How to set up Xbox screen time limits with Family Settings
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Keeping kids safe online in the growing multiplayer world remains the number one priority. In September 2020, Microsoftannounced the releaseof the Xbox Family Settings app for mobile devices.Designed for parents and guardians, it’seasy to set upand enables trusted adults to monitor and regulate what kids have access to on Xbox and PC. This guide will demonstrate how to set flexible screen time restrictions and remotely extend them as you see fit.
Xbox Family Settings and ‘Screen Time’ explained
The consumption of screen time by children has been an ever-changing source of debate among experts, and in the past, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) went so far as to recommend that children under 24 months receive no screen time, while older children were limited to two hours per day. That general consensus was challenged, and with a pandemic that drove online education,it was revisedto be less rigid and focus more on quality over quantity.
For parents, the lack of a strict, daily guideline could feel like a reprieve from the guilt of allowing too much time on a device, but it could also leave them wondering the best way to monitor their children’s consumption to ensure that the content they’re engaging with is more beneficial than not. That’s whereXbox Family Settingscan come into play.
TheXboxFamily Settings app provides simple yet powerful tools to manage time spent on gaming activities. Controlled from your mobile device, you can set custom time schedules and limits for each child on any day of the week. Activity reports generated daily and weekly will show how long kids have spent playing games and using apps.
You can remotely pause gameplay from the mobile app to display a “your screen time is up” notification and options for kids to request extended playtime. If this sounds like it would benefit you, then we’ll help you set that up.
How to set up screen time limits with Xbox Family Settings
And that’s all there is to it! Once you’ve accessed your child’s account, you can select a day, then a time limit and range. You can control all of your screen time limits, and each slot is available in thirty-minute chunks. How long and how often is entirely up to you.
If your child runs out of the clock on any particular day, organizers can choose to add extra time from the app. Any requests will appear on the notifications tab, allowing organizers to decide. Whether as a reward or during the holidays, the screen time restrictions can be as flexible as you want.
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Whether you’re monitoring your child’s binge-watching of YouTube or trying to make changes to your own gaming habits, Xbox Family Settings' tools can help you keep an eye on how much time you and your family are spending with screens. Not only can screen times be enacted and adjusted per device, but the limits can also be fine-tuned to specific days and times per game or app. In addition to screen limits, Xbox Family Settings allows parents and guardians tomanage spending habitsand age-restricted content.
Setting limits
A balance between school, homework, and social lives enables gaming to take a healthy place in your kids' schedules. With the Xbox Family Settings app, it’s never been easier to keep them safe online and balance their gaming and studies. Adjusting the days to your liking by reviewing the activity reports will ensure they get the healthiest experience withthe best games for kids.
If you’re just getting set up with gaming in your household, there has never been a greater selection of Xbox games available and safeguarding tools to go along with them. You can feel at ease knowing that your whole family will be safe when playing online when you take advantage of the Xbox Family Settings app.
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Ben is a Senior Editor at Windows Central, covering everything related to technology hardware and software. He regularly goes hands-on with the latest Windows laptops, components inside custom gaming desktops, and any accessory compatible with PC and Xbox. His lifelong obsession with dismantling gadgets to see how they work led him to pursue a career in tech-centric journalism after a decade of experience in electronics retail and tech support.
