Here's how to set up parental controls on your smart TV — Samsung, Google TV, Roku and more

1. Open Settings

Depending on the Google TV you're using, you should have a button on the remote that instantly access the Settings menu. Otherwise, you can click up on the home screen and press the gear icon.

2. Find System

Scroll down to the bottom of the menu and click on System. You'll find this under the Apps section and right above Remotes & Accessories.

2. Click on Parental Controls

Head down to Parental Controls located right below system sounds and right above Gesture Control. It's here where you'll be able to find a slew of settings you can tailor to your preferences.

3. Choose the settings you want

Google TV has a ton of various settings under its parental controls. Screen time is a good one, allowing you to set a time limit and specific hours when the TV can be used. You can also restrict apps and channels to your liking, and setting a pin ensures your child can't access these places unless you let them.

Proximity alert is a more niche setting, but could be worth it for families with more children or more active kids. You will have to connect a special camera to the TV, which might not be to everyone's liking.

4. Add kid account

Google TVs also have an "Add a kid" account portal, which is a handy feature for a TV inside of a child's bedroom or for separating content across those who live in the house.

1. Open Settings and click General & Privacy

Samsung TVs have a quick settings bar, so you'll need to click the Settings button on your remote then access the All Settings menu before proceeding. Scroll down to the bottom of the settings menu and look for General & Privacy. You'll see it right below Broadcasting and right above Support.

2. Access Parental Settings and choose the settings you want

You'll find Parental Settings closer to the bottom of the list alongside System manager.

Samsung's Tizen OS doesn't have a robust parental control system like Google TV, but you can restrict apps and various programs. There's a program rating lock setting, which essentially lets you hide content on Samsung's free channels based on the rating of the program. You can also hide apps, and both will require a pin so your child can't access them.

It would be nice if Samsung added a bit more controls for parents to use in keeping their kids safe while accessing Tizen OS, but these should be more than adequate for most users.

1. Access your Roku account

Unfortunately, Roku doesn't offer any TV-specific parental settings for you to set, but you can create a four-digit pin in your account online. You'll have to head to my.roku.com/signin and login to set this up.

2. Find Device settings and click PIN/Parental controls

Once you're logged in, you'll see a page full of different settings. There will be four main sections, including Account, Payments & subscriptions, Streaming Store, and Device settings. You'll want to look directly under the latter option for PIN/Parental controls.

3. Create a PIN and choose settings

From here you'll be able to create a four-digit PIN and enable two different settings. The first is Subscribing, making purchases, and adding apps, which I recommend setting to the top-most function. This makes it so a PIN is required whenever someone wants to subscribe, rent, or buy shows and movies, or add apps to the system — all of which are things you'll definitely not want your child doing unsupervised.

You can also set Parental controls for The Roku Channel dependent upon the rating. This will obviously come down to preference and how old your child is, but there are a good selection of options that will keep your child safe when watching the Roku Channel.

You can also check out Roku's own support page called How to block content using parental controls for more information on blocking content on your Roku TV or device.