
  • In the Student group, you can use the birthday or age attribute to auto-register the child into a particular class if this group is for something such as VBS.  This will save a step later by dividing these registrants into smaller classes.  
  • Be sure the student group has the default family role set to child or student.

The registration link that should be sent out is the link shown on the Registration Settings for the Parent Group.  The link is found in the green bar at the top of the Registration Settings page for the Parent Group.  If you use Text-to-Register, your Keyword would be used in the Parent Group as well.