Keeping Kids Safe When Playing Roblox or Minecraft

Last year, American kids and teens spent a lot of time playing video games like Roblox and Minecraft. On average, our children engaged in user-created games on Roblox for about 140 minutes per day, and built worlds on Minecraft for 48 minutes per day.

While playing video games offers some benefits for developing minds, like sharpening problem-solving skills and inspiring connections with peers, it also has its risks.

It’s not breaking news that Minecraft and Roblox are potentially dangerous platforms given their chat functions, which can offer predators a window into our kids’ lives. Many parents grapple with whether to let their kids play video games. Some of you were open to sharing your reservations about Roblox and Minecraft when Parents put out the question on social media of whether you’re worried about your kids’ gaming safety. 

“Delete the games. They bring zero value,” one parent opined on Instagram, a sentiment echoed by several other concerned moms, dads, and caregivers. But as another parent pointed out, “Tech is here. As uneasy as it makes me, this is something we are going to have to empower our kids to utilize.”

With that in mind, parents addressed how they manage their kids’ chat activity. Some disable the in-game chat function, and instead, allow young players to communicate via text or FaceTime on other devices like iPads and phones. Others create their own accounts and play alongside their kids, while still more parents said they enable a “friends only” chat mode, and approve and monitor who their child is interacting with. 

A lot of parents with safety top of mind insist that their kids use Roblox or Minecraft in common spaces only. “We play games in open spaces. Our computer is a desktop and out in the open. No phones or devices in bedrooms. Doesn’t stop everything, I realize… but it helps to be able to hear what’s going on,” one such parent commented on Facebook.

How To Make Roblox and Minecraft Safe for Kids

We also turned to experts to get tips for overseeing the chat functions and controlling kids’ activity on Roblox and Minecraft. 

Ron Kerbs, Founder and CEO of Kidas, a security software service for computer games, says the good news is that there are a lot of ways parents can make playing these popular games safer. “Most games, including Minecraft and Roblox, offer built-in parental controls that allow you to manage who your child interacts with and monitor their communication,” he tells Parents. 

Specifically, Kerbs explains that Minecraft and Roblox offer settings for parents to control a child’s communication. “In Minecraft, you can set up a private server where only approved friends can join. Roblox also has privacy settings that let you restrict who can send friend requests, who can chat with your child, and who can join their games.”

He stresses the importance of age-appropriate communication when gaming. “For younger children between 5 and 7, we suggest blocking all chat functionality,” Kerbs says. “For slightly older children, parents can open up chat features but should only approve conversations with friends they know.”

As kids get older, it’s up to parents to determine what their comfort level is with opening up chatting functionality.

Meanwhile, Titania Jordan, the Chief Parent Officer at Bark Technologies and co-author of Parenting in a Tech World, advises, “Make a rule that your kid can only chat online with people they—and hopefully you—have met in real life and know are safe companions.”

Even if kids are chatting with an approved list of friends, Jordan cautions, “Bullying and exclusion can still pop up, so it’s a good idea to check in with your kid occasionally to make sure everything’s still going OK.”

Titania also cautions parents against letting kids use outside chat platforms other than texting to communicate with friends while gaming. “A major danger starts to emerge when kids make the switch to online chat platforms like Discord in particular,” she says. “Discord is like Slack in that it has tons of channels you can join to chat via voice, text, or video. Most kids will stick to their private friends-only servers, but if a child happens to find their way to a public server filled with strangers, the chances for predation skyrocket.”

She warns against encountering “tricky people,” especially on Roblox, which features private servers, and millions of user-created games. In fact, one of the best ways to keep kids safe online is to talk with them about—you guessed it—online safety.

Kerbs offers these additional online safety tips: 

• Teach your children not to share personal details like their real name, address, or school name.
• Show them how to report and block users who exhibit toxic or harmful behavior.
• Maintain an open dialogue with your children about their gaming experiences and encourage them to share any uncomfortable interactions with you.
• Use protective tools, such as third party software, to monitor threats. 

Jordan also suggests that parents connect with others who are doing their best to keep up with the ever-changing technology landscape and how it affects our kids. One group she recommends is Parenting in a Tech World on Facebook.