Creating Your Child’s Xbox LIVE Account

Both you and your child need to be in front of the Xbox console to sign the child up for Xbox LIVE. Your child will set some preferences; you will control the safety settings and membership level.

• Before you begin, make sure you and your child each have a unique Windows Live™ ID. A Windows Live ID is linked to an email address and is used to manage your account, recover your profile and sign in to services like Windows Live Messenger on your console.  You may already have a Windows Live ID account if you have any of the following: a Hotmail®, MSN®, or Xbox.com account. If you don’t have one, you can create one when you sign up your child for Xbox LIVE.
• On the Xbox 360 console, go to My Xbox and open the child's profile.
• Select Join Xbox LIVE and follow the instructions on the screen.
• The child will enter his or her account information, including an age and an e-mail address.
• Make sure your child enters his or her correct age because the Child Profile and Family Settings are all tied to the child’s age.
• Note: When prompted for the email address and password associated with a Windows Live ID account, create (or supply details for) your child’s Windows LIVE ID first.
• After your child finishes the previous step, you'll be prompted to take over. You'll create your own Xbox LIVE account so that you can control what your child can and can't do when using Xbox LIVE.
• Next you'll choose the kind of membership you want your child to have. The information on the screen describes the features and costs of each option.
• If you choose a Gold membership, your credit card will be charged. If you choose a Silver membership (which is free), then your credit card will only be used to verify your identity, but won't be charged.
• After you choose a membership, your child will be asked to choose a Gamertag (name) and avatar (an animated character that represents your child online). Once your child finishes those steps, he or she can play on Xbox LIVE right away.

After membership creation, be sure to customize your Family Settings. To see these controls, go to My Xbox, open System Settings, then select Family Settings, Xbox LIVE Controls.

Xbox LIVE Controls settings include:

• Online Gameplay: Before you can play multiplayer games online, you need an Xbox LIVE Gold Membership. Once that's in place, this option allows you to decide if your child can play Xbox 360 games online.
• Privacy and Friends: You have the power to approve your child's online friends. Let your child communicate with anybody or only with their friends, decide who can see your child's personalized profile, control who sees your child's online or offline status, and more.

• Voice and Text: Select "Everyone" to allow your child to communicate using voice and text with anyone on Xbox LIVE. Select "Friends Only" to allow your child to communicate only with people on their friends list. Select "Blocked" to prevent everyone from communicating with your child. No matter what the setting, your child will still be able to receive new friend requests for you to approve or block.
• Video: Select "Everyone" to allow your child to communicate using video chat with anyone on Xbox LIVE. Select "Friends Only" to allow your child to communicate only with people on their friends list. Select "Blocked" to prevent everyone from communicating with your child.
• Content: You can choose to allow your child to see or download game updates, demos, and other content.