How to Easily Set Up Nintendo Switch Parental Controls for Your Child

Tutorial How to Easily Set Up Nintendo Switch Parental Controls for Your Child

Published on 02/12/2023 at 09:05

The Nintendo Switch is one of the most suitable consoles for the youngest. Be careful to control its use carefully so as not to end up with abuses such as excessive playing time or the use of functions unsuitable for its age.

Nintendo Switch parental controls are the ultimate tool

If you have just offered a Nintendo Switch classic, OLED or Lite to your child, parental controls are a virtual obligation for your peace of mind.

There are many functions that allow you to moderate the use of the console so as not to end up going overboard. Screen time can thus be controlled with just a few clicks from a distance. From your smartphone you keep control over the console. Whether game by game or in general.

You will also get detailed monitoring of your child’s video game consumption. What to see what are his video game preferences of the moment. This will facilitate the birthday present or at Christmas.

You have two possibilities for parental control and the two are not incompatible. Using the app provides remote access (you will need a Nintendo Account). It is still possible to configure parental controls only on the Nintendo Switch without going through a smartphone.

Parental controls only on the Nintendo Switch

If you do not want to go through a mobile application, it is possible to configure everything directly from the console, for that you just have to follow these steps:

Go to “Console Settings” from the HOME menu
Scroll down to choose “Parental Controls”, then choose “Parental Control Settings”
Select “Use this console”
Select “Restriction Level”

You can then choose the restrictions to apply. It is possible to adjust each parameter according to your needs:

Classification by age: choose the software classification organization on which the PEGI software restrictions in France are based, for example. Games outside of this age range will be impossible to play on the console without a PIN.

Restricted software: this limits software by age based on each game’s age rating. Select “Restricted Software” and then the age for which you want to apply a restriction. Additionally, videos captured using the restricted software will not be viewable in the album.

Posting screenshots/videos: it is possible to block the possibility of sharing images from the Nintendo Switch on social networks

Free communication between users: it is important to control communication with others on the Internet. For this it is possible to limit communications with other users, including chat features and the exchange of messages.

When you are satisfied with all your settings, simply select “Save”, then “OK” to confirm
Choose a secret code (between 4 and 8 digits), then select “OK”
For convenience, it is better to enter the secret code using a numeric keypad. To do this, hold down the (+) “Enter with keyboard” button, then use the on-screen keyboard
Enter the passcode again to confirm, then select “OK”

For parental control application on smartphone

For remote control of the Nintendo Switch it is possible to use the smartphone application. It offers new features and above all a control without the need to touch the console.

Link your Nintendo Switch console to the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app
Once paired, launch the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app on your connected device
Select “Console Settings” in the upper right corner
If you have more than one Nintendo Switch console associated with the app, tap the (+) icon in the upper right corner to select the correct console