Setting up your family

After creating your account, Park Bench walks you through a quick setup to personalize your experience. This takes about a minute.

The steps

1. Name your family

Choose a name for your household — this is just for you and shows up in settings. It's pre-filled with your name (e.g., "Sarah's Family") but you can change it to anything.

2. Add your children

Enter each child's first name and age. This information helps Park Bench recommend age-appropriate events and organize your calendar. You can skip this step and add children later from Settings > Family.

3. Select schools

If you added children, you can search for and select their schools. Park Bench has 1,896 NYC schools in its database. Selecting schools automatically connects you to the school's community circle and surfaces school-relevant events.

What if I was invited by a co-parent?

If you joined via an invite code, you'll see a shorter onboarding — just a welcome screen and you're done. Your co-parent has already set up the family details, and you'll have immediate access to the shared calendar.

Can I change this later?

Everything you enter during onboarding can be changed afterward in Settings > Family. You can add or remove children, update schools, and change your family name at any time.