Parent buying Minecraft (Windows 10) for child

I'm a lifelong Windows user but I've never signed in with a Microsoft Account or made any Store purchases, so please bear with me.

My child has got into playing the copy of Minecraft that magically appeared on my Windows 10 laptop, and I am considering paying for the full version.

I'm pretty confused about the relationship between the purchased game and Microsoft Accounts / Microsoft Store / Minecraft User profiles.

If I register a Microsoft account for myself and log into the Store app with that then buy Minecraft, will my child then need to be logged in as me in order to play it? Would it be possible for me to set up some parental restrictions in that scenario? Or is it expected that the child has a Microsoft account of their own, and would the original purchase then have to be through that account?

Solution 1:

You may have an easier time buying the Java Edition and creating an account there. Your question wasn't too clear on whether or not you two share a laptop or necessarily want to share an account, but in either case it's pretty simple to make an account for both of you here.

In this case you create a Mojang account and it's completely independent of a Microsoft account (as your comments mentioned you'd like to avoid).

This takes Microsoft out of the equation entirely but it doesn't allow for you to create a "child" account necessarily or create parental controls. But in this case you just set up an account and you're ready to roll.

Plus the Java edition has the added bonus of much more customization compared to the Windows edition (which charges for things you can get and do for free in the Java edition).

Solution 2:

You can buy games as gifts. During your purchase, you can enter the email address or 'gamertag' of the recipient, and after the payment, they will receive a link to accept the game and add it to their account.

In your case, it's easier to initially set up your child's account on Windows 10 through your own account, after which you can set parental control on theirs, and more easily buy them products. If they already have an account, you're going to need access to it to set the parental control.
Here's a guide to do so - I copied the instructions verbatim:

• Open Windows settings and select 'Accounts'.
• Select 'Family & Other People' from the left-hand menu.
• Click on 'Add a Family Member'.
• Select 'Add a Child'.
• Enter the email address of their Microsoft Account below if you have it.
• If your child already has a Microsoft account, click through the remainder of this dialogue. If not, click 'The person I want to add doesn’t have an email address', and set up a new Microsoft account.
• After this, you can start adjusting the child's account limitations to your liking.