Apps for 6 & 9 year olds (Subway Surf?!)

[BB8sm8]

Posting here as I’ve no idea where to ask this really?

Both DC have an Amazon kindle with all the pre-loaded games on there, the eldest is starting to grow out of it, all her friends are playing Roblox. Her older cousins have introduced her to Music Tiles and Subway Surf, I’ve been looking at these games and they seem full of constant ads & it feels impossible to avoid tapping the wrong link & being taken to a pay for this game or candy crush linked app. I’ve tried the common sense media website and also NSPCC working with O2 but I can’t find any uptodate guidance on appropriate apps. I’m worried they’ll be shown ads or links they shouldn’t see, but equally I know my eldest is growing up and will want the same thing as her friends at some point, but I just can’t tell what is an appropriate game for them at this age?!

My children are the same age as yours. 6yo has kindle fire tablet with the same preloaded games as yours. 9yo has just got my old iPad when I got a new one. She has grown out of the fire tablet, as you have realised too. I don’t use the common sense media thing, but the App Store has age ratings on the apps, and I set a limit on age on her profile. Many parents I found aren’t aware of what the age of the games their children are playing. I am stricter than many of DC1 friends’ parents.

Also if in doubt, I download the game and play it myself to see what it’s like. I have played candy crush before and I checked it’s 4+. Also some games remove the ads if you pay for the game.

Roblox is 12+, music tiles 9+, subway surfers 9+. I will let my 9yo play the later two but not roblox.

12+...she’s had pressure from friends to join Roblox for the last 2 years! That’s why I’m finding, I can’t ask other Moms what’s sensible to allow them to play because I’m finding I’m being really strict compared to others.

Yes same here. I know DC1 has classmates playing roblox and are on tiktok. I’m lucky that DC1 is friends with those with stricter parents so it hasn’t been a problem she get pressured to join those games. Her friends parents don’t even let them play online multiplayer.

I think follow your guts and stay firm.

We're pretty strict here (8&10) too. 10 yo plays subway surfers a bit, 8 yo not interested. No Roblox and absolutely no fortnite here so definitely behind the 10yo peer curve. They have old tablets that dh has installed lots of limits on. Like a pp said, limiting apps by age is good. I like common sense media but so find it's a little on the conservative side. No bad thing imo. Paying a couple of pounds for ad free versions can be a good way to go if you're happy with the game and want to limit other exposure.

Ah ok so you can pay to block ads? That’s good to know, I hate the way ads constantly ping, almost like a slot machine tempting them to tap, terrible. Thank god Tiktok doesn’t seem to have reached her peer group yet as that looks like a minefield!