How to set up Xbox One for your Child

Almost everybody shares Xbox One in a family. Either play a game, watch movies, or make a family skype call. It becomes almost impossible to say no to kids, especially after an age when things get tricky. Thankfully, Microsoft core products, like Windows 10 and Xbox, have strong Family integration, letting you live peacefully when your kids use your Xbox.

In this post, I am going into many details on how you can set up an Xbox One for your child. Call it a Parent’s Guide for Xbox One! That said, I assume your account is already set up on Xbox One, and all you want to do is set up a Child’s Account.

Set up your Accounts with Microsoft Account Family Center

You will need a Microsoft account to use this feature for all your family members, including your kid. Since you have an Xbox One, I assume you already have a Microsoft Account.

Visit Family Center by following this link and Sign-in. Make sure you use the same account on Xbox One later.

Once you are here, look for the link which says Add a family member. Click to open.

Here you can select between a child or an adult. Select Add a Child.

You will see that it asks for a phone number or email id. If your kid doesn’t have an email ID, you can create one by following this link. This is the same link that appears in that prompt.

Once you create the email ID, come back here, and add to Invite him.

You will have to open your child’s email account and confirm it.

Here you can set up preferences, monitor what they are browsing on the internet, set up screen time, and for Apps, games, and Media – tailor what age-rated content your child has access to. You also can add money to your Kid’s account under Purchasing and Spending; however, I suggest not giving money to your kid and buying on your own.

Create an Xbox Profile for your Child

Now that your kid’s account is set up, the same can be used to sign in to the Xbox One. Like you, your kid will also get a gamer tag, and I suggest you leave it up to him how he wants to name it. Later, if he feels he can change it to something else.

Press the Xbox Button on your controller, and open the Guide Menu.

Navigate to the extreme right. This is System’s section which will have Settings. Press “A” to open Settings.

Find Family under the Account section. Select it.

Select Add New.

Then sign in-in with your child’s Microsoft Account and password.

After this, you will have to sign in again with your parents, i.e., your Microsoft account, to confirm.

Two more things will be asked next.

First, regarding how he will sign in, you can keep it simple and select “No Barriers.”
Second, If you have a controller for your child, you can link the controller or else use Instant Sign-in. You might be offered a gold subscription; Skip it if you want to.

Once this basic setup is complete, Microsoft applies all security settings to your kid’s account.

It’s the same as what you see in the Family Center. You can manage his Privacy & safety, Access to content, and Web Filtering option from the console. For anything more than this, you will have to get online.

In case your kid was smart enough to create an Xbox Profile by visiting Xbox Live and wants you to add him to Xbox One. The screenshot below will look familiar. Choose to Add him to this Xbox.

Set up Gamerpic & Basic Settings for your Kid

The next obvious step is to sit with your kid and set up a few things for him. If you know everything about Xbox One, you can give him a tour of where it is, how he can play games, and so on.

Xbox One now supports uploading a profile pic. You can copy it from your computer to a USB drive, pick it up, and upload it.

When it comes to the gamertag, I suggested leaving it to the randomly generated gamertag. Microsoft allows you to change the gamertag once for free. Post one change, you will have to pay 10$. However, if you and your kid are pretty sure about it, you can set up the first one.

Follow the steps below:

Open the Guide by pressing the button on the controller.
Navigate to the extreme left, select his gamer tag, and then My profile,
In this new screen, navigate to Customise profile and select it.
Select your kid’s randomly generated gamertag, and you will get a prompt to change it.

Next, I suggest you do the following things:
- Customize Dashboard with his favorite color and wallpaper.
- Download games for him. He will share the games you have based on his gaming restrictions.
- Pin the game tiles on his home screen.
- Teach a few tricks about Xbox One to him!

Lastly, Setup Xbox One screen Time limits.

The beauty of the Microsoft Family feature is about deciding when your child can use your Windows 10 PC or the Xbox One console. You can set up an ap time so he can play on Xbox One every day and for a particular period. He will need his parents’ permission if he tries to play off the timing.

Go to Microsoft Family Account.
Open your child’s account by clicking on Activity History.
Switch to Screen Time.
Turn on Xbox screen time limits.
Select the timing for every day, and you will be all set.

When a kid is about to reach his time limit, he will get a notification about it. Post the time limit, he will be locked out of his account unless permission is granted.

And this concludes your guide here. There are many things that I can write, but this is good enough for you to start with and learn from. It’s pretty simple, but if you have a question, let me know in the comments.

Why can’t I change my child’s settings on Xbox One?

First, you must make sure you are using your account or the account that manages the child settings on the console. Second, the Xbox services need to be working. If any of the services related to Family settings are not working, the changes will not be reflected. Lastly, ensure that there is no passkey required to change the settings.

Why does it say my Xbox account is a child account?

If your registered age is under 18, and your parent has set up your account, then that’s the reason why your Xbox account is a child account. If you think this is a mistake, you need to update your age in the Microsoft family settings or ask your parent to remove your account from your child’s account. It can be done through Microsoft Family settings.