This parents’ guide to Roblox is intended for parents whose child may be currently playing Roblox or maybe wanting to give the platform a go. Whichever it is, it’s best to keep yourself informed, so you can make the best possible decisions on what your child does online.
Being a parent in today’s digital world is tough, especially when you don’t know much about video games. You can easily find yourself lost in a sea of words like Minecraft and Fortnite.
Well, we’ve got another name-drop for you. Roblox is a craze that boasts over 100M users worldwide, including children. But don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of Roblox. The company behind it does not follow the traditional approach to promoting the game. In fact, they rely primarily on “word of mouth” and shares on social media platforms like YouTube.
What is Roblox?
Roblox isn’t a game in the conventional sense. Instead, it’s a creative platform where users can create games and experience a vast collection of user-made content.
Like other creator-based titles, such as Mario Maker 2 and Minecraft, Roblox is a place where you can play various games made by other users. In that respect, it’s also not a game with a specific set of mechanics, objectives, and rules. In many ways, it’s like the YouTube of gaming. Only, instead of videos, Roblox users can create games using a large array of tools.
Like other creator-based titles, such as Mario Maker 2 and Minecraft, Roblox is a place where you can play various games made by other users. In that respect, it’s also not a game with a specific set of mechanics, objectives, and rules. In many ways, it’s like the YouTube of gaming. Only, instead of videos, Roblox users can create games using a large array of tools.
What can my child do in Roblox?
Regardless of a user’s age, people who go on Roblox can do two things:
1. create new gaming worlds; and
2. experience the creativity of other users on the platform.
Using a separate tool called Roblox Studio, your child and other users can build their own games and share them with the rest of the platform, including their friends. These creations don’t even need to be games, necessarily. Instead, your child can create a virtual space to spend time with their friends. This means that your child can also experience other people’s content, whether they are friends or people on the other side of the world.
One thing valid in both cases is that interaction is at the heart of the platform. Therefore, your child will inevitably communicate with other players.
1. create new gaming worlds; and
2. experience the creativity of other users on the platform.
Using a separate tool called Roblox Studio, your child and other users can build their own games and share them with the rest of the platform, including their friends. These creations don’t even need to be games, necessarily. Instead, your child can create a virtual space to spend time with their friends. This means that your child can also experience other people’s content, whether they are friends or people on the other side of the world.
One thing valid in both cases is that interaction is at the heart of the platform. Therefore, your child will inevitably communicate with other players.
Does Roblox cost money?
Roblox is free for anyone to download on pretty much any platform, including computers, mobile devices, and gaming consoles, such as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Free entry into the platform allows you to do many basic things, including creating games and experiences in the Roblox Studio software.
To do advanced things, however, such as customizing your avatar to make them look nicer, you need to use Robux, the platform’s virtual currency. You can acquire Robux by subscribing monthly or annually at different tiers. As long as you maintain your subscription, you will receive a certain number of Robux in your Roblox account.
Free entry into the platform allows you to do many basic things, including creating games and experiences in the Roblox Studio software.
To do advanced things, however, such as customizing your avatar to make them look nicer, you need to use Robux, the platform’s virtual currency. You can acquire Robux by subscribing monthly or annually at different tiers. As long as you maintain your subscription, you will receive a certain number of Robux in your Roblox account.
Is there an age limit in Roblox?
Simply put, Roblox doesn’t impose an age minimum on their platform. Instead, the company has cited the constructivist approach to education as being a guiding principle in the design of Roblox.
Constructivism in education means that children are free to leverage their natural curiosity to learn and understand the world. This includes making use of their creative instincts. As constructivists, the company behind Roblox believes that creating is for all ages and therefore doesn’t set any bounds.
By being this open, however, the Roblox platform unavoidably falls into certain moral gray areas. Unfortunately, some people have malicious intentions, just like with every large internet platform. So exercising precautions and keeping your child educated and informed apply to Roblox, too.
Constructivism in education means that children are free to leverage their natural curiosity to learn and understand the world. This includes making use of their creative instincts. As constructivists, the company behind Roblox believes that creating is for all ages and therefore doesn’t set any bounds.
By being this open, however, the Roblox platform unavoidably falls into certain moral gray areas. Unfortunately, some people have malicious intentions, just like with every large internet platform. So exercising precautions and keeping your child educated and informed apply to Roblox, too.
Does Roblox offer parental controls?
Yes, Roblox has account-level restrictions you can place to control how your child interacts with the platform. The primary way is by setting rules on who can message your child and chat with them, and other communication limits.
What most parents commonly do here is only allow their children’s friends to contact them. You must add your own email address to your child’s Roblox account to gain these controls. This will enable you to also set your own PIN that will effectively lock your child from being able to change these settings.
You must remember that these parental controls are optional, and anyone, including your child, can download and start playing without hindrances.
What most parents commonly do here is only allow their children’s friends to contact them. You must add your own email address to your child’s Roblox account to gain these controls. This will enable you to also set your own PIN that will effectively lock your child from being able to change these settings.
You must remember that these parental controls are optional, and anyone, including your child, can download and start playing without hindrances.
Is the chat in Roblox safe?
A sharing and creative platform like Roblox naturally encourages its users to interact with each other. So, of course, they add the necessary functions to make that happen, including a chat function.
In Roblox, there are two functions, Chat and Party. In addition, by default, the platform filters out obscene language and profanity by replacing words with symbols.
The chat is even more heavily filtered if your child’s account reflects an age below 13. What’s also worth noting is that the company behind Roblox has real employees monitoring chats and public discussions for suspicious and predatory activity.
In Roblox, there are two functions, Chat and Party. In addition, by default, the platform filters out obscene language and profanity by replacing words with symbols.
The chat is even more heavily filtered if your child’s account reflects an age below 13. What’s also worth noting is that the company behind Roblox has real employees monitoring chats and public discussions for suspicious and predatory activity.
Are there sexual predators on Roblox?
In a nutshell, yes. Roblox is not much harder than other social media platforms and websites when it comes to who can access it, including malicious individuals. The advantage of Roblox is the company’s commitment towards offering account controls for parents and staffed monitors.
That being said, predators do pop up. This is where placing the highest level restrictions and educating your child to only access Private Messages from people they know will be necessary.
Ultimately, the internet is an ample open space for anyone to interact with any other person out there. Therefore, exercising the proper precautions and informing your child about the dangers of being online will be the keys to allowing them to enjoy life online.
By establishing parental control within the application and openly discussing risks that your child might experience during gameplay, you are taking the best precautions to safeguard your child. If you want to learn about specific restrictions, please comment, and we will use it as a reference to update our guide.
That being said, predators do pop up. This is where placing the highest level restrictions and educating your child to only access Private Messages from people they know will be necessary.
Ultimately, the internet is an ample open space for anyone to interact with any other person out there. Therefore, exercising the proper precautions and informing your child about the dangers of being online will be the keys to allowing them to enjoy life online.
By establishing parental control within the application and openly discussing risks that your child might experience during gameplay, you are taking the best precautions to safeguard your child. If you want to learn about specific restrictions, please comment, and we will use it as a reference to update our guide.
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