Shared parenting. Clear information. Less direct contact.
Keep schedules, child updates and handover details in one calm, organised place — helping whānau coordinate everyday care with fewer calls and messages. All about the tamariki.
Free for parents — no subscription, no in-app payments.
How it works
From sign-up to shared care, in three steps.
Create your free account
Sign up with your email and verify it with the code we send you. There is no subscription — Common Ground is free for parents.
Set up your family
Add your tamariki and invite the other parent, caregivers or wider whānau by email. You can start using Common Ground straight away, even before they join.
Share everyday care
Keep the shared calendar, handovers, child updates, photos and expenses in one place — with timestamped records of who added what, and when.
Shared parenting shouldn’t require five different apps and endless messages.
Raising children across two households involves a constant flow of everyday information — who’s doing school pick-up, where the children are staying, what time the handover is, whether medication has been given, when the next appointment is, what needs paying for and what has changed this week.
Most families manage this through a mixture of calendars, texts, phone calls, emails and memory. The information isn’t necessarily missing — there simply isn’t one shared system designed specifically for it.
Common Ground Parenting NZ gives separated families that system.
Illustrative previews with fictional family details — your family’s information stays private.
Shared calendar
Parenting time, appointments and activities in one place, so both households see the same schedule.
Child updates
Clear, structured notes on health, school, sleep and behaviour — the other parent stays informed without a phone call.
Handovers
Times and locations for every exchange, so nothing gets left behind.
Expenses & documents
Track shared costs and keep medical letters, school reports and travel documents in one secure place.
Timestamped records
A timestamped record of shared activity — who recorded something, and when. Entries reflect what caregivers entered; they are not independently verified.
Daily notes
A short shared note each day from any caregiver, so both households know how the day went.
Questions parents ask
Still wondering something? Get in touch.
Is Common Ground free?
Yes — Common Ground is free for parents and caregivers. Every parenting tool is included: shared calendar, child updates, handovers, expenses, documents, photos and records. There is no subscription and no in-app payment. Optional contributions on our Support page help keep it free for families.
Can I start before the other parent joins?
Yes. Create your account, set up your family and start using the calendar and updates on your own. When you are ready, send an email invitation to the other parent — they can join whenever it suits them.
How are other caregivers invited?
Parents invite people by email — the other parent, grandparents, or wider whānau. Each person is given an access level for each child, so a grandparent who helps with day-to-day care can have full caregiver access, while wider whānau see only what is appropriate.
What information can each person see?
Access is set per child. Full caregivers see that child’s calendar, updates, health information and more. Whānau members see only the updates and photos for the tamariki they are connected to. Parents can review and change these access levels at any time.
How does professional access work?
If a family wants a mediator, counsellor or lawyer to see their information, they grant read-only access themselves. Access is limited by date, recorded each time it is used, and can be ended at any time. Professionals never see more than the family has chosen to share.
Can information be corrected?
Yes. You can edit or remove entries you created. For significant records, previous versions are preserved and changes appear in the family’s records timeline — so a correction is visible rather than silent. Common Ground records who entered something and when; it does not verify whether a statement is true.
What happens to shared records if I close my account?
Your account is permanently deleted and you are signed out. The family’s shared records — calendar, updates, documents and photos — remain available to the other parent and caregivers.