{"id":60976,"date":"2026-08-31T20:03:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T17:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/?p=60976"},"modified":"2026-08-31T20:03:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T17:03:42","slug":"roblox-and-other-online-games-what-parents-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/en\/roblox-and-other-online-games-what-parents-need-to-know","title":{"rendered":"Roblox and other online games: what parents need to\u00a0know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roblox and other online games: what parents need to\u00a0know<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why we\u2019ve stopped teaching kids \u201cdon\u2019t talk to\u00a0strangers\u201d (and what to\u00a0teach instead)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heather McConney didn\u2019t let her kids have a\u00a0phone until they turned 12. She set up\u00a0parental controls, blocked sites with suspicious content, and personally approved every new app. Her 13-year-old son spent time online in\u00a0the same places as\u00a0all his peers: Roblox, Discord, Twitter. For two months he\u00a0messaged with someone who was twice his age and pretending to\u00a0be\u00a0a\u00a0classmate. It\u00a0started in\u00a0the comments, then moved to\u00a0DMs. One evening his father walked into his son\u2019s room to\u00a0say goodnight and found no\u00a0one there. The boy had been abducted.<\/p>\n

He\u00a0was found the next day thanks to\u00a0the police and volunteers. In\u00a0interviews with NBC News<\/a> afterward, the boy\u2019s parents admitted they\u2019d sensed something was off long before the abduction. Heather believes the tragedy could have been prevented if\u00a0they had known what to\u00a0watch for.<\/p>\n

The real threat to\u00a0kids online usually isn\u2019t some abstract \u201cstranger\u201d\u00a0\u2014 it\u2019s someone they\u2019ve come to\u00a0trust over weeks or\u00a0months of\u00a0ordinary, friendly conversation. Experts agree that \u201cstrangers are dangerous\u201d is\u00a0not just an\u00a0inaccurate framing, it\u00a0can actively backfire: fear of\u00a0any unfamiliar person raises anxiety in\u00a0kids and gets in\u00a0the way of\u00a0the social skills they need, including the ability to\u00a0ask an\u00a0adult for help when something\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n

Platforms parents should know about<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roblox\u00a0\u2014 the risk mainly comes from games with open voice or\u00a0text chat between players; moderation quality varies a\u00a0lot from game to\u00a0game.<\/p>\n

Discord\u00a0\u2014 servers are user-created, and moderation can be\u00a0minimal or\u00a0nonexistent; it\u2019s also the most common place predators suggest moving a\u00a0conversation to\u00a0from safer platforms.<\/p>\n

Fortnite and similar games\u00a0\u2014 voice chat with random teammates is\u00a0on\u00a0by\u00a0default in\u00a0most modes.<\/p>\n

How to\u00a0talk to\u00a0your kid about online safety<\/strong><\/p>\n

The smartest move is\u00a0to\u00a0shift the focus from who<\/em> the person is\u00a0to\u00a0how<\/em> they\u2019re behaving. It\u00a0doesn\u2019t matter whether it\u2019s a\u00a0neighbor, someone from a\u00a0game, or\u00a0an\u00a0anonymous profile with a\u00a0cat avatar\u00a0\u2014 if\u00a0someone\u2019s behaving suspiciously, that\u2019s worth a\u00a0closer look (and worth telling a\u00a0parent about), no\u00a0matter how long you\u2019ve \u201cknown\u201d them.<\/p>\n

You can put it\u00a0to\u00a0your kid in\u00a0one sentence: an\u00a0adult (or\u00a0someone pretending to\u00a0be\u00a0your age) who asks you to\u00a0keep something secret from your parents, gives you gifts or\u00a0in-game currency \u201cjust because,\u201d or\u00a0suggests moving from the group chat to\u00a0DMs\u00a0\u2014 is\u00a0behaving suspiciously.<\/p>\n

When a\u00a0kid can\u2019t quite articulate what\u2019s happening, give them a\u00a0simple gut-check. If\u00a0talking to\u00a0someone makes you feel uneasy, ashamed, or\u00a0anxious, that\u2019s always a\u00a0reason to\u00a0tell your parents.<\/p>\n

What not to\u00a0do<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t scare them. Repeating horror stories from the internet risks raising a\u00a0kid\u2019s baseline anxiety in\u00a0a\u00a0way that\u2019s hard to\u00a0shake even as\u00a0an\u00a0adult.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t promise \u201cI\u00a0won\u2019t be\u00a0mad\u201d and then break that promise. A\u00a0kid\u2019s trust is\u00a0easy to\u00a0lose\u00a0\u2014 and next time, they won\u2019t tell you anything.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t rely on\u00a0parental controls alone. Any tool here works like a\u00a0seatbelt: it\u00a0improves your odds, but you still have to\u00a0keep your hand on\u00a0the wheel and know what your kid is\u00a0doing online.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0real story<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy\u00a0son was 10\u00a0and playing Fortnite with someone from \u2019his team\u2019 \u2014 voice chat, normal for that game. A\u00a0couple weeks\u00a0in, I\u00a0noticed he\u00a0was calling this player by\u00a0name, like an\u00a0actual friend, when he\u2019d never bothered to\u00a0remember a\u00a0random teammate\u2019s username before. Something felt off, so\u00a0at\u00a0dinner one night\u00a0I just asked, casually: \u2019Tell me\u00a0about him, how old is\u00a0he?\u2019 My\u00a0son hesitated\u00a0\u2014 it\u00a0turned out he\u00a0didn\u2019t actually know, just figured \u2019probably my\u00a0age, his voice is\u00a0just low because of\u00a0a\u00a0bad mic.\u2019<\/p>\n

I\u00a0didn\u2019t make a\u00a0big scene or\u00a0confiscate his phone. I\u00a0just said, \u2019Okay, next time he\u2019s playing with you, mind if\u00a0I listen in\u00a0for a\u00a0bit?\u2019 When I\u00a0did, it\u00a0was obviously not a\u00a0teenage voice. I\u00a0talked to\u00a0my\u00a0son and explained that adults can\u2019t be\u00a0friends with kids\u00a0\u2014 they need to\u00a0be\u00a0friends with other adults. We\u00a0blocked the \u2019friend.\u2019 My\u00a0son was upset, but\u00a0I don\u2019t know what else\u00a0I could\u2019ve done, given that I\u2019m not always home and he\u00a0plays online alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Sarah, mother of\u00a010-year-old Jake<\/p>\n

What parents can do\u00a0to\u00a0keep kids safe<\/strong><\/p>\n

Try swapping \u201cstranger\u201d for \u201csomeone acting suspicious,\u201d and walk through what that looks like with concrete examples.<\/p>\n

Give your kid an\u00a0anchor phrase: \u201cIf\u00a0something feels wrong or\u00a0embarrassing, come to\u00a0me\u00a0\u2014 I\u00a0won\u2019t be\u00a0angry.\u201d And keep that promise if\u00a0the moment comes.<\/p>\n

Ask your kid directly: \u201cIs\u00a0there anyone you talk to\u00a0in\u00a0games or\u00a0chats that\u00a0I don\u2019t know about?\u201d<\/p>\n\t\t