Roblox: A parent’s guide to keeping your kids safe

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If you're a parent, you've probably heard your kids talking about one of these Roblox games at some point. They play Roblox. They are friends playing Roblox. Half of all children under 16 years of age in the USA there is playing Roblox.

Unfortunately, because there are so many children on Roblox, predators are taking advantage of the online gaming platform. And, as a result, Roblox has was hit With killed from trials due to an alleged failure to ensure the safety of children on the platform.

So, is Roblox safe for your kids? If your child is already playing Roblox, what should you do?

As a father of three young children, two of whom play Roblox regularly and one who will likely start playing as soon as she can hold a tablet, I created this guide to help other parents navigate Roblox and keep their kids safe while playing.

What is Roblox and should my kids play it?

Roblox is an online game where your character can explore a virtual universe and interact with other Roblox characters. The world of Roblox is cartoonish, the characters resemble LEGO people.

At this point, Roblox is more of a gaming platform than a standalone game. Roblox users create their own games in the virtual world that can be played by other Roblox players. Roblox even has its own economy, with some Roblox game developers earning hundreds of thousands of dollars or more if their game becomes popular. There is an in-game virtual currency called Robux that can be used to access premium features and items.

Due to the nature of Roblox, it has received an official ESRB rating of T for Teen. However, this is only because some games deserve this level of rating. If your child tells you they play Roblox, that doesn't really give you much information. It's like them telling you they play video games. You need to know specifically what games they play on Roblox to know what's appropriate and what's not.

Obviously, whether your kids play it or not is up to you. But I decided it was okay for my kids, just like I let them watch their favorite kids shows on Netflix. There are plenty of adult movies available, but with the right parental controls and monitoring, you can also find age-appropriate content for your children.

Getting started in Roblox

So, you've decided that your child can play Roblox. Now you will find that Roblox actually has several parental controls to ensure the safety of children on the platform. However, parents really need to take the time to set these things up.

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First things first: creating Roblox accounts.

That's right, I said “accounts” and there's more than one. Your child will have an account, and so will you. Create your accounts, and then on your child's account, go to Settings > Parental Controls > Add Parent. Enter the email address for your account, and then accept the account link request in your inbox. You will need to verify your age and proof of identification to prove that you are the parent.

Once your account is linked, parents will need to set a Parental PIN to access Parental Controls and prevent their children from changing it. You will then have full access to manage your child's account settings and view any pending requests your child receives.

Parental controls and content

Roblox offers several options for keeping your child safe on the platform. However, you should set up these things in advance.

In your account's Parental Controls settings under Content Maturity, parents can set content restrictions based on the maturity level of the content itself, from “Minimal,” which means occasional mild violence, to “Restricted,” which allows unfettered access to the most violent, scary, and gross content on Roblox. You probably don't need this last one. For older children, there are two intermediate labels: “Easy” and “Moderate”, and the parent can change these settings at any time.

Blocked Experiences allows parents to block certain games in Roblox, even if they technically meet the content maturity parameters you set in the previously mentioned menu. As games are added to Roblox, parents may find a specific game that matches the Roblox content tags but still contains an attribute that makes the content inappropriate for their child. Parents can use the search bar to find these events and block them.

Likewise, there is a Sensitive Issues toggle that allows you to block games for your child that may focus on social, political, or religious issues. Parents can block games marked as sensitive here, even if those games fall under previously set content maturity settings.

Child safety control

Now comes privacy controls that directly address the child safety concerns that Roblox is under scrutiny for.

In the Communication section of Parental Controls, parents can control who their children can communicate with on Roblox. For young children, the option is simple: turn off these chats completely by selecting “Nobody.”

However, as your kids get older and want to connect with their real-life school friends, you'll want to set more options. Roblox allows users to “friend” each other through Connections. In addition, they can create a group or group of friends who can share their experiences.

Parents can view and manage all of their child's connections to ensure they are only connected to people they know and trust in real life. Additionally, parents can set their child's profile visibility so that only Connections can see when their child is using Roblox and what game they are currently playing.

Additionally, parents can control party settings so their child can only create parties with users who are their connections. Parents can also completely turn off party options for young children who won't interact with anyone on Roblox.

Private servers are another setup that will likely be very different for you depending on the age of your child. Private servers essentially allow users to participate in Roblox games with a select group of people. For young children, you'll probably want to turn this feature off completely. For older children, setting private servers to Connections will allow them to play with their friends.

While Roblox can always do more to protect its youngest users, the platform has some pretty robust child safety features. The problem is that parents need to know about them and learn how to use them. Hope this guide helps.