Roblox !

[TheThreeMiracles]

Just how bad is Roblox for children ? Is it damaging to them ? Or is it just a computer game that is completely fine for kids ? We are talking kids 7+
not looking to judge or be judged just wondering what other parents thoughts are on it ! X

It's like anything, good or bad is all in how you use it.

Playing it in moderation, supervising what your DC are accessing, teaching (and enforcing) online safety - all fine.

Giving them unsupervised access to it with no type of oversight - not so fine.

If you want to know what it's all about, the best way is to create an account and have a play if it yourself then you can see first hand what occurs in-game and can make a decision accordingly.

It varies hugely. My DD was playing games where she was a baby owl or another being a unicorn. It was adorable. Each kid plays a character, so the character she interacts with are other kids. At first she was only allowed join a game her friends were in, their usernames come up so we know they are there. They would then play on screen like being two baby owls learning to fly together. Older DS plays scary games definitely not suitable for younger kids. I think its easier to infiltrate than other games so that's why people warn against it. Make sure you read the comments every so often to make sure there is nothing inappropriate there..it's been in my house a while now and I see nothing wrong.

Roblox is not a game.

It is a gaming platform where you can access thousands of games along with create your own. If you allow a child to use it, ensure you have safety settings on to only enable games listed as "safe". I believe there is an 8 and under settings. Create an account yourself and try it before you allow your child to.

Roblox itself is not a game, it's a platform for games. My son plays it, but we play it together (me on my phone, him on his tablet), it's actually quite nice, we play Morph World and Feather Friends and it's quite relaxing (I have never been into gaming). He gets so excited when there is an update on Morph World and we complete the tasks together. Downside is it can be really expensive! And some games on Roblox look pretty scary. As with all things, needs monitoring and parental controls.

My son loves it, but I cramp his style by not letting him communicate with other kids.

Roblox is not a game, it’s a platform for various games with various age ratings and levels of difficulty/gore/inappropriate content.

If you’re considering letting your child play it, you MUST create a proper age rated content, make sure they aren’t playing completely unsupervised, disable the chat function, talk about internet safety, adding people and check their list and who sent them friend requests/they have added. Even better, make an account yourself and join them in the games so you can see exactly what they are playing, who they are interacting with and how.

Some of the games on there are really fun, I love helping mine with some of the scavenger hunt ones. But their accounts are locked down to minimal maturity, no chat function and keeping a firm eye on the ones they do play.

I wouldn’t let any child anywhere near it. The age rating have been proven not to work and it’s an incredibly dangerous site for online grooming hindenburgresearch.com/roblox/

Mine are older now but both used it.

Do I regret it? Partly.

My advice would be to make sure you're logged in as them on your phone so you can regularly log in as them and monitor their activity. Also have a separate log in for yourself and add your kid as a friend.

Disable the chat feature so they can't chat to random folk

Set a time limit so they can only go on for a set amount of time, as it is quite addictive and in some children (one of mine for example!) can cause very bad moods and tempers after been torn away from an addictive game.

Most of the games are actually quite fun though.

If you have children playing Roblox please read the article. It’s a dangerous site where they proved the age limits are meaningless.

It’s far too easy for children to play games created by users that are shocking. Beating up pregnant women for example. It’s famous for online grooming for a reason.

Anyone who lets their child use this site after being informed of the dangers is wilfully ignorant.

My sd was groomed on it. Age 11/12. As a young adult her life is an absolute mess.
My dh thought he’d locked everything down and regularly checked it but it wasn’t enough.
She will never live a normal life, nor a life to her potential because of it and because it went on for so long. It’s horrific
I never let my two have it and will always stand by that decision

Well that's awfully handy

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c86j9ygw45xo

Thank you for the replies my gut feeling was right about Roblox! It’s been removed from her iPad! I noticed a difference in her behaviour, she is such a lovely kind little girl but after having Roblox she completely changed attitude wise, I removed it Saturday and she’s back to her happy kind thoughtful self again ! X

I disagree. Anyone who doesn't monitor, disable chats and play alongside their children are willfully ignorant. Parents who play age appropriate, real, fun games with their children are not ignorant.

It's fine 😂

Ffs.
We are a gaming household. I'm 40 and still game. I know how to protect my kids online but thanks for the laugh.

Maybe parents who don't know about online gaming should just get to know?

Completely agree. Anything online is dangerous if you do not know how to keep children (and yourself) safe. My 7 year old knows all about online safety, he learned about it in school, school have done a session for parents after assembly and send links via email and newsletters about online safety. Plus it is easy to educate yourself at home. If children are addicted to Roblox or it's impacting their behaviour negatively then they are playing it to long and what they are playing is not being monitored!

Very confident in your opinion regardless of the fact children have been groomed on there?

I have a Roblox account and can play alongside my kid. I would also monitor the chat. I know the internet isn’t safe but the worst I saw in Roblox was teens turning up a wrecking thing’s occasionally and irritating younger kids.
Just wanted to add that some of the games are a bit weird with pentagrams and stuff so maybe keep an eye out for that

I think as long as you're heavy on supervision, it's fine.

My six year old plays Roblox, but we play as a family.

The chat function is disabled so he can't chat with other players, and he doesn't use it unsupervised anyway.

He either plays with me or his dad or much older siblings. (16+)

Some of the games are really fun.

Just requires caution and supervision.

I'd rather he used roblox than went on YouTube, to be honest. Hate YouTube!

I don’t know lots about it. My 7 year old DS isn’t allowed to play anything like that. He prefers retro games like sonic!
One thing I do remember seeing is a group of Silicon Valley tech workers beings interviewed and they were all asked which online games they would not let their young ones play and they nearly all said Roblox

Roblox is amazing, not sure why people think otherwise. You can make it as safe as you want.

Perhaps try reading the above linked article? The age ratings are proven to be meaningless and any site that allows user created content like beating up pregnant women deserves more than caution.

We are also a gaming household but we also like co op board games to play as a family.

Its sad that parents think it’s hilarious to laugh at those of us that understand the dangers.

Yep 100%.
I know how online gaming works, being an avid player myself.
There isn't a chance of my child being groomed online as I have it completely locked down.

Obviously can't speak for other parents who aren't monitoring correctly.

I do think this is a fair point. Online gaming isn’t my thing, I prefer old retro style games so it’s easier for me to just not allow it