I've now spent two separate one-hour sessions trying to set up a child account and parental controls for my daughter, and it still hasn't worked.
What makes it even more frustrating is that the "add teen account" option I saw earlier is now missing entirely, and I'm still stuck in a setup flow that feels anything but clear or consistent.
Google also seems to expect that the teen already has their own device, which makes the whole process even more awkward when that is not the case.
At one point, Google even blocked my Dutch phone number because it had supposedly been used too many times for verification. For something that should be straightforward, this has turned into a surprisingly painful process.
And yes, this is coming from someone with extensive IT experience. If it's this confusing for an experienced technical user, I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for others.
I'm almost at the point of giving her an account without parental controls, but I value my children's safety too much for that. If I can't set it up properly, I'd rather not create the account at all.
Good security matters.
But if the setup is this fragmented and inconsistent, the UX is simply not good enough.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with Google Family Link?