Context · Parental Controls
Google Family Link is the Android and Google version of parental controls. It lets you see activity, set daily time limits, approve app downloads, and manage your child's Google account. It helps, and like every control, it works best paired with a conversation instead of standing in for one.
Why this matters for your kid
Family Link can show you which apps get used, cap the daily time, require your approval before a download, and even show a device location. On a younger kid's first phone or tablet, that is a reasonable frame to start with.
What your child experiences
The same rules that feel fair at eight can feel like being watched at thirteen, and kids find room around it, a friend's phone, a school Chromebook, a second account, a web browser instead of the app. The control catches some of it, never all of it.
What to watch for
Use it as a starting tool and plan to loosen it as they earn more room. You are not trying to win the cat-and-mouse game. The point is to keep the door open so they still tell you what they run into online, even the stuff a control would never catch.