---
title: "Guardians"
slug: "guardians"
updated: 2026-05-20T21:43:48Z
published: 2026-05-20T21:43:48Z
canonical: "help.infoodle.com/guardians"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.infoodle.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Guardians

In a household, you can mark an adult as a guardian — someone who has responsibility for children or dependents within the same household. The Guardian field in a household record is a simple Yes/No flag that helps you keep track of household structure and responsibility relationships.

## Where to Set the Guardian Field

![Where to Set the Guardian Field](https://vimeo.com/1194168342){height="480" width="640"}

The Guardian field appears when you add or edit a person in a household:
1. Go to the **profile page** of a person you want to set as a guardian
2. Click the **Information tab** 
3. Then click **Edit** next to the person's name
4. Here you will see the **Guardian** dropdown field where you can select yes or no:
* Yes — if this person is a guardian or caregiver in the household
* No — if this person is not a guardian (e.g., a child or dependent)
![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/d198920d-a212-4177-85f9-e1abc92e7ab3/Images/Documentation/image-C8UN2795.png){height="200" width=""}
6. Click **Save**

## Does the Guardian Field Change Automatically?
No. The Guardian field is set manually and does not automatically change based on age or household composition.

#### However, here's how it relates to age:
* **If a person's date of birth shows they are over 18**, infoodle classifies them as an adult
* **If you mark them as Guardian** = Yes, they are treated as an adult caregiver in the household, regardless of their age
* **If a person is under 18** (based on date of birth), you would typically not mark them as Guardian (Guardian = No) to indicate they are a dependent, unless there are exceptional circumstances
* **You must manually set the Guardian field** — it won't automatically adjust when you change someone's date of birth or add them to a household with children.

## Why Set the Guardian Field?
The Guardian field is used for:
* **Household structure tracking** — Documenting who is responsible for dependents
* **Combining household members** — Only adults and guardians can be combined into household-level records (e.g., "Mr and Mrs Smith")
* **Reporting and analysis** — Some reports may filter by guardian status to identify households with children or dependents
* **Your internal records** — Keeping track of household composition for pastoral care, safeguarding, or other purposes

:::(Info) (Tips)
* **Guardians are optional** — You don't need to set this field if it's not relevant to your work
* **Only adults can be guardians** — If someone's date of birth makes them a minor (under 18), you can still mark them as Guardian = Yes, but this is unusual and should only be done in exceptional circumstances
* **Not the same as permissions** — Setting Guardian = Yes does not grant the person any special access to infoodle or to other household members' information
* **Affects combining** — Only people marked as Guardian = Yes or adults (age 18+) can be combined into a single household-level contact record
* **Manual process** — Always review and update the Guardian field manually when household composition changes
:::

::: (Info) (Related Articles)
[Households](/v1/docs/household-organisation)
[Adding a Person to a Household](/v1/docs/adding-a-person-to-a-householdorganisation)
:::