Too many groups, too many messages
I'm Moshe, a father of two kids I love more than anything, and I try to be fully involved in their lives. By day I work as a software specialist, and I also sit on the school parent committee in both of my children's classes.
Every child today has their own needs and schedule. Teachers post a lot of information in the class WhatsApp group: school activities, exams, trips, and forms to sign. Parents add more messages about activities and upcoming birthday parties. Each class has at least three or four WhatsApp groups, and every family also keeps its own calendar. Even for me, working with systems all day, it was hard to keep track and not forget anything.
The idea: one shared space
Instead of every parent copying the same dates into a personal calendar, what if the class had one shared space? When a parent celebrates their child's birthday, they add the event once. All the other parents and kids in that space see it and get reminded.
That is the whole idea behind Parent & Family Assistant. One person adds an activity, and the other 30 kids and 60 parents in the class enjoy it, without each of them setting up a personal reminder.
How it works
A parent or a teacher creates a space for the class or the family and shares its 8-character join code. Other parents join with the code, and the space manager approves each request, so only people who belong there can see the dates.
Any member can add an activity: an exam with its study material, a field trip, a school event, or a birthday party with its location.
Reminders that come to you
Each activity has a reminder a few days before it, so there is time to buy a present or study for the test. You can also turn on a second reminder at 07:00 on the day itself. Every member who enabled notifications gets them on their phone or in the browser.
The calendar shows all your spaces together, by month, week, or day, so the class schedule and the family schedule sit in one place.
Less noise, nothing forgotten
The WhatsApp groups are still there for conversations. Parent & Family Assistant is where the dates live. The goal is simple: fewer "when is the trip again?" messages, and a reminder that arrives on its own.
Many of the ideas came from my own kids, and part of the work I did together with my son Ido, who is a tech kid in his own right. And it is not only for classes: a family space keeps parents and kids on the same calendar at home too.
Parent & Family Assistant is free on the web and on Android. If you are a class parent or on a parent committee, open a space for your class and share the code. It takes a minute, and the whole class benefits.