How to set up parental controls on a PlayStation 5 or PS4

Sony's Family Management covers age ratings, spending and playtime. A DNS filter adds a hard bedtime and lets you switch online games off during homework.

Updated November 11, 2026·2 min read

Short answer

Create a child account under your PlayStation family (Settings › Family and Parental Controls), set age ratings, playtime and communication limits. Then set Sheepdog Filter on your router or in the console's DNS settings for internet bedtimes and homework time.

Step 1: PlayStation Family Management

  1. On the console, open Settings › Family and Parental Controls › Family Management and sign in as the family manager (you).
  2. Add your child's account and set age ratings for games and video, spending limits, communication and user-generated content restrictions, and playtime limits.
  3. You can also manage all of this from the PlayStation App or the PlayStation website.

Step 2: Bedtime and homework time

PlayStation playtime limits count hours; they don't know your family's evenings. Sheepdog Filter adds an internet bedtime and Homework mode that switch off online games until a time you choose. Set it up on your home Wi‑Fi router, or on the console:

Can't change your router? Set it on the console

Every major console lets you type a DNS address by hand. In your Sheepdog Filter dashboard, open Devices › + Protect something › Everyone at home. That links your home internet and shows your DNS address. Type that address into the console as below, and leave the secondary DNS empty (or the same address if it insists). It works while the console is on your home internet.

PS5

  1. Go to Settings › Network › Settings › Set Up Internet Connection.
  2. Highlight your network, press Options, and choose Advanced Settings.
  3. Set DNS Settings to Manual, enter your address as Primary DNS, and press OK.

PS4

  1. Go to Settings › Network › Set Up Internet Connection and choose Wi‑Fi or LAN cable.
  2. Choose Custom, pick your network, set IP Address Settings to Automatic, DHCP Host Name to Do Not Specify, and DNS Settings to Manual.
  3. Enter your address as Primary DNS, then leave the rest as they were.

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Questions parents ask

Can my child undo the DNS setting on the console?

A determined child could change it back in the console's network settings, which is why router setup is better: it can't be changed from the console at all.

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