Creating a Fun, Safe, and Inclusive Xbox Gaming Experience for Your Kids This Holiday Season

With the holiday season just around the corner, many find themselves on the hunt for the perfect gift for the kids in their lives. For some, this means exploring the world of Xbox—a gaming experience filled with endless entertainment, connection, creativity, and even learning opportunities.

However, diving into the gaming universe can feel like a big task, especially for those not familiar with it. Worries about online gaming communities, screen time regulation, content suitability, and safety measures can seem daunting. But Xbox has designed their ecosystem to help families make informed and sensible decisions with ease.

When you unbox that shiny new Xbox console, the best practice is to hit “Yes” when asked, “Will this console be used by kids?” Spending a few moments to set up an Xbox Child Account instead of letting your little ones use your own account creates a safer, more personalized gaming experience that grows with them. Plus, you won’t need to purchase your games all over again. You’ll have the ability to control which games they play, how long they engage, and who they interact with, among other things.

After your console is up and running, maintaining a safe gaming environment can be managed with the Xbox Family Settings app on your Android or iOS device. This handy tool lets you tweak your child’s gaming experience from anywhere, even if you’re miles away from the console.

Here’s a glance at what the app can help you do:

• Screen Time Management: Schedule how many hours your child can spend gaming each day. Many parents (and grandparents, aunts, uncles too!) especially love the feature where kids can request more playtime. You get to give the thumbs up—or down—through the app. You can even pause the game time, making it easy to call everyone to dinner.

• Content Filters: Customize which games your child can access by blocking those with mature themes. You’ll ensure they’re only seeing content that’s right for their age, based on your approval.

• Purchase Limits and Approvals: Avoid surprise costs by approving purchases through a request system. And as a reward for great behavior, you can effortlessly add funds to their accounts for future game buys.

• Communication Controls: Decide who your child can chat with during their games. Manage who they have on their friends list, review who tries to add them, and choose whether to let them talk to friends—or maybe not talk at all.

• Activity Reporting: Get weekly updates on what they’re playing, for how long, and any requests they’ve sent your way for extra time or new games. Pretty neat, right?

On top of those controls, the Xbox Series X|S brings a range of features aimed at making gaming accessible for everyone. Check out the full lineup of accessibility settings on Xbox’s site.

After you’ve set up everything to create the ideal gaming environment for your kids, the next adventure is to decide on what games to dive into together. With Xbox Game Pass, you can explore hundreds of games for a single monthly price, offering a great spectrum of family-friendly options. From thrilling adventures to educational games, there’s a bit of everything. You can even browse through a curated list by filtering for family and kids’ games via the Xbox console or the Game Pass section.

Video games aren’t just about fun—they boost creativity, enhance hand-eye coordination, and provide a significant sense of accomplishment. Beyond that, they offer kids a way to de-stress and catch up with friends or take the spotlight in your family’s game night, which is more fitting than ever in our digital world today.

With Xbox’s powerful features and the Family Settings app, you can rest easy knowing your child’s gaming journey will be as secure and structured as you need it to be.

For additional details on the Xbox Family Settings app, head over to Xbox.com/family-app.

Note: Sharing is possible only if child accounts are on the same console set as the “Home console.” You can find more information about designating a Home console here.