Making ensuring your kids are shielded from some of the best Parenting Software for Windows on the web is more crucial than ever as the globe continues its relentless march into the digital era. Although it is impossible to determine the exact percentage of the internet that is given up to content, estimations indicate that 5–35 percent of all website are devoted to alone. And that’s before you factor in related issues like severe swearing, dating sites, and others.
Nowadays, parents can choose from a variety of software. Kids as young as three years old can now access and utilize smartphones to play games, watch their favorite YouTube channels for kids, or study math, music, or a new language. Being unable to monitors and control what their children are doing online while they are not looking is one of the major worries that most parents have. Thankfully, you can create a Microsoft Family account and connect your kid’s account to it.
However, there are more effective program with strong capabilities that enable you monitor, limit, and manage the apps that your children can use if you require more precise control. Below we have mentioned some of the best parenting software for Windows.
Best Parenting Software for Windows
Windows User Accounts
With the launch of Windows 11, Microsoft improved its inbuilt parental control program. A user account can now be designated as a “Child Account.” You may control the account across all associated services, such as Windows, Xbox one S, and the Microsoft Store, by setting up a child account. You need to be aware of two crucial exceptions before we go on to describe how to create a child account. First off, if your Windows 11 user account is a local account, you cannot establish child accounts. You must connect your account to a Microsoft Account. Overall, this is one of the best parenting software for Windows that you can download.
The account must secondly be made within your “Family.” Soon, more on that. Go to Start > Settings > Accounts to create a child account. Click Family and Other Users in the window’s left-hand side. Click if they don’t I want to add someone, but they don’t have an email address. The next step is to register the new account against an existing email or establish a new email. After completing the subsequent screens, you will see a confirmation message.
Qustodio
When we tested Qustodio for Windows, the first feature that caught my eye was the ability to create unique user profiles for each child on a single computer. This was crucial since we didn’t want my 16-year-old using the same web filter as my 7-year-old, and grouping all the kids together would make it impossible to enforce time limitations. Speaking of time constraints, we appreciated how flexible the screen time controls were.
Both a daily time cap and a timetable that prevented the computer from being used at particular hours were options we had. The scheduling grid’s hourly segmentation, which cannot be changed, was the one drawback we found with the tool. The web filter can be completely customized. It offers the choice to Allow, Block, or send me an Alert if the kids attempt to access a website with one of its 30 categories. The filter performed admirably when I tested it on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. This is the best parenting software for Windows. If you like this app you can get it from official website.
Net Nanny
With the comprehensive parental control tool Net Nanny, you can keep an eye on your family’s online activities while shielding your children from offensive and/or harmful content. The software provides thorough reports and logs of your children’s internet behaviour in addition to immediate alarms for unsuitable or dangerous content. Additionally, you can impose screen time restrictions and block websites or apps that you don’t want children to use. This is one of the best parenting software for Windows.
A thorough parental dashboard, a location tracker, and a remote timeout feature are further features of Net Nanny. It costs more than other parental control program, requires a lengthy setup process, and doesn’t provide social media monitoring. Net Nanny is an excellent fit for you if you have smaller children at home and are more concerned about unintentional exposure to problematic content or screen time.
Google Family Link
It used to be awful to utilize Google Family Link. But as long as your youngster has an Android phones now, it’s great. Although it can be installed on an iPhone, only iPhone owners who want to keep an eye on and manage their child’s Android device can use that feature. Three primary factors make Family Link such a terrific choice. First of all, the best price is obviously that it is free. Second, it enables you to establish daily time limitations, no-phone-after-bedtime hours, and individual time limits for particular apps.
You may set an app as “Always authorized,” which is a good, relatively new option. In contrast to the “No limit” option, the youngster can use that app till night even if their daily screen time has been consumed. This is useful for program like WhatsApp and other program you may consider to be “wholesome” and not count toward your daily screen time. You best parenting software for Windows to be used during the hours before going to bed, but Apple’s Screen Time can.
Norton Family
If you have a large family and need to keep an eye on a lot of Windows devices, Norton Family is an excellent option because it allows you to monitor an infinite number of devices. Additionally, it offers a lot of useful tools that let you keep an eye on and set limits for your child’s device and web usage. Good app filtering is also available, and it can find and prevent the use of program like Skype, GOG Galaxy, Steam, and Discord. However, Norton Family shows all the apps loaded on your child’s device, not just the ones your children use. As a result, you might need to sift through a big list of apps to discover the ones you need to block. For now, this is one of the best parenting software for Windows.
Since time restrictions can be set in increments of 30 minutes, Norton Family’s daily time limitations and scheduling functions are simple to use. Additionally, there are age-specific time restrictions. It’s unfortunate, in my opinion, that Norton Family does not allow you to set time limits for specific apps. In that case, you could give your child a reward of a couple of hours or more of offline gaming rather than whitelisting the games and possibly forgetting to blacklist them after the time period has passed.
OpenDNS
Additionally, think about OpenDNS. The company provides four different plans, two of which—Family Shield and Home are free. Family Shield offers a set-it-and-forget-about solution that is pre-configured to prevent adult content. Because the Home package can be customized extensively, it is trickier for beginners to set up.
The two free services will nonetheless censor access to anything related to proxies, anonymizers, or adult content despite the fact that they can only block websites and nothing else. The benefit of utilising a DNS-based software is that it operates at the network level; all you have to do is enter the DNS address in your router’s control panel. Per-device filtering can still be effective if network-wide filtering is too strict. Currently, this is the best parenting software for Windows you can check now.
Bark
Compared to the best parenting software for Windows we’ve used, Bark is a little unique. Monitoring social media is its main objective. It is compatible with more than 30 of the major social networks and will keep an eye on the conversations, posts, and photographs at the account level. It doesn’t really matter if the children are chatting on a computer, phone, or tablets, according to this. Through intelligent AI keyword, emoji, and slang detection, Bark will be able to understand what is occurring.
KidLogger
KidLogger is a best parenting software for Windows that tracks your child’s behavior rather than blocking websites if you’d rather be stealthy than proactive. KidLogger automatically records your child’s web browsing history, keystrokes, websites visited, screenshots, and software used. Additionally, you receive thorough activity reporting that includes contact information and call records.
The tracking practices of the software are quite intrusive. Additionally, it lacks built-in password protection, which could not be to your advantage if your youngster is tech-savvy. In particular, if you have teens, you may want to pay close attention to Instagram and Discord, which the software is compatible with.
FamiSafe
Steam, Skype, Discord, and even torrent clients are among the kid and teen-friendly program that this parental tool can identify and prohibit. For instance, it is considerably more straightforward to allow your children two hours playing Minecraft than of whitelisting the games and having to remember to blacklist it after the two hours have passed. Overall, this is the best parenting software for Windows you can consider.
Nevertheless, I don’t believe that FamiSafe’s online filtering on Windows is as effective as Qustodio or Norton Family’s web filtering – Qustodio has more than 25 predefined site categories and Norton Family has more than 45 categories, so they may block many more objectionable websites by default.
MMGuardian
Although the majority of these apps work on both mobile devices and laptops and desktops, MMGuardian has the opinion that most children today use their phones and tablets rather than traditional computers. This makes its product rather intriguing because, provided the child’s gadget runs Android or iOS, you may pay a monthly membership fee just for that one particular device. The opportunity to pay $3.99/£2.99 per month to secure an iPhone or iPad is more alluring for parents who don’t want to spend excessively than the annual costs some competitors offer. Still, it is one of the best parenting software for Windows you can consider you can consider.
However, MMGuardian offers a Family Plan that supports up to five devices if you have two or more children and/or they have numerous devices. An annual subscription is available for $69.99/£49.99. There are actually a tonne of different plans available, including the choice to join up for five years on a single device or, if you choose, numerous devices. This is one of the best parenting software for Windows you can download.
Conclusion
Make sure you are clear about the goals of your parental control software before you spend money on a premium program. Something as simple as website blocking can be adequate if you have a young child. The app’s functionality will evolve as youngsters get older. Check out our best parenting software for Windows if you want to learn more.
