Information About Roblox For Parents

Question: My child wants to use Roblox but I don’t know anything about it. Is it safe? Are there ways to make it safer? 

Answer: Roblox is technically not a game itself but a platform or application full of different games that developers have created. You download the Roblox application to your device and once you are in you can play any game that piques your interest. Anyone in the world who is on Roblox can create a game, so there are millions of different games on the Roblox platform ranging from racing games, obstacle courses, food creation to roleplaying, shooting or horror games. Many people worry about the safety of Roblox. When you give people the freedom to create any game they wish, some people may use that power to create inappropriate or toxic games.  

Roblox also relies on in-game currency called “Robux,” which players buy with real money. Robux are used to purchase in-game items like clothes for avatars, weapons, cars, pets or “VIP” upgrade experiences. Many children who play Roblox don’t fully understand the value of money yet, so it’s important to not give them open access to your credit card. Roblox players also commonly like to trade in-game items, and some children have reported feeling pressure from other players to trade or give away their stuff. Disabling the chat can help prevent this. 

Roblox's parental controls settings include the ability to disable or restrict chat (chat with everyone, just friends, or no one) and set an account 4-digit PIN that needs to be entered to make any changes to the account. Parent controls also enable account restrictions that aim to filter out inappropriate games. 

As a parent, be involved in what your child plays on Roblox, including: 

• Watch along to learn what kinds of games they like and why 
• If you think a game is too violent or inappropriate, use parental controls to block it 
• If your child wants to spend Robux, teach them about what Robux mean in dollars. Have them earn an allowance and spend their own money on Robux. 
• Talk to your child about who tries to “friend” them in the game and how to block people who are rude, aggressive, or being inappropriate. 

For more information on why it is easy for kids to spend hours on Roblox, please see our previous post. 

Age: 6-12 years, Middle Childhood, Early Adolescence  

Topics: Roblox, video games 

Role: Parent/Caregiver