How to turn off your child's computer remotely
Updated:
You're still at work, it's 9 pm, and the game is clearly still going. You don't have to call five times or drive home — you can end the session from your phone, in a way that's fair to your child.
🎬 Video: Chat and quick actions
Two buttons, two different things
With child-time installed on your child's Windows PC (5-minute setup), each child's card on the dashboard Overview has:
- “⏹ End time now” — ends today's computer time. The PC shows a full-screen “time's up” message; the computer stays on, nothing is lost. Tap “▶ Give time back” to undo it.
- “⏻ Shut down PC” — turns the computer off. Your child sees a warning and has 60 seconds to save their work before Windows shuts down.
- “➕ Add time” — the opposite: gives +15, +30 or +60 minutes for today when a film or a match needs a little longer.
Both work from any browser — your phone, a tablet or your work computer — wherever you are.
When to use which
- Dinner, homework, bedtime: “End time now”. It's reversible and nothing closes.
- You've left the house and the PC is still on, or it's long past bedtime: “Shut down PC”.
Better than a button: let it happen by itself
If you reach for the button every evening, set a rule instead. A daily limit and bedtime hours (how to set them) end the session automatically, with warnings at 15, 5 and 1 minute left — so your child can finish the match and save.
Send a heads-up first
A message from the dashboard chat — “Dinner in 10 minutes” — pops up right on your child's screen. Used before the button, it turns a sudden cut-off into a fair warning. More ideas: getting kids off games without a fight.