adding family members without creating email accounts

each child needs a child account, there is no getting away from that, my kids had one when they were 2 and have grown up with it, then you can add them to the family and create screen times of your choosing which covers console and pc, the reason they need an account is so any saves for games, achievements etc etc are theirs always and they don't lose any progress, you don't have to give them access to the email just yet, just store that and the password somewhere safe.

when they finally reach 18 the account becomes an adult account.

it is better to sort this now than have the kids crying later in the future when they lose all there save and gaming history.

Hello Kathy...

Hi ,

We understand that you would like to add your kids into a family group that limit their screen time. Let us check on this together and sort this out in timely manner.

This feature - adding family members without a Microsoft account is not available in Microsoft Family. However, Microsoft Family offers the feature you are looking for which is to limit screen time for the kids. There are other features that is included to the Microsoft Family content filters, location safety, activity reporting and set app/game limits because Microsoft knows how important it is to managed the kids screen time.

Know more details and information here: Set screen time limits across devices.

You can install the Microsoft Family Safety app or visit family.microsoft.com to set limitations or schedule for your kids.

The main reason that every child should have a child Microsoft account is to allow them to save their gamer score on each accounts without sharing same achievements to their siblings. But, you are always welcome to send this amazing idea to the Team Xbox for reconsideration. Please use this link as guide - Xbox Team | Feedback.

We join you in the hope that this will be part of the next update of Microsoft Family. If you have a different concern kindly create a new thread using this link.

Sincerely,

Kathy A.

Xbox Forum Moderator

Microsoft Community

So the part, right at the beginning, "We understand that you would like to add your kids into a family group that limit their screen time. Let us check on this together and sort this out in timely manner.

This feature - adding family members without a Microsoft account is not available in Microsoft Family. However, Microsoft Family offers the feature you are looking for which is to limit screen time for the kids."

So "this feature", limiting their screen time. You state that adding family members without an account is not available. However, you say that M.F. offers a feature I am looking for, whichi is to "limit the screen time for the kids."

Did I not understand you right or did I just not communicate myself adequately? It seems like you understood my challenge and you answered the question point-blank (which was my suspicion all along). But what seems weird is that you said that a feature is available and I checked out the links you provided (Set screen time limits across devices).

Well, I went to check that out and the webpage had directions for a web/desktop interface:

1. Visit family.microsoft.com. Sign into your Family Safety account.
   
2. Find your family member, select them, and then select Screen time.
   
3. To set one schedule across all devices, turn on Use one schedule on all devices.
   
4. To set schedule or limits for individual devices,
   
   1. Scroll down to Xbox consoles and Windows 10 devices. Select Turn limits on under each respective category as desired.
      
   2. Select a day to set time ranges and total hours permitted for device use.
      
   3. To turn limits back off, select More, then select Turn limits off.
      

See step 2? Well, I can only find a family member if I created an account for them. I can only create an account if I set up an email account. So it really sounds like that without setting up an account, NONE of these "features" are available.

Creating a logon, without email and all that, doesn't exactly sound like an "amazing", novel idea. Creating the platform to have separate logons without creating email accounts can accomplish the same things you said, the difference is that Microsoft (the platform) would not have the presence of these extra humans (kids) online and all the benefits they would derive with having them there. To me, it is merely a matter of the programmers configuring the platform to have this "offline" presence.

Hi AJ__,

We understand that you would like to add your kids into a family group that limit their screen time. Let us check on this together and sort this out in timely manner.

This feature - adding family members without a Microsoft account is not available in Microsoft Family. However, Microsoft Family offers the feature you are looking for which is to limit screen time for the kids. There are other features that is included to the Microsoft Family content filters, location safety, activity reporting and set app/game limits because Microsoft knows how important it is to managed the kids screen time.

Know more details and information here: Set screen time limits across devices.

You can install the Microsoft Family Safety app or visit family.microsoft.com to set limitations or schedule for your kids.

The main reason that every child should have a child Microsoft account is to allow them to save their gamer score on each accounts without sharing same achievements to their siblings. But, you are always welcome to send this amazing idea to the Team Xbox for reconsideration. Please use this link as guide - Xbox Team | Feedback.

We join you in the hope that this will be part of the next update of Microsoft Family. If you have a different concern kindly create a new thread using this link.

Sincerely,



Xbox Forum Moderator

Microsoft Community

They need to create a family group where you will be added as a member. They need to sign in to htttps://account.microsoft.com/family and then add your Microsoft account as a member.

Hey grahame

Thank you for taking the time to post this on the Xbox Forums. We understand that you are experiencing difficulties with being able to add a family member to your account.

Its likely that the email that is associated with the account you are attempting to add is not correct. Creating an account only occurs when the email address is not associated with another Microsoft account.

That being said, instead you can attempt to add these family members to your account by

adding your account to your console and then
adding them to your family.

I hope this helps.