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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Technology
Barry Collins

How to set up a games console for a child

Ensure kids don’t access adult games with our guide

(Picture: PA Archive)

Long gone are the days when games consoles could be considered harmless playthings for children. Exposure to adult games with violent content, abuse via in-game voice chat, and hundreds of pounds spent on in-game purchases are just some of the risks you face if you give a child unfettered access to a games console.

If you’re planning to buy a child a new Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo Switch, spend some time reading our guide below on how to set these consoles up safely for children. A few simple steps taken before you hand over the controllers can make a big difference.

Here’s our guide to ensuring a shiny new games console doesn’t become a parent’s worst nightmare.

How to set up an Xbox for a child

Set limits on individual Xbox games (Barry Collins)

The absolute key thing to remember when giving a child a new Xbox, or even letting them use a family console, is to make sure they’re signing in with their own profile/account. Leave them on your (administrator) account, and they could potentially play what they like, change settings at will, and be exposed to all the dangers we mentioned above.

If you’re a Windows PC owner, the good news is Microsoft uses the same account system for Xbox consoles as it does for Windows PCs. So it’s best to set up the console using your account and add the child as a secondary account holder – the Xbox set-up screens will run you through this. If you don’t already have Microsoft accounts from a PC, you can set them up on the console itself, but again – create one for the adult and another for the child, even if you don’t want to play games yourself.

Key tip: Make sure you can’t sign into the adult’s account without entering a PIN or password. You’ll find this in the console’s security settings.

Microsoft automatically applies settings that are appropriate for your child’s age. Tell them a child is 12, for example, and they’ll only be able to play games with a 12 age rating or below, and will be blocked from talking to strangers online, etc. Some of these settings can be restrictive, but you can always tweak them, either from the settings menu on the console or from the Microsoft Family website.

You can also set time limits (say, two hours per day or between certain hours) on individual games, if you find they’re becoming obsessed with one title.

One word of caution on Xbox: if you’re a Microsoft Game Pass subscriber, you can’t share your games with your child unless you have a Game Pass Friends & Family account.

How to set up a PlayStation for a child

Monitor which games your kids are playing (Sony Interactive Entertainment)

The same principle applies for PlayStation as it does with Xbox: get the child onto their own account, not an adult’s. Aside from anything, you cannot convert an adult account into a child’s one later unless you delete this and start again. Once the child has started to accumulate trophies, there will be trouble if you try to go down that road.

To get this sorted, you’ll need to become what Sony calls the “family manager” on its PlayStation Network (PSN). This idea sounds like it should come with a chunky salary and a car but, in truth, any adult who creates a child account will automatically become the family manager. The self-designated family manager can then appoint other adults as extra parents/guardians. If nothing else, this means that it’s not only one adult who has to put up with the nagging.

You can learn how to create adult and child accounts on Sony’s website. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to manage how much time the child can spend playing on the console, permit or deny access to specific games, and manage access to in-game chat and voice messages. Remember that online play with friends is now a massive part of gaming, so you might want to permit voice chat with approved friends, but not allow random players to chat with your child. All of this is possible within Sony’s settings.

As before, don’t share your password with your child or leave your account unprotected on the console, or they may decide to delve into the settings themselves.

How to set up a Nintendo Switch for a child

The Switch is the safest console for young kids (Nintendo)

Of all the consoles, the Nintendo Switch is the one we’d worry least about giving to a child. It doesn’t have as many gory, violent games as you’ll find on the Xbox or PlayStation. And, although it does support voice chat, it’s not a big part of Switch gaming. On the downside, the console is portable and so easier for kids to sneak in gaming sessions under the covers.

Thankfully, Nintendo has designed a mercifully simple parental-controls system. You can just dive into the console’s settings and access parental controls from there, but these are limited. Far better to download the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app for Android or iPhone. It’s super-easy to set up – you just need to register an account and enter a six-digit code from the console’s screen. The app will guide you through how to do the rest.

Once you’ve installed the app, you can set a daily play limit or what Nintendo quaintly calls a “bedtime alarm”. That’s basically a cut-off time, after which kids won’t be able to play on the console until 6am the next day. They’ll get reminders when they’re approaching either their limit or bedtime alarm, so that they (hopefully) don’t lose any saved game progress. You can use the app to waive the limit if you get the “just 10 more minutes” plea and decide to buckle.

Restricting what they can spend in the Nintendo Store takes a little more in-app set-up, requiring you to link their Nintendo account to your parental-control app. However, most pre-teens seem perfectly happy to play on a Switch without ever having the ability to buy from the online store, so you might conclude that there’s no need to even go there in the first place. Or, at least, wait until the nagging starts before you set this up. Until then, enjoy the peace and quiet.

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