How to send a family request to your child’s account on PlayStation (UK/Ireland)

Learn how to send a family request to an adult account for PlayStation, which settings are affected by adding a family member, and how to manage age-appropriate content.

Child accounts are managed under a family manager’s adult account, belonging to a parent or guardian. If your child has made an account in error or made an account with an incorrect date of birth, please follow the steps below.

To support an age-appropriate experience on PlayStation for your child, you can set up parental controls, add your child’s existing account to your family, and update their date of birth.

Once your child’s account is added to your family, it becomes a child account that you can manage through the PlayStation Family app, where you can set playtime limits, spending limits, and more.

PS Family app

Please note, if your child doesn’t have an existing account, you can set up your family by following the guide below.

Set up your family

Before you start

  • You need your own account as a parent or guardian. This account will manage your child’s account and parental control settings. If you don’t have an account, please visit the guide below for support.
Create an account
  • You need the sign-in ID (email address) for your child’s existing account to send a family request.
  • The country/region of the account for both your account and your child’s account must be the same. This is set during account creation. Adding your child’s existing account to your family is a feature currently only available in the UK and Ireland. Both accounts must be in the UK or Ireland.

Send a family request to your child’s account

As a parent or guardian, you must first send a family request to your child’s account.

  1. Sign in to Account Management using your account.
  2. Go to Family Management > Add Family Member.
  3. Select Yes when prompted to confirm whether your child already has an account.
    You may be asked to verify your age before proceeding. If prompted, follow the steps to complete age verification first.
  4. Enter the sign-in ID (email address) of your child’s account, as well as their date of birth.
    Once completed and checked, select Continue.
  5. You’re shown the child’s account settings and how they are affected by the account conversion. Select Continue.
  6. Tick the box next to I Agree once you’ve read and acknowledged the Terms of Service and User Agreement, and select Confirm.
  7. Select Send Family Request > OK.

Help your child to accept your family request

When your child accepts your family request, their account is added to your family. Help them to sign in and accept the family request.

  1. Sign in to Account Management on your child’s account.
  2. Go to Family Management.
  3. Under Received Family Requests, select the request sent from your parent/guardian account.
  4. Select Continue, and then input the child’s date of birth when prompted.
    Once completed and checked, select Join Family > OK.

What settings are affected when a child’s existing account is added to your family?

When your child’s account is added to your family, it changes the account settings and data to provide an age-appropriate gaming experience for your child.

  • Games and Pre-Orders
    All games and pre-orders your child previously purchased will remain available in their Game Library. Parental controls apply to the account, and you can manage your child’s access and account settings.
    For more information on how to set up play-time controls, or how to apply preset parental controls on PlayStation Family app and PS5 consoles, visit the guides below.
Preset restriction levels
Play-time controls
  • Payment methods
    Any existing payment methods are removed from your child’s account.
    Your child needs access to the family manager’s wallet to purchase content. For more information on payment methods and setting spending limits, visit the guides below.
Set a spending limit
Manage payment methods
  • Account information
    Your child’s account keeps the same sign-in ID, online ID and password/passkey.
    For help with changing their sign-in ID, online ID or password/passkey, please visit the guides below.
Change sign-in ID
Change password
  • Subscriptions
    Subscriptions that your child’s account is already subscribed to are still available until the end of the current payment cycle. Auto-renewal is turned off.
    For instructions on checking which subscriptions and services your child is subscribed to, visit the guide below.
Manage subscriptions
  • Privacy settings
    Your child’s account privacy settings are changed to restricted default settings.
    For more help with setting parental controls and managing your child’s privacy, visit the guides below.
Parental controls
Manage privacy
  • Linked Services and Authorised Apps
    When your child’s account information is updated, linked third-party services and authorised apps may be affected based on their age.
    • If your child’s age is above the age of digital consent in their country, existing linked services and authorised apps will remain connected.
    • If your child’s age is below the age of digital consent, linked services and authorised apps will be automatically removed to comply with privacy regulations.

For more details, visit:

Linking accounts
How to link social media accounts and streaming services
Manage authorised apps
  • One sign-in
    After the update, child accounts may no longer be linked with some Sony group services.

Frequently asked questions

If your account as a parent/guardian and your child’s account belong to two different countries, they cannot be added to your family.

To make sure the account for your child gets the latest status, restart your console and try again.

Having issues?

If you have any other issues with adding your child’s account to your family, please contact us using our Online Assistant.

Need help? 

Contact our support specialists

Contact PlayStation Support