If you and another guardian have each independently added the same child to your own Family Trees, PLAI can merge those two profiles into one so you're both managing the same, unified record instead of two separate ones.
When this happens
PLAI automatically checks for a possible duplicate whenever you accept a guardian invitation. It compares the invited child against the children already in your own Family Tree, and considers it a possible match if either:
The first name is more than 80% similar, or
The date of birth matches exactly (even if the name match is below 80%)
If a match is found, you'll see a prompt: "We found a possible match. Is this the same child?" with both profiles shown side by side, name, date of birth, and photo if available.
Your options
Confirm Merge, if it's genuinely the same child. You'll see a warning first: "Merging will combine activity, memberships, and payments for this child. This action cannot be undone." Confirming again completes the merge.
Not the Same Child, if it isn't. The invitation still completes and you're linked as a co-guardian, but both profiles stay separate.
Important: A merge is permanent. There's no undo once you confirm.
What happens when you confirm a merge
The older of the two profiles (whichever was created first) survives. The newer one is permanently removed.
Every guardian linked to either profile is now linked to the single surviving one, no one loses access.
All payment history, memberships, attendance, and activity from both profiles are combined into one timeline on the surviving profile.
If both profiles had a Primary emergency contact set, you'll be asked to choose which one should be Primary going forward.
If any duplicate club memberships are found between the two profiles, those get resolved automatically too, see How Duplicate Club Memberships Are Resolved During a Merge.
Any old links or invitations pointing at the profile that was removed automatically redirect to the surviving one, so nothing breaks.
The club(s) involved receive an automated notification that the merge happened.
After a merge completes, you're taken to the Edit Child screen to review the combined details.
Merging manually
You don't have to wait for an invitation to trigger this. If you spot two profiles for the same child in your own Family Tree, you can merge them directly:
From your Family Tree, find the two duplicate profiles.
Tap the Merge option between them.
Confirm through the same two-step warning described above.
FAQ
Will I lose any of my child's history if a merge happens?
No. Every payment, membership, and activity record from both profiles is preserved and combined onto the surviving profile.
What if PLAI finds more than one possible match?
You'll see all matching candidates to choose from, or the option to say none of them are the same child.
Can a profile with an outstanding balance be merged or deleted?
No, outstanding debts must be settled first. This applies to manual merges from the Family Tree screen; debts already on a profile at the time of an invite-triggered merge do carry over to the surviving profile rather than blocking it.
What if I dismiss the merge prompt without choosing either option?
The invitation still goes through as a co-guardian link. If the duplicate still exists, the merge prompt will resurface next time you open your Family Tree.