Set Up Your Kid’s Windows PC

Every Microsoft Family Safety control, in the order you’d actually do it, with the exact clicks.

Checked against Microsoft’s own Family Safety help, September 2026

Microsoft Family Safety is the free parental controls system built into Windows. You set up a family group, connect your kid’s Microsoft account to their PC, and manage everything from the Family Safety app on your phone (or from a web browser). This checklist walks through every setting, one box at a time.

Your checkmarks save in this browser, so you can do a few tonight and finish the rest tomorrow.

How old is your kid?

Under 13 13 to 17

This changes which steps you see. Kids under 13 need your consent for their Microsoft account. Teens usually already have an account (hello, Minecraft and Xbox), and you invite it into your family. Ages can vary by country.

Start here: most of it happens in Family Safety on your phone

Almost every setting lives in the Family Safety app on your phone, not on their PC. So whenever you see an orange Your kid chip, it’s short for this:

Open Family SafetyTap your kid

On a computer instead? Sign in at account.microsoft.com/family and select your kid’s card. Same settings, same family. The handful of steps that start with Settings happen on your kid’s PC, signed in to your account.

Tried Family Safety before? Or is your screen a little different? Read this first.

If it felt slow or glitchy last time, it’s worth another look. In September 2026, Microsoft said approvals for more time, apps, and purchases now come through faster, and activity reports now cover every app on your kid’s PC. Update the Family Safety app first.
These steps are for Windows 11. Windows 10 stopped getting updates in October 2025. If you’re still on it, the family settings are under Accounts › Family & other users.
The phone app and the website mostly match. The app and account.microsoft.com/family put things in slightly different spots, and a few settings (like blocking a game’s website) only live on the website. Each step says so.
Web filters work in Microsoft Edge. When you turn them on, other browsers get blocked so the filters can’t be skipped. Section 5 explains.
Setting up your kid’s phone too? Apple’s and Google’s own tools do much more on a phone. Use the iPhone setup checklist or the Android setup checklist.

Your progress 0 done

Nobody’s grading you. It saves in this browser, so you can pick it back up later.

Get Ready

A few minutes of prep that makes everything else work.

Install Family Safety on your phone. Get Microsoft Family Safety from the App Store on an iPhone or Google Play on an Android phone, and sign in with your own Microsoft account.
Rather use a computer? Everything here also works at account.microsoft.com/family.
Update their PC. Install any waiting updates so the family features are current. Where to find it: Settings, then Windows Update, then Check for updates
Keep your own sign-in to yourself. Your account on the PC should be the administrator, with a password or PIN your kid doesn’t know.
Even Microsoft’s troubleshooting page admits kids can be remarkably resourceful. Only you and other trusted adults should be able to sign in as a grown-up.

Build Your Family Group

Family Safety works through your kid’s own Microsoft account. Once they’re in your family group, your settings follow them to any Windows PC or Xbox they sign in on.

Add your kid to your family. Enter their email address or phone number, choose Member, and send the invite. Where to find it: Open Family Safety, then Add a family member
No Microsoft account for them yet? You can create one with a new email address just for them. Use their real birthday, since their age settings depend on it.
Invite their account into your family, together. Most teens already have a Microsoft account from Xbox or Minecraft. Enter that email address, choose Member, and send the invite. They accept it from the email by signing in. Where to find it: Open Family Safety, then Add a family member
Someone can only be in one family group at a time. If they’re already in another one, they’ll need to leave it first.
Give your consent. When your kid accepts the invite, Microsoft asks them for a grown-up’s consent. Open the link in the email, sign in to your Microsoft account, and approve it.
Only the adult who gave consent can remove it later, so it’s best to use the account you’ll keep managing things from.
Add your co-parent as an organizer. Same button, but choose Organizer. Organizers can change limits, approve requests, and see activity. Members can’t. Where to find it: Open Family Safety, then Add a family member, then Organizer

Set Up the PC Itself

Do these on your kid’s PC, signed in to your account. Get their sign-in right once, and a lot of the rest takes care of itself.

Let them sign in with their own account. Your family shows up here. Select your kid, choose Allow, then have them sign in to the PC with their own Microsoft account. Where to find it: Settings, then Accounts, then Family, then Their name, then Allow
Make them a Standard User. Family features may not work if your kid is an administrator, because administrators can change or undo the settings. Where to find it: Settings, then Accounts, then Family, then Their name, then Change account type, then Standard User
Don’t see it there? On some PCs it’s under Accounts › Other users instead.
Check that their PC shows up in Family Safety. Once they’ve signed in, their PC joins their connected devices, and that’s what turns on screen time and activity reporting. Where to find it: Your kid, then Windows
Not there yet? Make sure they signed in with their own account (not yours), then give it a little time.
Stick to Microsoft Store apps (optional). Choose The Microsoft Store only. Store apps come with age ratings, which is what the filters in section 6 use. Where to find it: Settings, then Apps, then Advanced app settings, then Choose where to get apps
This one is set for the whole computer, so you may need to switch it back for a minute when you install something from a website yourself.

Set When They Can Use It

Let the PC be the one saying “time’s up” every night, instead of you.

Set their Windows schedule. Pick a day, then set the hours they can use the PC and how much total time they get. You can copy it to other days or to Every day. Where to find it: Your kid, then Windows, then Set time limits
On the website, choose Turn limits on if you don’t see any, and select Finished when you’re done.
Add limits to the games that eat the afternoon. Turn on App and game limits, tap an app or game, and set how long and when they can use it each day. Where to find it: Your kid, then Windows, then Set time limits, then Apps, features, and games
Apps show up here after your kid has used them on the PC. If one appears twice, that’s temporary.
Cover the game’s website too. Time limits don’t work on websites, so a game with a web version could keep going in the browser. Open the game and check the box next to its site under Block related websites. Where to find it: account.microsoft.com/family, then Your kid, then Windows, then Apps, features, and games, then The game
This one is on the website only.
Know what a “more time” request looks like. When time runs out, your kid can send you a request for more. It pops up in the Family Safety app on your phone, and you decide.
The clock runs whenever they’re signed in, even if the PC is just sitting there. Signing out when they’re done saves their time.

Set Up the Web and AI

Family Safety’s web filters work in Microsoft Edge while your kid is signed in, and they filter Bing searches too.

Check that web filtering is on. Look for Filter inappropriate websites and searches, and make sure it’s turned on. Where to find it: Your kid, then Content filters Mature sites are blocked by default
On the website, it’s on their Edge (Web safety) tab.
Know that Edge becomes their browser. With filtering on, other browsers like Chrome and Firefox are blocked, so the filters can’t be skipped. You can unblock one, but the filters won’t work inside it.
For your youngest, use allowed websites only. Turn on Only use allowed websites, then add the sites they need, like school and their favorites. On the website, you can also turn on Always allow educational websites. Where to find it: Your kid, then Content filters, then Only use allowed websites
Older kids usually do fine with the regular filter plus a few blocked sites (next box).
Add sites to block or allow. Add the sites you already know you don’t want under Blocked sites, and any the filter shouldn’t stop under Allowed sites. Where to find it: Your kid, then Content filters, then Blocked sites
Decide about AI chat tools. Microsoft’s own help page shows how to hold off: block Copilot and any other AI apps in their app list, then add copilot.microsoft.com and other AI sites to Blocked sites. Where to find it: Your kid, then Windows, then Apps, features, and games, then Copilot, then Block app
Microsoft’s list of other AI sites to consider: chat.openai.com, claude.ai, gemini.google.com, huggingface.co/chat, otter.ai, and perplexity.ai.
Talk about AI chat tools together. Decide how they’ll use them for school and what’s off limits. If you’d rather hold off, block Copilot and other AI apps in their app list, and add the AI sites to Blocked sites. Where to find it: Your kid, then Windows, then Apps, features, and games
Microsoft’s list of AI sites to consider: copilot.microsoft.com, chat.openai.com, claude.ai, gemini.google.com, huggingface.co/chat, otter.ai, and perplexity.ai.

Choose Their Apps, Games, and Spending

Age ratings and purchases from the Microsoft Store, on their PC and their Xbox.

Set an age for apps and games. Turn on Block inappropriate apps, games & media, then pick the age their apps and games can be rated for. When they find something rated older, they can send you a request. Where to find it: Your kid, then Content filters, then Apps and games
Not sure what an age means? Select View allowed ratings to see which ratings each age includes.
Review the apps already on their PC. Tap any app to block it. On the website, select the three dots next to the app, then Block app. Where to find it: Your kid, then Windows, then Apps, features, and games
Blocks are per device type, so if they also have an Xbox, block the app on that tab too.
Keep purchases coming to you. Your kid always needs your OK for anything above their age setting or more than the money in their account. If you add a card to their account, turn on Require approval for every purchase. Where to find it: Your kid, then Manage spending
In the app, scroll to the bottom of their page to find it. Purchase requests show up as a notification on your phone.
Add an allowance, if you want one. Money you add works like a gift card for games, movies, and in-app purchases, and their account can’t go below zero. Turn on Get notified about every purchase so you see how it’s spent. Where to find it: Your kid, then Add money
A small allowance is a great way for teens to practice making spending choices on their own.

See How It’s Going

Activity reporting shows the apps, games, websites, and screen time on their connected devices.

Turn on activity reporting. Tap the icon in the top right corner of your kid’s page, then turn on Activity reporting for Windows, Web safety, and any other devices they use. Where to find it: Your kid, then Top right icon, then Activity reporting
On the website, turn it on from each device tab instead. Websites only show up when they browse in Edge, signed in.
Agree on activity reporting together. Teens 13 and up (in the US) can turn activity reporting off themselves, and you’d need their OK to turn it back on. Show them what you can see, and decide together what you’ll look at.
Look at their week together. Check their screen time and which apps they used most. Looking together keeps it a conversation instead of a report card. Where to find it: Your kid, then Windows
The report skips idle time, so the numbers can look lower than the time they were actually signed in.

Keep It Working

The last couple of steps make everything above easier to live with day to day.

Teach them to sign out when they’re done. Screen time counts while they’re signed in, even when they walk away. Signing out saves their minutes for later.
Put a checkup on the calendar. Revisit these settings at birthdays and every new school year, and loosen things up as they show you they’re ready.

If a limit or block stops working

Check that they’re a Standard User. An administrator account can change or break the settings (section 3).
Verify their account. On their PC, signed in as them, go to Settings › Accounts and select Verify if you see it.
Turn the limit off and back on. Microsoft says removing a limit and adding it again can clear up a glitch.
Check the time zone. If the time zone on your Microsoft account is wrong, usage can land on the wrong day.
Got an Xbox too? Give each person a PIN so nobody can sign in as someone else. If two people are signed in at once, the youngest person’s game age limits apply.

Straight from Microsoft

Every step here comes from Microsoft’s own help articles, in case you want to dig deeper.

Set Up Your Kid’s Windows PC

Start here: most of it happens in Family Safety on your phone

That’s every box

Get Ready

Build Your Family Group

Set Up the PC Itself

Set When They Can Use It

Set Up the Web and AI

Choose Their Apps, Games, and Spending

See How It’s Going

Keep It Working

Straight from Microsoft