Keeping Your Child Safe on Roblox

If you have kids, you’re probably tired of hearing about Roblox.

It’s been a huge hit with kids worldwide, and I’ve noticed that most parents don’t “get it” (or want to get it).

There have also been plenty of rumors, fake scare stories, and tons of incorrect advice all over social media, blogs, and even in newspapers.

But I’m here to tell you that your child can play Roblox. Just like any other online game, it just needs a little extra attention and supervision to ensure our kids are enjoying the platform safely.

What is Roblox, Anyway?

Roblox is a multiplayer online game creation platform. I promise it’s not as confusing as that sounds. Essentially, users can create their own games, and play games created by others. They can also buy, sell, and create virtual items.

It gives “amateur game creators” the ability to create and publish games to the community using simple tools. Those games can then be played by kids worldwide.

This ever-changing and expanding library of games plays a huge role in Roblox’s popularity. There are 90 million monthly active users!

If you ask me, it’s a pretty cool platform. Roblox gives kids who are interested in developing games a non-threatening space to experiment and develop a real game. I don’t think I need to tell you how this could teach basic skills in coding, game design, and other STEM skills.

However, it’s still an online multiplayer game. We still need to supervise what our kids are doing online, in order to keep them safe.

Here are some simple ways to make your child’s Roblox account a little safer.

Setting Up Your Child’s Age

Make sure that your kid’s Roblox account includes an accurate birth date. This will enable automatic protections designed for children under 13. It does not limit the games they can access, but it does filter out some inappropriate words and phrases. They also can’t share links to YouTube channels or social media accounts.

Additionally, you will get a separate parent login so you can check up on your child’s interactions.

Limiting Game Access

Game creators aren’t required to place a rating or warning on their games. If you are concerned about your child accessing user-created content that may be too scary or inappropriate for their age, you’ll need to enable the account restrictions.

Under account settings, head to security and enable the account restrictions slider. This will limit your child to games curated by Roblox staff.

Restricting Interactions

Because it is an online game, players in Roblox can interact and communicate with each other. If you’re not comfortable with that, you can simply restrict these interactions.

Under account settings, head to privacy and restrict interactions via content settings and other settings. It’s important to note that this will not disable friend requests.

What to Monitor

Of course, even with the best restrictions in place, you should still take the time to monitor your kid’s account. While logged in, you can check on direct and small group chat, private message history, recently played games, and friends and followers.

However, you’ll need to log in through a web browser to see creations such as games or items, or virtual item purchases and trade history.