Reset a forgotten password with an emailed code, and what's different when your account forces a new password on first login.
Locked out because you've forgotten your password? This covers the self-service reset available from the Login screen — it works the same way whether you sign in as a childminder or as a parent, since both use the same login form. There's also a second, different scenario covered at the end: what happens the first time you log in to an account someone else set up for you.
On the Login screen, under the password field, tap Forgot Password?. This takes you to the Reset Password screen.
Type the email address your account uses and tap Send Reset Link. Despite the button's wording, what actually arrives isn't a link — it's a 6-digit code, which the next screen confirms.
If you leave the field empty, or type something that isn't a valid email address, KinderStart stops you here with an error rather than sending anything.
Once you tap Send Reset Link, KinderStart shows: "If an account exists with this email, you will receive a password reset code shortly." That phrasing is deliberate — confirming outright whether an email is registered would let someone probe for valid accounts. If you don't get a code, it's worth double-checking you typed the right address before assuming something's wrong.
Tap Enter Code on the confirmation screen, which takes you to Reset Your Password. Three fields:
This screen doesn't show a live checklist as you type, but your new password still needs to satisfy the same rules KinderStart enforces everywhere else on your account: at least 8 characters, an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number, and a special character. Miss one and the reset will fail after you tap Reset Password, so it's worth getting it right the first time — the same password manager trick from account sign-up works here too.
There's no resend button on this screen. Tap Back to Login, then Forgot Password? again, and re-enter your email — that sends you a fresh code and starts this step over.
Tap Reset Password and, once it succeeds, you'll see a Password Reset confirmation. Tap Go to Login and sign in with your email and new password — like account creation, a successful reset doesn't log you in automatically.
If someone else created your account for you — for example, a childminder set up your parent account, or an admin created a childminder account — you'll usually be given a temporary password to log in with the first time. When you enter it on the normal Login screen, KinderStart detects that Cognito (the underlying authentication service) requires a new password before proceeding, and automatically sends you to a Set New Password screen instead of logging you straight in.
You don't request this one yourself — there's no code, and no "Forgot Password?" tap involved. It appears automatically after your temporary password is accepted. Choose your new password (the same 8-character, uppercase/lowercase/number/special-character rule applies, and this screen does list the requirements on-screen as you fill it in), tap Set New Password, and — unlike the reset flow above — you're logged straight into your account once it succeeds, with no separate trip back to Login.
Back in your account, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Setup is worth a look if you'd like an extra layer of security beyond your password alone.
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KinderStart strives for accuracy. Competitor features and pricing comparisons are based on publicly available information as of May 2026. Details are subject to change by respective providers.