Is Roblox Safe for Kids? Parents Guide to Roblox

Is Roblox Safe for Kids? What Every Parent Needs to Know Before Letting Them Play!

Parents today face many challenges, as parents always have, but technological changes in recent years present a dizzying array of new challenges. For example, many parents can keep up with their children’s schoolwork on a website or smartphone app; that’s good, right? But not so good, perhaps, is the availability of websites, apps, and games that kids have access to—and parents may not know how their children are spending their time...or with whom.

For example, some games designed “for kids” have content or features that may concern parents. One example is the immensely popular game, Roblox, which has 80 million daily active users—a third of whom are under the age of thirteen. But many children are playing Roblox without their parents’ knowledge, or without their parents knowing some of the more troubling characteristics of the game.

In this article, we’ll try to inform parents, address the game’s more problematic characteristics, and offer tips to ensure a safe gaming experience, especially for children.

What is Roblox?

Roblox is not a single game, per se. It’s actually a whole universe of games that launched in 2006 and has since grown exponentially, around the world. The platform offers users a variety of games, some more suitable for kids than others. It also allows users to create their own games and share them with other players; as a result, there are millions of games in the platform, from tower defense to murder mystery, scuba diving, and building and running a theme park. A strong social aspect is built into the platform, allowing the game’s players to contact, chat with, and share information with other players. It’s available for computers, mobile devices, and game consoles—basically everywhere people might play games.

What Age is Roblox Appropriate For?

Roblox is rated as designed for ages 13 and up, but as already mentioned, millions of children below that age are playing Roblox’s games. Common Sense Media points out that many games use “cartoony” weapons and violence as well as profanity and sexual content, themes, and activity.

While Roblox claims to monitor content, many users report having encountered not only inappropriate but disturbing content, such as simulated sex acts and rape scenes in some games.

Roblox has privacy settings and parental controls (see below) but such safeguards have generally proven inadequate.

Understanding Robux and In-Game Purchases

Among the concerning elements of Roblox is the use of Robux, Roblox's in-game currency. While many games on the platform are free to play, users can purchase Robux that can then be spent on in-game “loot,” special features, accessories, and other enhancements (there are Robux gift cards, and a “premium membership” that includes a monthly Robux allowance). Obviously, in-game purchases can add up quickly and foster unhealthy habits among children.

Is Roblox Safe? Addressing Online Interactions

The safety concerns of parents related to Roblox are many and varied, beyond the available content. The availability of players to interact with others—known and unknown—on the platform through text and voice chat exposes kids to abusive and predatory behavior. The Bloomberg news site recently shared a report detailing these risks and suggesting that Roblox’s parent company hasn’t done enough to protect players from predators and pedophiles. While Roblox developers quickly defended the platform and its safeguards (such as the option of reporting and blocking other users), they also admitted to being “overwhelmed by the volume of child safety cases they are addressing,” according to the Dot Esports site.

How to Mitigate Risks in Roblox

Parents whose children are playing Roblox games can reduce some—though not all—of the risks by taking the following measures.

● Read the free article, “Safe Games for Kids: Ensuring a Secure and Fun Online Experience.”

● Read reviews from other parents and trusted sources (usually not found on the game’s official site or where the game is sold and downloaded). Recommended sites that evaluate games and give detailed reviews so you can make informed decisions:

○ Common Sense Media

○ AskAboutGames

○ PluggedIn

● Familiarize yourself with the game’s Privacy Policies to learn at least what they say they do to protect children and children's data.

● Make sure your kids’ accounts use accurate birthdates for the platform’s content filtering features.

● Play the game yourself. Even if it’s not your go-to leisure activity, it’s in your family’s interest for you to spend time playing the game to understand its content and features. Free trials offer an opportunity for you to do this before making the purchase and handing it over to your child.

● Play the game with your children and/or spend time watching them play.

● Keep an open dialogue with your children about the games they’re playing, who they’re playing with, and the content of those interactions. Encourage them to ask questions and report any uncomfortable situations. Also check in regularly about in-game purchases they are making.

● Activate the privacy settings in Roblox (from the Roblox website):

1. Go to account Settings

o Browser - find the gear-icon located at the upper-right corner of the site

o Mobile Apps - find the three dots icon for More

2. Select the Privacy tab

3. Adjust the Contact Settings and Other Settings
Players age 12 and younger can select either Friends or No one. Players age 13 and older have additional options for privacy settings.

Take full advantage of the platform’s parental controls (see below).

Parental Controls and Monitoring

As mentioned above, Roblox’s parental controls don’t offer full protection for children on the platform; at the very least, however, parents should set up parental controls while also monitoring their children's activity on Roblox. The Roblox website offers the following directions for parental controls via their “allowed experiences” feature, which limits a player’s access to games above the player’s age:

On a Computer

· Log into the account (If you cannot access the account, please click here)

· Click the gear-icon located at the upper-right corner of the site

· Select the Settings option indicated by the gear icon

· You must have a Parental PIN set up to configure this feature

o Here are steps for configuring Parental PIN

· Select Parental Controls option

· In the Allowed Experiences section, select the highest level of experiences you want the account to be able to join

· Once selected, a green message will be displayed "Saved Successfully!"

Please note: If the account has enabled Account Restrictions, the account will be restricted to All Ages content only and disable Allowed Experiences. The Account Restrictions setting needs to be disabled before Allowed Experiences can be adjusted. For more information, please read Account Restrictions help article.

On a Mobile Device

· Log into the account in the app (If you cannot access the account, please click here)

· Click the More button indicated with three dots located at the lower-right corner of the page

· In the pop-up menu, select the Settings option

· You must have a Parental PIN set up to configure this feature

o Here are steps for configuring Parental PIN

· Select Parental Controls in the menu on the left-hand side of the screen

· In the Allowed Experiences section, select the highest level of experiences you want the account to be able to join

Once selected, a green message will be displayed "Saved Successfully!"

Roblox in the Context of the Metaverse

Roblox is widely viewed as a pioneer in the “metaverse,” an expanding internet space where users create virtual worlds and interact with others in those worlds, offering a blend of gaming, social interaction, and user-generated content. Roblox’s struggles to monitor and influence the contributions and actions of others in that space highlight what is likely to be an ongoing, perhaps intensifying, concern for parents—and all those who care about children, now and in the future.

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Is Roblox Aligned with Your Family's Values?

Christian parents whose children are playing and interacting in the Roblox platform have ample reason for concern. Can a mother or father be vigilant enough to prevent exposure to content that doesn’t align with Christian values? Will Roblox’s privacy settings and parental controls improve enough to ease parents’ concerns? Is the enjoyment of Roblox’s “experiences” worth possible exposure to violence, inappropriate language, sexual activity, occult themes, etc.?

Parents are wise to consider such questions and to actively engage with the content their children are consuming and the relationships they’re developing in the Roblox metaverse.

Why TruPlay Games Might Be a Better Fit for Your Family

The more you know about Roblox and its risks for game-playing children, the more you may long for a simpler and safer alternative. That’s exactly why the TruPlay mobile app—a platform of multiple games, yet with none of the concerning content or vulnerabilities of Roblox—was created.

The TruPlay app offers countless hours of games, comics, and animated shorts that feature high quality art, action-packed games, and thoughtful storytelling. Each offering is infused with God’s Truth. It is a Christian resource for all ages, but especially for children. It is sometimes referred to as “the Netflix of Christian mobile games for children.” But it's intentionally structured to avoid the dangers of games such as Roblox.

TruPlay employs a subscription-based model, which allows children and adults to play, read, and have fun in an environment with no in-app purchases, no ads, and no in-app texting or chats. This means, of course, that kids can't spend money, buy "loot," click to go to outside and unknown sites, and "chat" with possible predators.

Beyond that, however, TruPlay offers even more than safety; its ever-expanding selection of games includes Bible stories, Christian themes and values, and countless hours of engaging fun for children, youth, and adults.

Explore TruPlay Games

TruPlay's website (TruPlayGames.com) clearly details the app's offerings, and free downloads and trials are available in both the Apple App Store and GooglePlay. Explore the following links to unlock a safer gaming experience for your kids:

● https://www.truplaygames.com/games-more

● https://www.truplaygames.com/user-registration

Complete Parents' Guide to Roblox