HomeGames & TechRoblox: The Ultimate Guide For Parents

Roblox: The Ultimate Guide For Parents

A good year or so I wrote an article called ‘What is Roblox?’. At the time I was new to the game that my young son had started playing and thought it a good idea to educate people on what the ‘game’ actually was. After playing with my son for over a year on Roblox I felt it was time to rewrite the article as there is plenty that the original didn’t cover.

What is Roblox?

Think of Roblox as a gaming platform rather than just being a game. In the same way that an Xbox is a gaming platform, so is Roblox. Roblox as a company provides developers with the tools and marketplace to show off their games to players in a similar way to other games consoles. Within Roblox, there are literally millions of different games available for people to play.

The games can vary massively in terms of quality and content and there appears to be very little quality control from Roblox themselves. This doesn’t mean that all of the games are bad, there are thousands of amazing games to play on the platform but it can sometimes take a bit of digging to separate the good from the bad.

How much does Roblox cost?

It is completely free to create a Roblox account and start playing. The majority of the games on the platform are also free to play so it is perfectly feasible to have a good time on Roblox without spending a penny. You can play Roblox on pretty much any device, either through a web browser or the free dedicated Roblox app.

Although it’s free to start up remember that Roblox is ultimately a business and so are many of the games on the platform. Many of the games promote game-changing boosts that can be purchased with a dedicated currency called Robux. Robux are purchased with real-world money and can be used to buy boosts within games and items for your avatar to name just two applications.

When Robux are spent in a game the developers will get a cut and this is how they make money. Almost every game will have something you can buy with Robux and they do a great job of highlighting these within games making it very easy to spend, spend, spend. We’ll discuss how to get Robux later on but keep in mind that if your kid is playing Roblox they will almost definitely start asking you to buy them Robux from the offset.

Roblox
Credit Roblox Corp

Where should I buy Robux?

You’ve finally given in and decided to buy your kid some Robux but where do you buy them? There are a few options here and I wouldn’t try any other way. There are lots of scams out there (more on this later) claiming to be giving away Robux for free, ignore these and follow the different methods below.

Option one is to buy them directly via the Roblox website or app. If you already have a card or Paypal account linked to the device this is an easy and secure way to buy Robux, just remember not to let your kid have access to your passwords linked to payment or you risk having your bank account cleared out!

Option two would be to buy a Robux gift card. These are available in many retail outlets and are another secure way of purchasing Robux. Gift cards are a great way to buy someone Robux as a gift and they can be easily activated on any account.

Finally, there is a subscription method where you can select the price that is right for you. Once a month you will pay this amount and get the corresponding amount of Robux plus a little extra as you are a subscriber. You will also get a small Robux boost if you should choose to buy extra Robux whilst your subscription is active.

Is Roblox safe?

Generally speaking, Roblox is a safe environment for your kids to spend time in but be warned there are people out there who try to take advantage of the fact that most people playing Roblox are kids. To ensure that your kids can’t get scammed I recommend keeping their Roblox password a secret from them so that they can never accidentally give it away.

The games themselves are usually kid-friendly, although some can be scary, and the chat filters in every game do a great job of filtering out any language that could be deemed offensive for younger eyes.

How can I protect my kid from being scammed?

It’s a sad but true fact that where there is money to make you will always find the worst kind of people and Roblox is no exception. There are lots of people out there who will try to gain access to your Roblox account through various means and attempt to make money from it.

There are, however, a few easy things you can do to minimise the risk. First off, as mentioned above, don’t tell your kid the password to their Roblox account. The reason behind this is the ‘free Robux’ scams that proliferate the internet. These sites get your details by disguising themselves as sites that look like an official Roblox page and encourage people to log into their Roblox account via their page to claim ‘free Robux’. If you do this you have just given the scammers all of the information they need to take over the account and clear it out. No matter how tempting these sites are you need to know that there is NO SUCH THING AS FREE ROBUX. Only purchase Robux using the methods mentioned before.

Other ways of protecting your kids and your own wallet could be to use a pre-paid debit/credit card when purchasing Robux and limit the amount on the card. Doing this minimises your losses should the worst happen.

There are also lots of game-specific scams out there especially in the bigger games such as Adopt Me. All of the major games do their best to combat scammers but the key thing to learn here is that if something seems too good to be true then it probably is and should be avoided. Make sure you educate your kids about scammers and they should remain safe and happy.

Adopt Me
Credit Dreamcraft Roblox

Using the parental filters.

The team at Roblox are well aware of how important it is to protect their users and provide a range of tools to help parents with this. These filters include who can contact and chat with any given account, setting up a PIN to restrict access plus two-factor authentication. For all of the available tools visit the official Roblox for parents webpage.

I appreciate that reading this may make Roblox sound like a scary place for your kids to spend their digital time in but rest assured this is not the case. If you follow the steps above and educate your kids on how to stay safe and let you know when something isn’t right, they will have a great time playing any of the games on the platform. My son has even got me playing with him and this can be a great way to fully understand what it is your kids are doing.

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Barry Stevens

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