Ask a father when he last received a direct message from his child's setting that wasn't an invoice. The answer is often ‘never’ — because the primary contact is one parent, the app has one login, and the pick-up conversation happens with whoever picks up. Engagement is a design choice.
Nine changes
- 1Both guardians, both accounts. Every child should have two (or more) guardian logins from day one, each seeing the same feed. In Oyku that's the default.
- 2Address both. ‘Dear families’, not ‘Dear mums’. Check your templates.
- 3Photograph the things dads ask about. Physical play, building, outdoor risk. Many fathers ask ‘did he climb?’ before ‘did he read?’
- 4Reactions for the quiet. Many dads won't write in a chat; most will tap a heart. Design for the tap.
- 5Take-home tasks that fit a Saturday. Build the tallest tower. Puddle science. Send the photo back — see take-home activities.
- 6Ask him one question a term. ‘What did your child talk about most this week?’ addressed to him.
- 7Show fathers in your content. Dads at drop-off, dads at sports day. What gets shown gets normalised.
- 8Timing. Post moments before pick-up so both parents see them at the same time, not via the other parent.
- 9The book arrives for the whole family. A printed yearbook is often the first artefact a father keeps from the early years.
See it live
Want this for your classrooms?
Book a 20-minute call. We'll show the parent feed, teacher capture and approvals — then set up a free pilot classroom. Under $10 per child, per month.
