Steam Families parental controls: set up a child account

Steam Families can share eligible games without making a child use an adult’s Steam login. Add the child’s own account as a Child member; an adult can then manage which Steam games the child can access, restrict parts of Steam, set playtime limits and review requests. Valve made Steam Families available to all users on 11 September 2024 and described it as intended for a household of up to six close family members ( Valve’s launch announcement ).

Keep each person on their own Steam account

A Steam Family connects accounts; it does not turn them into one shared account. When a person plays an eligible game from the family library, Steam keeps that player’s own saved games and achievements. The person who bought the game retains ownership. Developers can also exclude games from sharing, so a title missing from the family library may not be a parental-control setting problem ( Valve’s Steam Families overview ).

If you want to manage a child’s access, use the child’s own Steam account and add it with the Child role. An Adult member can manage family invites and apply account restrictions; a Child member is subject to parental controls and cannot manage the family. Choose Adult only for someone who should have those family-management permissions.

Set up the child account controls

1. Sign in to an adult account and open Steam’s Family Management settings. Valve says family management is available from the Steam client, mobile device or web browser. Steam updated the settings layout and navigation across desktop, Deck and mobile in March 2026, so follow the labels in the client you are using rather than an older screenshot ( Steam client update, 9 March 2026 ).
2. Create a Steam Family, then invite the child’s account. If the child does not have one yet, use Steam’s account-creation flow and follow any age or guardian checks it presents; do not share an adult login. When you invite the account, select Child as its role. Steam Families is intended for a household group of up to six close family members, including the organiser.
3. Open the child member’s settings and configure parental controls. Valve’s published feature list includes the following options:

• Game access: choose which games the child can play from the family’s eligible library.
• Steam features: restrict access to the Steam Store, Community or Friends Chat.
• Playtime: set hourly or daily limits and view playtime reports.
• Requests: approve or deny a child’s request for additional playtime or feature access, either temporarily or permanently.

The controls are useful when they match a specific decision. For example, if a child may use two games but not the rest of a shared library, set the game access accordingly, then test one allowed title and one restricted title from the child’s account. If the aim is to limit contact, check the Community and Friends Chat settings as well as game access. Valve lists these as separate controls, so restricting one should not be assumed to restrict the others.

Use purchase requests for game purchases

A child account can ask an adult in the family to pay for the games in its Steam shopping cart. The adult can review the request and pay through Steam on a mobile device or by email; approved games are added to the child’s account. This gives the adult a review step for the requested cart without handing over the adult’s Steam sign-in. Check the items in the request before approving it ( Valve’s description of child purchase requests ).

Purchase approval is separate from playtime and feature access. Decide which controls you need, then check them individually from the child’s account. Steam also provides playtime reports, but those describe activity in Steam; they are not a report of everything happening on the PC.

Check the family arrangement before inviting people

Steam Families is meant for close family members in one household, not a temporary group for sharing with friends. Valve’s published FAQ says an adult can leave at any time, but must wait one year from joining the previous family before creating or joining another. A vacated family slot also has a one-year cooldown, and a Child member cannot leave without an adult or Steam Support removing them. Check the membership and role before accepting an invite.

If you are moving from Steam Family View, Valve said the existing settings on a child account transfer into Steam Families, but the Family View PIN is removed. Review the child’s settings after the move rather than assuming the old PIN still protects them.

Know where Steam’s controls stop

Steam Families’ documented controls cover Steam games and Steam features. In practice, treat them as Steam-level controls: they do not establish what a child can open in Windows, another game launcher or a separate service inside a game. Configure those other accounts and apps separately if your household needs those limits.

A practical setup is a separate account for each person, the Child role for an account that needs restrictions, and a quick check of allowed games, blocked games, Steam features and playtime from the child’s sign-in. That confirms the settings you chose without confusing a shared game library with a shared identity.

Sources

• Valve: Steam Families is here, 11 September 2024 .
• Valve: Steam Client Update - March 9th, 9 March 2026 .
• Steam Support: Steam Families User Guide & FAQ .