Nintendo Switch parental controls: three safety tips for parents

10/11/2023

Are you curious about how your children use Nintendo Switch? Maybe you’d like to know how long they spend playing games or what types of games they’re playing? It’s easy to create a safe gaming environment for your children on Nintendo Switch using both the parental control options available on the console and via the free Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app for your smart device.

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Take a look at what the app can do – or read on for three tips to keep tabs on what your kids get up to on your Nintendo Switch console.

1: How much are my children playing Nintendo Switch?

You can stay informed on how much time your children spend playing Nintendo Switch via the Parental Controls app. The app also allows you to set limits on how long or how late the Nintendo Switch console can be used each day. When the time limit has been reached, your children will get an on-screen notification that their play time for the day is up.

You can also disable these features temporarily or for a full day if you want to give your children a little extra play time.

2: How can I monitor what sort of games my children are playing?

You can enjoy peace of mind knowing your children will only be able to play games that are suitable for their age range by limiting the games they can access based on the product age ratings. This type of parental controls can be set in the app or directly on the console.

If you want to freely choose which Nintendo Switch games are suitable for your children to play, regardless of age rating, then you can use the whitelist feature in the Parental Controls app to allow your children to access specific games that you’ve chosen for them.

The app will also give you a monthly summary that shows you which games they’ve been playing recently and for how long. It’s also a handy way to see what kinds of games your children are interested in and start up a conversation about games with your family!

3: How can I stop my children from making purchases?

If you want to make sure your children aren’t spending any money on Nintendo eShop without your permission, it’s as simple as applying spending restrictions in the Family Group menu in your Nintendo Account settings.

Learn more on how to set Nintendo eShop restrictions

For even more tips about parental controls on Nintendo Switch, including which settings you can control from your console, please read our Parental Controls FAQ.