Kids and computers
Keep tabs on screen time with Parental Controls
It's incredible how even young children can figure out how to log on to the family PC, get on the Internet, and find the fun games—without any help from adults.
You may be proud of your kid's computer wizardry, but still want to set some limits on it. Enforcing the rules can be tough.
Time out
With Parental Controls in Windows 7, it just got easier. You can decide which games your children can play, which programs they can use, and even when they get to use the computer.
Just set up an administrator account for yourself and a standard user account for each child, turn on the controls, and make your choices. Then when your kids log on under their own accounts, they’ll have to play by your rules.
The best thing about Parental Controls is its flexibility. Let’s say you want to let the kids use the PC a little later when they don't have school the next morning. Because you can block out specific hours for each day of the week, you can tailor the schedule as you like.
What about the web?
Many parents are concerned about their children's encounters with the vast and varied world of the Internet. That’s understandable. In Windows Vista, Parental Controls offered parents the ability to restrict the web content their kids could see and to get reports of their online activity.
But you had to manage web filtering and reports separately on each PC you wanted to monitor. That's changed. In Windows 7, you'll use a web-based program like Windows Live Family Safety, so you'll be able to view reports and change settings—on all the PCs running Windows 7 that you're monitoring—from any computer with an Internet connection.
Family Safety comes installed on many PCs—if it's not on yours, you can download it for free from the Windows Live website.
-
A PC running Windows 7. Get Windows 7 now.
-
An administrator account for you and a standard user account for each child you want to monitor. Read about user accounts.
-
An Internet connection.
-
Windows Live Family Safety installed on each PC you want to monitor. Learn more.
-
A Windows Live ID. Get one.
