How to set time limits for your child with the Xbox Family Settings app
Set time limits for your child(ren) with this quick and easy Xbox Family Settings parents guide.
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Gaming can be a fantastic way for your child(ren) to have fun, socialize with others, and engage in a safe environment, but it’s also essential for parents to monitor just how much time their child(ren) is spending in-game. We’ve compiled a comprehensiveguide for parents on everything Xbox. Still, Microsoft recently released theirXbox Family Settingsapp to give parents more control over when, what, and for how long their child(ren) can play video games. Once you’veset up the Xbox Family Settings app, there are a ton of tools and functions you can use.
In this Xbox Family Settings parents guide, we’ll be going over how to set time limits for your child(ren) and how to approve more time if they expend their allowance for the day.
How do I set time limits for my child(ren) with Xbox Family Settings?
Source: Xbox
One of the biggest and most essential functions of the Xbox Family Settings app is its ability to set time limits for play, with a wide range of controls and options available. All organizers (who are parents or other trusted adults) and edit the time limits for members (children and other players). Unlike some other solutions, the Xbox Family Settings extends beyond just limited how much time players can spend gaming a day. The settings for time limits in the Xbox Family Settings app include:
So how do you customize these various settings for your child(ren)? If you follow this Xbox Family Settings parents guide, you’ll find that the process is quite easy. Here’s what you need to do:
Using this, you can either let your child(ren) have complete freedom on when and for how long they can play, set a strict schedule that caters to each day and sets time ranges and time limits, and anywhere in between. You can also use the Activity section to monitor how much of their allotted time your child(ren) is using, and where they’re using it. On that note, keep in mind that these settingsonly affect Xbox consoles, while Activity can monitor outside of Xbox consoles if you’ve set up your child(ren)’s Microsoft Account for it.
One question that remains unanswered, however, is what happens if your child(ren) exceeds their limit or time range. Is there an easy way to give them more time without editing their settings? Yes! In the next section of this Xbox Family Settings parents guide, we’ll go over exactly that.
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How do I add more time and approve requests with Xbox Family Settings?
Source: Xbox
You may typically have your child(ren) on a relatively strict schedule, with times set aside for homework, practice, outside time, meals, or whatever else it may be. However, there could also be times in which the schedules and rules you carefully edit for your child(ren) need to be bent a little bit, like if you child(ren) finish their homework early and ask for a little extra playtime, or if it’s the weekend and they have their friends over for a game night. In this case, it’s easy to give your child(ren) more time, with two different ways to do it.
Source: Windows Central
The first option is to do so from that member’s Screen Time page. Any member that has time limits or time ranges attached to their day will have a button in the Activity section for “Add Time Now.” Add Time Now lets you attach extra time to the end of whatever time they’re given, including allowing them to play unrestricted for the rest of the current day. If you’d like to add more time to a member’s Time Limit, simply tap this button and choose how much extra time to give them, with options from an extra 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, two hours, and the rest of the current day. You can also tap “Done” to back out without making any changes.
Members can also request more time from organizers if they exceed their Time Limit, and these requests all come to the “Notifications” tab of the Dashboard, or the home page, of Xbox Family Settings. Notifications include incoming friend requests and other things, but will likely be primarily for approving or disapproving time requests. If you get a notification to add more screen time from a member in your Family, you can head to Notifications and select either “Add Time” or “Not Today.” Add Time brings up the same options as adding additional time through that member’s settings, while Not Today dismisses the request without adding any more time for the member.
Extra time will be added immediately, so if that member has exceeded their Time Limit and you give them more, they’ll be able to start playing again right away. Also, members don’t use the Xbox Family Settings app, and will instead be able to send requests straight from their Xbox consoles if they exceed their allotted time.
Finally, if you want to find something awesome for your child(ren) to play on Xbox, make sure to check out some of the best Xbox games for kids, such asMinecraft, which has special integration into the Xbox Family Settings app.
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Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter@BoddyZachary.
