Some things in life are inevitable. For many parents, it's when they encounter Roblox, and begin dealing with microtransactions, interactions with strangers, and so much more.
I really love this writing, but i have to say i don't think I can pledge support at 80 dollars a year. I pledge for defector, and triple click / max fun, and remap, and Into the Aether, and so on. Sadly, I just dont think I can reasonably commit more than half of a Disney+ to just one writer, even one i love as much as you.
The nice thing is that it looks like these kind of reported pieces will be on the free subscription level going forward, so you should still be able to read along with these types of stories.
Roblox was hugely important for my kids during covid—it essentially became “recess” where they could hang with their friends and engage in some unstructured play. They would FaceTime a friend and then minimize it while they played.
It was also, unintentionally, a great way to teach my kids about online scams (dada all my Robux are gone) and how there are some words we don’t use (prompted after investigating the reason my kid had been banned and seeing she had typed the n-word on a dare).
Wow, that story about the n-word is wild. But like you said, I think there's a lot of room for your kids to explore on their own, and then opening up a chance for conversations.
We've been pretty firm against Roblox here, but mostly because of the ways it takes advantage of kids and their creations. My kiddo hasn't been interested in it, Fortnite, or Minecraft somehow, though. She's big into Pokemon, so that's something she and mom can share, and she's decided after watching us play that she wants to dip into Zelda.
Anyway, all that said, thanks for writing this. It's interesting to see other parents (especially those in the industry) and what they're doing to introduce games to their kids.
Thanks for the article - very nicely done! My daughter is 9 and she has been playing Roblox with her friends for a couple of years. I haven't notice any negative consequences, and she hasn't clamored us for robux money.
My experiences have mirrored yours pretty closely. Our oldest was 9 (now 10) when we finally caved because we felt we were denying him access to some social experiences. He plays online with a long distance friend we don't get to see often, and talks about the games with friends at school. We don't let him spend any money on robux, and he seems to get why, but his 6 yo brother that just got his own account is having a bit more difficulty.
I love this subject matter and wish you the best! Any chance we get an article on kids' live service games getting shut down, and how messed up it is to try and explain that to a child? Especially when they aren't allowed to spend money on the gambling microtransactions that keep them in business?
With respect to a child connecting with a friend: My younger son had an unerring instinct for “friends” who would take advantage of him in ways both large and small. I’ve never heard of Roblox but if an acquaintance of my son had suggested it, I’d be opposed.
I’m happy to say that my son finally seems to have learned who his real friends are. His girlfriend has been living with us for several years and we adore her.
My son has been really into Roblox recently, and honestly given all the horror stories I've read it's mostly been a harmless way to hang out with friends online (predatory business model aside). I feel like if your kids are old enough to be playing Roblox, or really participating in any online space, you should have had discussion about the n-word and racism, queerness, online safety and the financial underpinning of these games. I'm guessing this audience is in agreement, but parents trying to "protect" children from topics they don't feel comfortable addressing themselves is pretty much the whole reason stuff like Poop Land exists at all (or at least is popular).
My son (8) has yet to ask about getting into Roblox and I've been pretty in the dark as to what exactly it is so this is useful. His only exposure to microtransactions at this has been through iPad apps but the only ones he's ever asked about actually buying are for Marvel Snap.
Great article for parents with young kids. Mine are 12 and 15 and I already had to learn all this the hard way. On another note, "... so who am I to yuck his yum?" is about the worst expression I've ever heard, Kevin.
My kids (14, 11 & 8) will play Roblox a couple times a week, although the 14 year old is less interested. Fortunately, they mostly play the 'obby' games and don't participate in the online interactions, and we avoid the microtransactions. I've only ever gently nudged them toward any video game, they all enjoyed Unpacking after seeing me play it, and they occasionally get into Minecraft, but I would like to steer them to more rewarding games than Roblox.
My oldest (almost three) is too young to show interest just yet but this is a great insight into the future. Hopefully there’s some cracking down on protections and moderation before Roblox 2: Robux Revenge comes out.
We've been doing monitored Roblox for a little bit. Sitting at the kitchen table or on the couch with my son as he plays. We also tend to mute audio and turn off chat on the games he play (or makes me play, some of those "obbys" are tough"
For a while he would ask for Robux but we got him on the $5 a moth sub, nothing after he spends that. He's already gotten "click bait" into his lexicon and likes to tell us about minecraft videos that are "super click bait" for have fake mods or glitches.
Not gonna lie, none of what you described sounds appealing. So far we haven't allowed our kids to play it, and everything I hear reinforces that decision!
Thank you for this, Patrick. I've had a hard time explaining to my family members why I'm so staunchly against my youngest playing it. I'll be sharing this far and wide. It's very much a Pandora's Box I want to keep closed (at least until the word "no" doesn't instantly trigger a tantrum)
I really love this writing, but i have to say i don't think I can pledge support at 80 dollars a year. I pledge for defector, and triple click / max fun, and remap, and Into the Aether, and so on. Sadly, I just dont think I can reasonably commit more than half of a Disney+ to just one writer, even one i love as much as you.
You're all good. Please don't feel guilty. These articles, like the other person points out, will be free to you. I hope you stick around for them!
The nice thing is that it looks like these kind of reported pieces will be on the free subscription level going forward, so you should still be able to read along with these types of stories.
Roblox was hugely important for my kids during covid—it essentially became “recess” where they could hang with their friends and engage in some unstructured play. They would FaceTime a friend and then minimize it while they played.
It was also, unintentionally, a great way to teach my kids about online scams (dada all my Robux are gone) and how there are some words we don’t use (prompted after investigating the reason my kid had been banned and seeing she had typed the n-word on a dare).
Wow, that story about the n-word is wild. But like you said, I think there's a lot of room for your kids to explore on their own, and then opening up a chance for conversations.
We've been pretty firm against Roblox here, but mostly because of the ways it takes advantage of kids and their creations. My kiddo hasn't been interested in it, Fortnite, or Minecraft somehow, though. She's big into Pokemon, so that's something she and mom can share, and she's decided after watching us play that she wants to dip into Zelda.
Anyway, all that said, thanks for writing this. It's interesting to see other parents (especially those in the industry) and what they're doing to introduce games to their kids.
Sticking them with Nintendo over various app stores seems like a smart route honestly.
The story about poop land and the n word scares the hell out of me
Thanks for the article - very nicely done! My daughter is 9 and she has been playing Roblox with her friends for a couple of years. I haven't notice any negative consequences, and she hasn't clamored us for robux money.
Wow, this is something.
My experiences have mirrored yours pretty closely. Our oldest was 9 (now 10) when we finally caved because we felt we were denying him access to some social experiences. He plays online with a long distance friend we don't get to see often, and talks about the games with friends at school. We don't let him spend any money on robux, and he seems to get why, but his 6 yo brother that just got his own account is having a bit more difficulty.
I love this subject matter and wish you the best! Any chance we get an article on kids' live service games getting shut down, and how messed up it is to try and explain that to a child? Especially when they aren't allowed to spend money on the gambling microtransactions that keep them in business?
With respect to a child connecting with a friend: My younger son had an unerring instinct for “friends” who would take advantage of him in ways both large and small. I’ve never heard of Roblox but if an acquaintance of my son had suggested it, I’d be opposed.
I’m happy to say that my son finally seems to have learned who his real friends are. His girlfriend has been living with us for several years and we adore her.
My son has been really into Roblox recently, and honestly given all the horror stories I've read it's mostly been a harmless way to hang out with friends online (predatory business model aside). I feel like if your kids are old enough to be playing Roblox, or really participating in any online space, you should have had discussion about the n-word and racism, queerness, online safety and the financial underpinning of these games. I'm guessing this audience is in agreement, but parents trying to "protect" children from topics they don't feel comfortable addressing themselves is pretty much the whole reason stuff like Poop Land exists at all (or at least is popular).
My son (8) has yet to ask about getting into Roblox and I've been pretty in the dark as to what exactly it is so this is useful. His only exposure to microtransactions at this has been through iPad apps but the only ones he's ever asked about actually buying are for Marvel Snap.
Great article for parents with young kids. Mine are 12 and 15 and I already had to learn all this the hard way. On another note, "... so who am I to yuck his yum?" is about the worst expression I've ever heard, Kevin.
My kids (14, 11 & 8) will play Roblox a couple times a week, although the 14 year old is less interested. Fortunately, they mostly play the 'obby' games and don't participate in the online interactions, and we avoid the microtransactions. I've only ever gently nudged them toward any video game, they all enjoyed Unpacking after seeing me play it, and they occasionally get into Minecraft, but I would like to steer them to more rewarding games than Roblox.
My oldest (almost three) is too young to show interest just yet but this is a great insight into the future. Hopefully there’s some cracking down on protections and moderation before Roblox 2: Robux Revenge comes out.
We've been doing monitored Roblox for a little bit. Sitting at the kitchen table or on the couch with my son as he plays. We also tend to mute audio and turn off chat on the games he play (or makes me play, some of those "obbys" are tough"
For a while he would ask for Robux but we got him on the $5 a moth sub, nothing after he spends that. He's already gotten "click bait" into his lexicon and likes to tell us about minecraft videos that are "super click bait" for have fake mods or glitches.
Not gonna lie, none of what you described sounds appealing. So far we haven't allowed our kids to play it, and everything I hear reinforces that decision!
Thank you for this, Patrick. I've had a hard time explaining to my family members why I'm so staunchly against my youngest playing it. I'll be sharing this far and wide. It's very much a Pandora's Box I want to keep closed (at least until the word "no" doesn't instantly trigger a tantrum)