Parent Link: Sign in once, reply for all your children

Lina sings soprano, Jonas is with the little ones, and both are in the same children's choir. Until now, that meant three logins for their mother Petra: two reminders, two replies, or a message in the parents' group that the choir director then copies over by hand. That is exactly what the Parent Link in Chorilo is for: a parent signs in once and replies for all their children.

That solves several problems every children's choir knows: replies trickle into the parents' group, the choir director counts by hand and phones around on rehearsal day. Parents hear about the extra rehearsal too late because the note stayed in the school bag. And whoever is supposed to reply for two children eventually gives up, because three logins are not something you handle on the side.

Who would you like to reply for?

Everyday life now looks like this: Petra opens Friday's rehearsal, taps Accept, and Chorilo asks "Who would you like to reply for?". She sees a checkbox for herself and one each for Lina and Jonas, with the current status next to every name. Two ticks, confirm, done. Both children appear as accepted in the attendee list, and the choir director can see in the history that Petra replied.

This works for accepting, declining and "maybe", including a reason for declining if the choir asks for one. Reply deadlines and attendee limits apply to the children just like to everyone else. Lina, who already has her own login, can change her reply herself at any time. The latest change counts.

Parents also vote in polls attached to announcements: one vote per child, plus their own if the parent is a member and wants to have a say.

Parents see what their children see

To make this work, a linked parent sees everything their children see in the shared choir. Even the sectional rehearsal set up only for the sopranos shows up for Petra, marked "visible because of Lina". The same goes for announcements sent only to one voice section, and the reminders that come with them. No note in the school bag that never arrives, no extra rehearsal the parents only hear about the night before.

Children without their own e-mail address

Jonas is nine and has no mailbox. He is still a full, active member of the choir: with his own voice section, his own reply and his own place in every list. The choir director creates him with a family address that leads to Petra's mailbox. His invitation, reminders and announcements land with Petra. Once Jonas has an address of his own, he simply enters it in his profile.

Linking in two clicks

For the choir director, linking is a single step: go to the child's row in the member list, choose "Link parent or guardian", pick the parent, save. The link is active immediately and both sides get a notification. When adding a new child, the parent can be chosen right in the same window.

Parents and children can also start the link themselves, from their own profile. The other side then confirms. Both must already be in the same choir. A link never opens a door into a choir: whoever wants parents on board invites them like any other member, ideally with the "Excluded from events" option so they never appear in a pending list.

Only the parent can remove a link. Not the child, not the choir director, and nothing dissolves by itself on the 18th birthday. Parents decide when their child carries on alone.

What changes for the choir director

Surprisingly little. Parents and children are ordinary members, so the member list, attendance statistics, fee runs and birthday list stay exactly as they are. The child's row simply gets a small note "Guardian: Petra Müller". A parent who does not sing gets the "Excluded from events" option and does not distort any statistics, yet still sees every event and every announcement.

A tip from practice: create a separate permission group for parents without access to sheet music. That way they see exactly what they need and do not occupy any licence seats for purchased scores. And on the home screen, the children's open replies are counted for the parent, so nothing is left hanging before rehearsal day.

What parents do not see

The link is deliberately narrow: read what the child reads, reply where the child would reply. Nothing more. The child's chats stay with the child, as do personal details such as address or phone number. Parents see sheet music and files only if their own permission group allows it. And when Petra has a question about the departure time, she writes the comment or chat message under her own name, never as Lina or Jonas.

Both parents may be linked, up to six guardians per child and six children per parent. Who replied last is recorded in the attendance history.

Built for children's choirs, useful for everyone

The Parent Link grew out of a request from a children's and youth choir. But it fits anywhere someone replies for another person without taking over their account. Everything else about setting it up, family addresses and the limits of the link is in the help section on the Parent Link. How Chorilo supports children's choirs overall is shown on the Children's Choir App page.