How to Set Up Parental Controls on Windows 11

Are you suffering to make sure your child has a safe computing experience? Do you want to learn how you can restrict your child’s access to certain websites and limit their screen time on Windows 11?

As a responsible parent, worrying about your child’s mental and physical health is normal. This is especially so when they spend so much time on the internet and on social media platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, and more.

How much time they spend on their computer, what they browse on the internet will definitely impact their life. Using Windows parental controls helps to ensure they have a safe computing experience. 

This guide will break down easy steps on how to set up parental controls on Windows 11. We’ll also teach you how to use Windows parental controls to limit apps, games, and websites on your child’s computer.

That said, let’s roll in.

How to Set Up Parental Controls on Windows 11

While you might consider reading your child’s WhatsApp messages or monitoring their Instagram, you can also set up parental controls and time limits to reduce your child’s dependence on their devices in the first place.

Setting up parental controls on your child’s device requires two Microsoft accounts:

• A child account that would belong to your child.
• A parent accounts for you. 

The child account is connected to the parent account with the latter being the administrator. As an administrator, the parent account holder can turn on parental controls on the child’s account and view their child’s usage reports. 

Here we’ll explore how to create a child account first, to set up parental controls on Windows 11. 

Create a Child Account 

Start off by creating a child Microsoft account. 

Requirements

• A parent account – you’ll need a Microsoft parent account to add a child account. 

Follow the steps below to create a child account:

Step 1: On your Windows computer, right-click the Windows icon on the taskbar. 

Step 2: Click Settings. 

Step 3: Navigate to Accounts. 

Step 4: Select Family & other users under account settings. 

Step 5: Click Add account next to “Add a Family Member.”

Step 6: Select “Create one for a child”.

Step 7: Enter your child’s email address and click Next.

Step 8: Enter a password and click Next.

Step 9: Enter your child’s First & Last Names and click Next.

Step 10: Enter your child’s birthday and click Next.

That’s it – the child account might be connected to your Microsoft account. So, you’ll be able to configure parental controls on this account and monitor it. 

Set Up and Configure Parental Controls

Once you’ve connected a child account to your account, you’re ready to turn on parental controls on that account and put screentime, website, and spending limits. 

If you want to monitor more than one child account, you have two options:

• Create a single account for them. 
• Create separate accounts for each child to customize parental controls and get reports for each account separately (recommended). 

That said, follow the steps below to configure parental controls on Windows 11.

Step 1: Go to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users (you can refer to the instructions above). 

Step 2: Select “Manage family settings online or remove an account.”

Step 3: Select your child’s account icon under the Your Family section.

Note: If you have multiple child accounts, you can select the one you want to monitor or configure. 

Step 4: It will take you to Windows 11 parental control page. You can twinkle the parental control settings here, by choosing an option from the left sidebar. 

How to Set Up Parental Controls to Block Websites 

If you want to keep your child safe from inappropriate content on the internet, Microsoft’s content filter feature will come in handy. You can use it to set age restrictions and manually block certain websites on Chrome or even allow them.

Follow the steps below to set up parental controls to block websites on Windows 11:

Step 1: On Windows, head over to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users and open Family Settings. 

Step 2: Click Content Filters from the left sidebar.

Step 3: Toggle “Filter inappropriate websites and searches” to On.

Step 4: You can also set age restrictions by using the drop-down menu on the Apps and Games tab.

Step 5: Moreover, Microsoft’s content filter also gives you the option to manually allow/block certain websites for your child. 

How to Limit Apps and Games on Windows 11

Microsoft’s parental controls feature also lets you limit which apps and games your child can open on their computer, during their screen time. 

Follow the steps below to limit apps and games on Windows 11:

Step 1: Navigate to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users and open Family Safety settings.

Step 2: Go to your child’s account.

Step 3: Click Screen Time on the left sidebar. 

Step 4: Toggle App and game limits to On.

Step 5: It’ll break down a list of Apps and Games on your child’s device. Select the apps and games you’d like to limit and click the “Set a limit” button. 

Step 6: You can also click on the “Block app” button to limit your child’s access to certain apps and games. 

Step 6: You can also click on the “Block app” button to limit your child’s access to certain apps and games. 

Step 7: Lastly, select the time limit of the app/s or game/s you selected and create a schedule of their usability. 

Step 8: Click Done to finish settings. 

How to Disable Parental Controls on Windows 11

Follow the steps below to disable parental controls:

1. Navigate to Start > Settings > Accounts > Family & Other People. 
2. Click on “Manage Family Settings Online.”
3. If you’re asked to log in, input your credentials to sign in. 
4. Select your child’s account. 
5. Remove any limits under all categories – Activity, Screen Time, and App Limits.
6. That’s it – parental controls will be disabled from your child’s device. 

Key Takeaways

How to set up and use parental controls on Windows 11? Here are the takeaways:

• Setting up and using parental controls on Windows 11 is easy. However, it requires you to have a Microsoft account of your own. 
• It also requires a child account to enable parental controls – go to Family & Other People settings to create/add a child account. 
• To configure parental controls, select “Manage family settings online or remove an account” and click on your child’s account icon. 
• On the parental controls page, you can set parental control limits under each category – Activity, Screen Time, and App Limits.

There are also various parental control apps for Android and iOS devices that you can use to set similar limitations on your child’s internet access and screen time. These are the best means of ensuring they balance their time well and don’t become addicted to their devices.