What's New (Update Guide)
Child Check-in now includes reusable child and guardian profiles, parent paging, staff mobile tools, and registered parent self-service stations.
We've given Child Check-in a major upgrade focused on two things: making check-in effortless for your volunteers, and making pickup safer for the families you serve. Here's what changed, and why it's better.
What changed
Children stand on their own. A child is just a name and whatever details you have — no user profile required to check them in.
Capture parents & guardians right at check-in. Enter a parent's name and phone as you check a child in, and it's saved for next time.
Faster repeat check-in. Returning children and their guardians are remembered, so checking a familiar family in is a single tap.
We help you avoid duplicates. As you enter a new child or guardian, we surface matching existing records so you can reuse them instead of creating a second copy.
Update contact info anytime. Fix or add a guardian's phone or email from the check-in screen whenever it changes.
Contact vs. authorized pickup. Add as many guardians and emergency contacts as you like, and mark exactly who is authorized to take the child home.
Page a parent by text. With one tap, send a parent a text message asking them to come to the check-in area — from a dedicated check-in phone number.
Link to an existing user — optionally. If the child or parent is already in your directory, you can connect them. If not, no problem.
Available on mobile. Check in and out, scan QR codes, print labels, manage guardians, page parents, and record visit activity from the mobile app. Parents can also see when their own child is checked in.
Add parent self-service stations. Register a shared tablet to your account so parents can check children in or out and print labels without signing in to Lightpost.
The old way vs. the new way
Checking in a new child
You first had to create the child (and parents) as users
Just type their name — no profile needed
Parent / guardian info
Pulled from the family's directory profiles
Entered directly at check-in and saved for next time
Repeat check-in
Look the family up in the directory
Tap a recent child, or scan their card
Who can pick up the child
Not tracked
Each guardian is marked contact only or can pick up
Reaching a parent
Find their number and text them yourself
Tap Page to text them from your check-in number
Mobile app
Not available
Check in/out, scan QR codes, print labels, page guardians, and manage visits
Parent self-service
Required help from a signed-in volunteer
Use a registered tablet with QR, phone, or username lookup
Checking in a child is now instant
Previously, checking in a child meant first adding the child — and often their parents — to your directory as users. That was a lot of setup for a busy Sunday morning check-in line.
Now you simply choose New Check-in, type the child's name, add a guardian or two, and you're done. The record is ready, a label prints, and the family is on their way. Familiar children show up in a recent list for one-tap check-in, and you can always scan a QR code to check a child in or out in about a second.
Parents, guardians & who can pick up
Every child can have one or more guardians — parents, grandparents, a babysitter, an emergency contact. For each one you capture a name, phone number, and relationship, and you decide whether they're contact only or authorized to pick up the child.
At pickup, the check-in screen shows exactly who's allowed to take the child home. A volunteer can still check a child out to someone who isn't on the authorized list when needed — but the system records that it happened, so there's always a clear trail.
Why this matters: Child safety is the whole point of check-in. Knowing at a glance who is authorized to collect a child — and having a record when an exception is made — gives your volunteers and your families real peace of mind.
No more duplicate families
When you enter a new child or guardian, we look for people who are already on file and suggest them as you type. Pick the match and you reuse the existing record instead of creating a second one. Over time your check-in list stays clean, and a family's history stays in one place.
Paging parents by text
Sometimes you need a parent — a diaper change, an upset child, an early pickup. Instead of hunting down a phone number, just tap Page next to a guardian. They receive a text asking them to come to the check-in area, sent from a dedicated check-in phone number so it's clear where it's coming from. Before it sends, we confirm who you're texting so there are no surprises.
Linking to an existing user (optional)
If a child or guardian is already in your directory — or is added later — you can link their check-in profile to that user at any time. Linking is always optional and never required, so it never slows down a quick check-in. When a parent is linked to their directory account, they'll also be able to see their own child's check-in status from the mobile app.
Using Child Check-in in the mobile app
The current Lightpost mobile app puts the check-in station in your pocket. Staff members with the Child Check-in > Enter Kiosk Mode role permission can:
Check children in and out, including returning children, existing directory members, and new visitors.
Scan QR codes to check in, begin checkout, or open a child profile.
Print child labels, parent pickup tags, and reusable fast check-in cards from a supported mobile printer.
Review and update allergies and special needs during an active visit.
Page eligible guardians, add notes, and record incidents.
Confirm who picked up a child and record an override when the person is not marked as authorized.
Manage child and guardian profiles when the staff member has the required Groups permissions.
Parents whose member accounts are linked to a child's guardian record can see the child's current check-in status from the My Children card on the mobile app Home screen.
Parent self-service Check-in Stations
Administrators can now register a shared tablet as a Check-in Station without leaving a staff or member account signed in. Each station can have its own enabled lookup methods, checkout policy, custom scanning instructions, printer, label choices, automatic-printing behavior, and privacy timeout.
Depending on those settings, a parent can scan a current Lightpost fast check-in or pickup code, enter a phone number or username, or choose I'm New Here. The station shows the family's children and offers the action appropriate to each child's current state, including check-in, checkout, or printing labels again.
See Self-service Check-in Stations for registration, configuration, parent workflows, printing behavior, and the station's hidden administrative controls.
Update your app to unlock this. Mobile Child Check-in requires the latest Lightpost mobile app from the App Store or Google Play.
What happens to my current check-in history?
Nothing is lost. Your existing check-in records carry over automatically, and every child who has been checked in gets a profile created for them — along with their parents pulled from your directory, already marked as authorized for pickup. Records that were connected to a user stay connected; you simply gain the new flexibility on top.
Your existing printed QR labels continue to work in the staff web and mobile check-in tools. Parent self-service stations use the current expiring Lightpost fast check-in and pickup codes rather than legacy label codes.
Why this is better
Faster — check a child in with just a name, or a single tap for returning families.
Safer — track exactly who may pick up each child, with a record of any exceptions.
Cleaner — children and parents no longer clutter your member directory, and duplicates are prevented as you type.
Connected — page a parent by text the moment you need them.
Mobile-first — check in, scan, print, page guardians, and manage pickup from your phone while parents follow along.
Self-service — let parents complete routine check-in, checkout, and label printing from a registered tablet.
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