Steam Parental Controls: Playtime Limits, Game Access and Purchase Requests
October 30, 2026 · Updated November 2, 2026
Steam's parental controls are part of Steam Families. An adult in the family goes to Account Details > Family Management > Manage, expands the child's entry and turns on "Enable Parental controls." From there you can set playtime limits, choose which games the child can open, and restrict the store, community and chat. Children can also send their shopping cart to an adult, who approves and pays.
Key facts
- Steam Families replaced both Family Sharing and Family View.
- A family can have up to 6 members, as adults or children. Valve says it's "intended for a household of up to 6 close family members".
- Parental controls include game access, store, community and chat restrictions, playtime limits and playtime reports.
- Children can ask for extra playtime or feature access, and adults approve.
- Children can send their cart to an adult, who approves and pays by phone or email, and the games land on the child's account.
- An adult can recover a child's account once the child has been in the family for 30 days.
Step 1: Create a Steam Family
On the Steam Store, open Account Details, then Family Management, and click Create a Family. Give it a name (you can change it later), then Invite a Member and choose child as their role. Valve's rule of thumb: "If you expect to need parental controls limiting what games an account can play and how long and when it can play them, it should be added as a Child. Otherwise, add them as an Adult." Only adults can manage invites and restrictions, and children can't leave the family on their own. Steam Families explained covers the game-sharing rules, including the one-year slot cooldown.
A family can be managed from the Steam client, the mobile app or a web browser, so you don't need to be at the child's PC to change a setting.
Step 2: Turn on the controls
Go back to Account Settings > Family Management > Manage, expand the child's entry and toggle Enable Parental controls. A panel opens with three groups of settings.
Game access
Choose which games the child is allowed to play. Anything you don't allow can't be launched from their account. This covers games shared from other family members too: Valve's FAQ says the way to stop a child playing a game you own is to restrict it in parental controls.
Steam features
Turn the Steam Store, community features and chat on or off for the child.
Playtime limits
Set how long the child can play. Steam also gives adults playtime reports, so you can see where the time goes. When the limit is up, the child can ask for more, and an adult approves or declines.
Purchase requests: the cart goes to you
Children in a Steam Family can send their shopping cart to an adult. The adult approves and pays from a phone or by email, and Valve says approved games "are added directly to the child's account". That way there's no card on the child's account and no shared password.
If you'd rather give a fixed budget, a Steam gift card in the child's wallet works too. Gift cards for kids' gaming accounts compares the two.
What a child can play from the family library
Steam Families shares most games across the family, with each member keeping their own saves and achievements. Valve lists what can't be shared: games that need a third-party key, account or subscription; free-to-play games and their DLC; games restricted in either member's region or unsupported on their operating system; games a publisher has opted out of sharing; and games the owner has marked private. One copy can be played by one member at a time, so if two of you want the same game at once, someone buys a second copy. For a child, the parental controls above sit on top of all this.
Who should be the adult?
Any adult in the family can manage invites and restrictions, and Valve says adults can also remove any member from the family, so add only the parents or guardians who should be able to change the rules. A family has six slots, and Valve puts a one-year cooldown on each slot once someone leaves, so don't fill it with people you might remove later. If an adult leaves the family, they have to wait a year from joining before creating or joining another one, though Valve says they can rejoin their last family straight away if it has fewer than six members.
One trap Valve calls out: child slots are "meant for accounts that parents or guardians create for their children". If an adult accidentally joins as a child, they can't leave on their own and should contact Steam Support to be removed.
Locked out? Child account recovery
If a child can't sign in, an adult can recover the account from Family Management > Manage > the child's entry > Recover Account, provided the child has been in the family for at least 30 days. That's one more reason to set the family up before it's needed rather than after.
Still using the old Family View PIN?
Family View was the old PIN-based system. Valve has replaced it with Steam Families. If you're stuck behind a forgotten PIN, reset your Family View PIN first, then move to the controls above.
Frequently asked questions
Does Steam have parental controls?
Yes, through Steam Families. Adults can limit games, store, community and chat access, and set playtime limits for children.
Can I set a time limit on Steam?
Yes. Parental controls in Steam Families include playtime limits and playtime reports, and children can request extra time.
Can my child buy games on Steam without my card?
They can send their cart to an adult in the family, who approves and pays. Approved games are added to the child's account.
How many people can be in a Steam Family?
Up to 6, in any mix of adults and children.
Can I stop my child playing one of my games?
Yes. Restrict it under game access in the child's parental controls. Shared games follow the same rule.
Can adults in the family earn Steam credit?
Yes, adults can. An XPReward member can turn offer points into a Steam code and use it to pay for a child's approved cart. Create an adult account.
Sources
Steam Families controls checked on 3 November 2026 against: