Parental controls in Windows x are pretty solid, but to use them yous take to set the whole family up with Microsoft accounts and you have to create specific child accounts for your kids. If yous prefer to use regular local accounts, yous can still set time limits for how long whatever non-administrative user can utilize a computer.

In Windows 10, Parental controls offer some nice features for monitoring kids' accounts. They let you limit web browsing, which apps kids can use, and the times kids can use the computer. The downside is that to utilize these controls, all members of the family must have Microsoft accounts. You also take to set the kids up with kid accounts, which can impose some limits you may not desire. The expert news is that you can yet use local accounts and impose some of these aforementioned limits. If you lot're comfy working with Grouping Policy, it's not hard to restrict users to running specified programs. You lot tin filter web sites at the router level. And, as we'll talk about here, you can even impose fourth dimension restrictions for local user accounts.

RELATED: How to Add and Monitor a Kid'south Account in Windows 10

You'll set time restrictions for a user at the Command Prompt. To open Command Prompt, correct-click the Offset menu (or press Windows+10), cull "Command Prompt (Admin)", and and so click Yes to allow it to run with administrative privileges.

The command for setting time limits for a user follows this syntax:

net user <username> /time:<24-hour interval>,<fourth dimension>

Here's how each office of the command works:

  • Replace <username> with the proper noun of the user account you want to limit.
  • Replace <day> with the 24-hour interval y'all want to set limits on. Y'all tin spell out the full names of the days or use the initials Su, M, T, W, Thursday, F, Sa.
  • Replace <time> with a time range using either a 12-hour (3am, 1pm, etc.) or 24-60 minutes (03:00, xiii:00, etc.) format. You tin can only use times in ane-hour increments, and then don't add whatever minutes to the times.

So, for example, say you wanted to restrict a user account named Simon to using the computer only from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday. You would utilize the command:

net user simon /time:Sa,8am-4pm

Yous tin can likewise specify a range of days with the same time limits by separating the days with a hyphen. And then, to limit the user to using the computer only on weekdays from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm, you could use the command:

net user simon /time:Thou-F,4pm-8pm

Furthermore, you can string multiple day/time limits together by separating them with a semicolon. Let's put those two fourth dimension limits we imposed earlier together in the same command:

net user simon /time:Sa,8am-4pm;Thou-F,4pm-8pm

Using this same format, you can too specify multiple time ranges on the same day. For example, this command limits the user to 6:00 am to 8:00 am and 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm on all weekdays:

cyberspace user simon /time:M-F,6am-8am;M-F,4pm-10pm

You can as well remove restrictions from a user by specifying all times:

net user simon /time:all

Finally, if you use the command but get out the time bare (enter nothing afterwards the fourth dimension: function), the user will never be able to log on. That might be useful if you desire to lock out an account temporarily, but exist careful you don't go out it blank by blow. As well, if you lot ever need to display what times you've ready for a user, yous can just type the net user control followed by the business relationship proper noun:

net user simon

And that'south it. You don't have to use parental controls or Microsoft accounts to ready time limits for users. You just have spend a few minutes in the Control Prompt.