A parental-controls alternative, with learning built in

Comparison as of October 2026. Product details change; we re-check this page every quarter and date each review.

Most parental-control tools are good at one thing: saying no. They limit hours, filter websites and block apps. That is useful, and for many families it is enough. What they don't do is give a child anything to say yes to.

Dad's Academy starts from the other end. On your child's Windows PC, a short adaptive review comes first, and screen time is earned by finishing it, or granted by you. This page sets out, as fairly as we can, what Qustodio, Google Family Link and Microsoft Family Safety do well, where each one stops, and when it makes sense to use one of them alongside us rather than instead of us.

The short answer

• If you need to manage phones, tablets and web content across devices, a parental-control suite is the right tool. Qustodio and Microsoft Family Safety are both capable, and Family Safety is free.
• If the screen in question is a Windows PC, and the goal is learning before play, none of the three does that. That is the gap Dad's Academy was built for.
• Many families will want both. A filter keeps the wrong things out; earn-to-play makes sure the right thing happens first.

At a glance (as of October 2026)

Sources for competitor details: each company's own help and pricing pages, checked October 2026. If you spot something out of date, tell us at hello@bov.ai and we'll correct it.

Qustodio: the thorough all-rounder

Where Qustodio is stronger. Qustodio covers more devices than we ever will: Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Android, iOS and Kindle. Its web filtering works across browsers, it can block apps and games, and its paid plans add per-app time limits, location, alerts and monitoring. If you want one dashboard for every screen in the house, it is a serious option.

Where it stops. Qustodio decides how long a screen is allowed. It doesn't give your child anything to do with the time before play, and it can't tell you whether they understand fractions. The free plan covers a single device with basic controls; daily time limits and app blocking sit on the paid plans.

Using both. Qustodio on phones and tablets, Dad's Academy on the Windows PC, is a reasonable pairing.

Google Family Link: excellent on Android, absent on Windows

Where Family Link is stronger. It is free, it's built into Android and Chromebooks, and for a child whose main device is an Android phone it is hard to beat: app approvals, daily limits, downtime and location in one place.

Where it stops. Family Link supervises Android devices and Chromebooks. It doesn't supervise a Windows PC. Searches for "Family Link for Windows" mostly turn up Android emulators and third-party apps that promise to bridge the gap. Running a phone emulator so that a phone tool can manage a PC is a long way round, and it rarely holds up against a determined ten-year-old.

What to use on the Windows PC instead. Microsoft Family Safety, described next, is the native equivalent on Windows. If you want the PC to open to learning first, that is what Dad's Academy does. Family Link can carry on looking after the phone.

Microsoft Family Safety: free, native, and worth setting up

Where Family Safety is stronger. It's free, it is built into Windows, and it reaches Xbox too. You can set daily screen-time allowances and schedules, filter websites in Microsoft Edge (and block other browsers so the filter can't be sidestepped), approve purchases, and get weekly activity emails. For general guard rails on a family PC, we recommend turning it on. Our guide to locking a Windows PC until homework is done walks through the setup step by step.

Where it stops. Family Safety counts time; it doesn't connect time to anything. A child gets the same allowance whether or not they practised today, and the dashboard tells you how long the PC was used, not what was learned.

Using both. Family Safety for web filtering and a firm bedtime; Dad's Academy for learning first and earned time. The two run alongside each other on the same child account.

Where Dad's Academy fits

Dad's Academy is not a parental-control suite, and we'd rather say so than have you find out after installing it. Here is what it does.

The PC opens to learning first

With the Windows companion installed, your child's PC shows that day's review before games, browsers and other apps: one question at a time, in Math, English and Reading, Science or Life Skills. When it's done, screen time is earned. You can grant more whenever you like. Earn-to-play is part of the paid plan. See how earned screen time works.

Practice that adapts

Each subject levels up or down on its own, based on how your child is actually answering. A child who reads well but finds fractions hard gets reading that stretches them and fractions that meet them where they are. More in adaptive learning, explained.

You see how they're really doing

The parent Command Center shows accuracy by subject, trends, and the skills your child keeps missing, with practice assigned in a tap. On the paid plan, it also shows which apps and sites were used on the PC, kept for 90 days.

Nothing is sold to your child

There is no advertising and nothing for your child to buy. The account belongs to you, and so does every setting. Our privacy policy explains what the Windows companion records and why.

What it won't do

• It runs on Windows only. The learning works in any modern browser, but earning and enforcing screen time happens on a Windows PC. No Mac, Chromebook, iPad or phone enforcement.
• It isn't a full web filter. On the PC you can block sites, set an allow-only list and force SafeSearch, but there is no category filtering. If you need content filtering, use Family Safety or Qustodio alongside it.
• It won't check school homework. It makes sure a short review happens first. Many families add a house rule that play follows once homework has been shown to a parent.
• We make no promises about grades. What it gives you is a daily habit of practice, at the right level, before play.

Which should you choose?

• Your child's main screen is an Android phone: Family Link, and keep it.
• You want one filter across many devices: Qustodio, or Family Safety if your household is mostly Windows and Xbox.
• The battle is the family PC after school: Dad's Academy, with Family Safety turned on underneath it for web filtering and bedtime.
• You're not sure yet: try a question with your child first. It takes a minute and needs no account.

For a wider view of apps that let children earn screen time, including the phone-first ones, see the best earn-screen-time apps in 2026. For how much screen time suits each age, see screen time by age.