Should I delete Roblox for my daughter? Advice

Good post @Nessastats

Personally I'm not middle aged or snobby. I love gaming. I'll play any game from animal crossing to GTA5. I regularly play Minecraft and other games with my kids. Which is why i know it's so vital to know what your child is doing online, especially when she's so little. My dc won't be allowed roblox for a long time yet, and they're 8 and 6. It's a groomers paradise and you have no idea what your child is seeing or doing. I've had years of exposure to toxic male gamers and i don't want my children anywhere near that for as long as humanly possible. They can't play any games where they can freely access the internet, everything is password protected and the only co-op games they play is with people we know. It's nothing to do with you being young and everything to do with letting a tiny child have access to roblox when you don't really have any idea what it actually is. Id say the same to anyone of any age.

I am strict on screens but the OP has had some nasty comments. No one wants to listen to people that speak to them like that.

If you're interested, OP, my dd is 9 in y4 and has only occasional access to an iPad. She does play some games on long car journeys as she doesn't travel well in the car. Anything like Roblox would be a no for all the reasons others have mentioned. I do appreciate that the child's peer group is relevant, if they were all on it, that would be difficult. But that won't be an issue for you at 4.

I won't be getting dd her own device until the absolute latest I can get away with it. It's ok at the moment but imagine things will ramp up next year. When I do, it will be limited and very closely monitored. Even then I still know there will be problems. Look at all the problems adults get into on WhatsApp with group chats. Imagine kids trying to manage this.

If it were me, I'd put away the iPad for a few years. If I kept it, I would delete Roblox, explain it's not safe for her age, and accept she will be upset for a few days. Hard, but necessary. Even Minecraft is way too much for a 4yo imo, even just visually. Keep things simple like c beebies apps. But if you insist, it's better than Roblox. I would add s

I would spend some time learning about on line safety and parental controls. I think someone provided a link for this earlier.

Allowing a 12 year old to make decisions on your daughter's device or time online with her unsupervised is unlikely to end well. A 12 year old is not yet sensible or safe online. So I would speak to her father about that. It's not a criticism of her sister, this would include any 12 year old.

The latest technology for our children has not been a good step forward. I appreciate it's tempting, as doing without is more work for us. I'm sure it's very tempting to her father to let her and 12 year go on screens together or separately. It's a tricky age gap to manage. But it's not good for her.

I will avoid it for as long as possible. smartphone free childhood on Instagram which gives lots of information and community for anyone concerned about the effects of children being on line and on screens.

lol

She shouldn't have access to a screen other than very limited tv time. My daughters are nearly eleven and don't have their own screens. They have occasional access to a family laptop. You'll find that if you get rid of screens your daughter will gradually learn how to amuse herself and will be creative and use her imagination. The children who have access to screens tend to be much less able to play independently, because they've become used to instant gratification. Most of us will choose a screen over a book or something which requires effort, but we can overcome the temptation. Small children can't-and don't know why the screen is bad for them. Meanwhile the screen is rewiring their brain and stopping them from experiencing the world and properly enjoying their childhood.

OP you don't seem to know much about safety controls, time limits etc on tablets. It would really pay off to do some research for whenever you do allow your child to have access. Sites like https://saferinternet.org.uk/ are good for how to guides on this stuff.

Please take some time to educate yourself

learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/online-safety-resources

Yes, children are easy targets on Roblox and groomers know many parents are naive about the risks.

Wow. An iPad at age four? You will regret that one.

Because you’re letting your four year old have unsupervised access on an unregulated chat room. You must understand how that seems preposterous. 4 year olds shouldn’t have any unsupervised internet time, but if you’re comfortable doing that then you should probably at least be making sure you’re doing some basic due diligence and she’s not on an app where groomers are known to look for victims

Exactly. It's no good saying you would literally die for her but at the same time not look out for her wellbeing.

It’s a hunting ground for adults who want to interact with children.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-48450604.amp

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-68616730.amp

This. It's banned in our house.

Because you’re letting your four year old have unsupervised access on an unregulated chat room. You must understand how that seems preposterous. 4 year olds shouldn’t have any unsupervised internet time, but if you’re comfortable doing that then you should probably at least be making sure you’re doing some basic due diligence and she’s not on an app where groomers are known to look for victims.

Be a parent and deal with the meltdown if it is what's best for your child. Too much screen time has been proven to be detrimental, especially if she's obsessing at such a young age.
Fir reference I'm not against tablets, my 3.5 DD has an Amazon fire kids, she plays cbeebies games and watches kids programs. She will pick it up and play it for 10-30 mins, then not be fussed for the rest of the day. If I say no more tablet we're doing xyz now, she wouldn't care. I would be nipping it straight in the bud if she was started kicking off and becoming obsessed with it.
But absolutely Roblox is way too old for her, way way too old

Op… Roblox is so damaging she is 4. The warnings on it are violence, sexual violence etc I’m assuming you wouldn’t put game of thrones on for her to watch. Desensitising her to violence at this age is so bad for her mental health. That’s before all the risk with grooming and paedos all over the app. A man was just sentenced on Friday in England for raping a 10 year old he had groomed on Roblox.

I have 2 boys. 8 and 4, the older one had Roblox for 2 weeks last year, we removed it and it won’t come back. His attitude stinks when he’s on it, neither of them have their own iPads, we have 1 iPad and 1 switch in the house, they’re limited to 45 mins per weekday and 1hr 30 on weekends. the 4 year old only wants to play mariokart as a family and thankfully is much more interested in hot wheels and football than screens.

you’re the parent - parent.

They would have been about 5-6 when they started minecraft. We aren't a low tech family, but there are a lot of things I don't like about the gaming industry. I want them avoiding things with guns, chat functions, gambling encouragement and unsuitable ads. Another I like that they play is animal crossing. Much more about developing gardens and making animal friends.

@princessAlo Minecraft is good, it's fun and there's lots of strategy/counting. My son likes to build zoos, houses, castles, etc. Tame cows 😅 It's online escapism, set her to peaceful so nothing attacks and there's zero pressure.

But I don't allow online play. My son plays on the switch, none of us play online so I've no idea how to lock down minecraft on a tablet/phone. I wouldn't trust strangers to play online with my children. Even beyond perverts and such, there's online bullying etc even with friends when they get a bit older.

Read up on safe access for children.

I agree with this, Roblox is awful and not a safe environment. I wouldn't allow a 4 or 5 year old a tablet at all personally. BBC and early years apps only say most, supervised, and for short time periods.

Your 4 year addicted to games on an iPad, just take the thing away, a 4 year old doesn't need that

I mean this kindly OP but be a parent.

‘I have deleted it because I am not happy with the game. You are too young for it. I will decide in a few years if you can have it back’. END OF. She is 5. It’s not that hard.

keep kids off of tech as long as possible.

www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/roblox

I would never purposely put my child at risk. Literally would die for her lol.
A lot of mums in my opinion do seem snobby on this in general, like the sort of women to give you a dirty look if you fed your child chocolate, just most of them are up their own arse

It's not being up your own arse to make sure you understand what your child is doing online.

I think loads of parents don't realise that Robolox games are user created but really, if you are going to let your kid on the internet it's up to you to find out.

There's a website called common sense media which is good for finding out about all sorts of things that your daughter might want to watch or play.