5 Ways of Parental Control in Windows 10

Anyone can find good and bad in internet. Managing your kid’s activities in this online word is required to guide them in a proper way. Nowadays, almost every applications offer parental control options to control kid’s activities. If you are a parent then Windows 10 provides you with some parental controls which are really great. You can limit the websites they use, check how much time they spent on the computer and restrict which programs they can use.

Related: How to setup child lock in iPhone and iPad?

Adding Child Account in Windows 10

In order to use these controls, you need to first login to your computer with your Microsoft account (not using local administrator account). Microsoft offers family account option to add all the family members to your computer under your account. For your kid, you have to add them as child account to your family account. Follow the below instructions to add a child account:

• Login using your microsoft account.
• Press ‘Win + I’ keys and open Windows Settings.
• Navigate to ‘Accounts > Family & other people’.
• Click on the ‘Add a family member’ option.
• Add you kid’s account as child account.

Once you have added a child account, follow the instructions given below to use parental controls.

5 Ways of Parental Control in Windows 10

1. Managing all activities
2. Monitor screen timing
3. Restrict content access
4. Check money spending
5. Find kid’s location

1. Manage Activities

To manage the activities of your son/daughter, open your Microsoft account through web browser or ‘Settings’ app. To see the website activities, your child must be using Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge. So you can uninstall other browsers if you have installed on your computer like Chrome or Firefox.

• Go to the ‘Settings > Accounts > Family & other people’.
• Click on ‘Manage family settings online’. It will redirect you to your Microsoft account through the web browser.

• Under your child’s name, click on ‘Activity’ link.
• You must click on ‘Activity reporting’ option to turn it ‘On’. Also, turn on the option ‘Email weekly reports to me’ to get alerts by emails.

• From the bottom, you can check the current usage of app & games, web browsing, searches as well as the screen time.

2. Monitor Screen Time

Screen time allows you to set/schedule the time for your child’s computer. You can decide how much time they can use and when to use.

• In the previous step, switch to ‘Screen time’ tab, by clicking on the ‘Screen time’ link.
• Toggle ‘On’ the option ‘Use one screen time schedule’ to check the screen time of your child’s computer.

• Scroll down a bit and you can be able to check the screen time by days and hours.
• From the ‘Hours allowed’ column, you can set the screen time for your child by clicking on ‘Max scheduled’.

3. Content Restrictions

From the top, switch to the content restriction tab and it will allow you to put the restriction on what your child can use or see. To do this:

• In ‘Ask a parent’ section, you can turn ‘On’ the option ‘Needs adult approval to buy things’. Whenever your child will try to buy anything from the Microsoft store, Windows will ask you for the approval.
• Also, you can get the email alerts for it.

• You can block/allow the inappropriate/appropriate apps, games and media with age restrictions.

• You can block/allow any websites for your child through the ‘Web browsing’ section. Just put the website which you want to block/allow in the given input area and click on ‘+’ button to add it.

Related: How to block websites in iPhone and iPad?

4. Money Spending

You can also add money to your child’s Microsoft account so that he/she can buy things from the Store. To add money:

• Go to the Microsoft account and select your child’s account.
• Click on ‘Spending’ and from here you can be able to see account credits.
• Click on ‘Add Money’ button, and from there you can choose the amount to add.

• Add a payment method like a credit card or debit card to transfer the amount.
• From the ‘Spending’ tab, you can also check the ‘Purchase history’ of your child.

5. Finding Location

Through Microsoft account of your child, you can find the location of your kid. You can check the location whether your son/daughter is with their friends or not. To do this:

• In the previous step, switch to the ‘Find your child’ tab. You’ll see a map there.
• Turn ‘On’ the option ‘See my child’s location on a map’ from the right-side. This will show the current location of your child on the given map.
• Make sure that their ‘Android phone/Windows 10 device’ must have a ‘Microsoft Launcher’ installed in it.

Conclusion

Though above explained points are generally referred as parental controls we would call them as guidelines. Use these guidelines to guide your children instead of control them. You can also regularly discuss with them to make them know that you are guiding them and controlling them.