---
title: "Notice children who haven't arrived"
description: "See which children due in the morning have not been checked in or marked absent by a set time, and optionally ask their families in the app."
type: setup
updated: 2026-10-09
canonical_url: https://help.nestlicare.com/owners/settings/notice-children-who-havent-arrived
roles: ["super_admin", "center_admin"]
platforms: [web, ios, android]
---
Most mornings, every child is either checked in or their family has said they're staying home. **Not here yet** shows you the children who are neither by a time you choose, so a missing child never goes unnoticed until lunch.

## How it works

After the time you set (10:00 AM by default, in each center's own time), staff see a **Not here yet** card at the top of **Needs your attention**, and admins see it on the dashboard. It lists children who:

- are scheduled for the morning or the whole day today, and
- have not been checked in, and
- have not been marked absent by staff or a parent.

Checking a child in or marking them absent takes them off the list right away. Children who only come in the afternoon are not listed.

It stays quiet:

- before the time you set,
- on days marked as a closure or holiday on your calendar,
- at a center where nobody has been checked in yet today, and
- at a center that hasn't checked any child in for two weeks.

Only children whose attendance days are set are checked. A child with no days set is never listed, because NestliCare would have to guess when they come. Admins see a quiet "children have no attendance days set" line on the dashboard; set their days under **Families & Children → Enrollment** to include them.

If more than half the children due that morning haven't been checked in or marked absent, staff see one line, **Check-ins look behind today**, instead of a long list of names. That usually means check-ins haven't been recorded yet, not that children are missing.

## Turn it on or change the time

1. Go to **Settings → Operations → Not Here Yet**.
2. **Show children who haven't arrived** is on by default. Turn it off to hide the card.
3. Set **Check at** to the time by which you'd expect to have heard from every family, then click **Save**.

## Ask families too

Turn on **Ask families too** to have NestliCare send each listed child's family one notification at that time:

> Is Emma coming in today? We haven't checked Emma in yet. If Emma is staying home, tap here to let us know.

Tapping it opens **Report absence** in the app. Once the family reports the absence, the child leaves your list. Staff see **family asked at 10:00 AM** next to the child.

Families are asked at most once a day, and only within 90 minutes of your set time, so turning this on in the afternoon doesn't send anything until tomorrow. If check-ins look behind (more than half the morning unrecorded), families are not asked at all. That usually means a late opening, the weather, or check-ins not being recorded, and you'll want to handle it yourself.

## Troubleshooting

**It says "Check-ins look behind today".** Most children due this morning haven't been checked in yet. Once staff check in the children who are here, it turns into a short list of the ones who aren't.

**A child shows up who never comes on this day.** Their attendance days on their enrollment include today. Correct their days under **Families & Children → Enrollment**.

**A child I expected isn't listed.** They may have no attendance days set, or come only in the afternoon.

**The card doesn't appear.** It's before your set time, today is a closure on your calendar, or nobody at the center has been checked in yet today.

## Related

- [What needs your attention today](/teachers/activities/what-needs-your-attention)
- [Configure check-in methods](/owners/settings/configure-check-in-methods)