Roblox and the reality check: How safe is your child’s digital playground?

“Everyone’s fighting here and using bad language.”

 Abu Dhabi-based Claire Holland would after hear her eight-year-old son muttering while playing online games. “One day, he refused to leave the game. He was aggressive, because somebody was challenging and abusing him. He wanted to keep fighting back, and was resorting to similar tactics, which really terrified us,” explains Holland.

 She banned him from games, and he grew withdrawn and resentful. “He tried playing from his friends phones, and that’s when I knew that we had to sit and really sort this out, because it was getting worse,” she says.

 It took a series of conversations. But, as Holland noted, there is something brutally intimidating about a bully that you cannot see. You don’t know who they are, and you might not even be able to track them down. “They say a couple of things, and they’re gone.”

 He stopped playing for a while. And when he did, he preferred not to talk to anyone, she explains. “I’m not sure if that’s the best solution either, because I know that most of these games, too, offer good community support. But maybe, we’ll get him to play and enjoy, without engaging in such battles,” she says.

 Holland’s uncertainty mirrors that of many parents today — unsure where to draw the line between protection and participation in their children’s digital worlds.

And few platforms capture that tension quite like Roblox.

The fear of Roblox

Roblox isn’t a single game . It’s an entire universe of them. When children log in, they’re stepping into a vast digital playground packed with over 11 million ‘experiences’ everything from obstacle courses (“obbys”) and flight simulators to waterparks, racetracks, and virtual schools. None of these worlds are made by Roblox itself.

Every experience is player-created, dreamed up, designed, and built by users of all ages. On Roblox, children can deliver pizzas, raise pets, chop down trees, or strut down a virtual runway — all in the same afternoon.

 In 2024 alone, players spent a staggering 73.5 billion hours inside this ever-expanding metaverse. But Roblox is also a launchpad for creativity. Children can build their own games and learn the foundations of coding along the way, turning playtime into a hands-on lesson in digital design.

 However, is it safe? Not entirely. Roblox comes with real risks — from exposure to explicit content to the ability to chat with strangers. Still, with proper parental controls and supervision, many parents see potential benefits: creativity, coding, and community.

The real question is — can the good outweigh the risks?

What does online safety mean in today’s world?

It’s more than just filters and bans. It’s preparing them to think, feel and act responsibly in digital spaces. 

 As Sarah Maamari, psychologist of children, adolescents, and families at Sage Clinics explains, monitoring alone, can give a false sense of security because children’s decision-making and self-control develop gradually, just like other life skills. “The real task is to coach rather than police,” she says. “That means creating ongoing, age-appropriate conversations about what your child is seeing online, exploring together how reliable content is, and how it makes them feel.”

 Maamari recommends co-creating digital house rules as shared agreements rather than strict limits. You need to explain the ‘why’ behind your reasons, rather than just talking in restrictions and bans. “ “Instead of simply restricting screen time, talk about why balance matters and ask your child to notice how their mood or energy changes after a long online session,” she says.

 Online safety in 2025 also encompasses mental well-being.  In 2025, “online safety” goes beyond just privacy; it is about digital well-being, and emotional resilience. Constant exposure to advertisements, lifestyle content, and curated collections that showcase a specific way to look and act can be detrimental to their emotional development, explains Professor Mercedes Sheen, Head of Psychology at Heriot-Watt University Dubai.

 Moreover, it’s far beyond keeping personal details private. It also means protecting mental health. Children’s brains and self-regulation skills are still developing, they’re more vulnerable to constant stimulation, unrealistic comparisons, and harmful communities,” explains Maamari.

Starting the right conversations

 So, where do parents even begin? Experts agree that the first conversations about online safety should start with values, not fear.

 The first conversations about online safety, experts agree, should start with values, not fear. Parents can begin with three key principles:

•  Respect: Treat people online as you would in real life.

•  Boundaries: Not all spaces or conversations are safe, and it’s okay to step away.

•  Feelings as signals: If something makes you feel uneasy or pressured, share it with a trusted adult.

 Maamari adds, “Children learn best when they feel safe and supported, not scared. Frame the internet as a ‘neighbourhood’ — with both safe parks and risky alleys.”

Teach red flags in age-appropriate ways and practice them together, almost like a safety drill. For example:

•               Does this request ask for personal information?

•               Does it sound “too good to be true”?

•               Does it make you feel uncomfortable or pressured?

By role-playing these scenarios with your child, you give them a chance to rehearse how they’d respond. Most importantly, reassure them that if they encounter something unsafe, they won’t be punished or shamed; they’ll be supported. This open-door approach encourages disclosure and keeps communication strong.

 Tools that teach digital kindness

 To make lessons stick, learning can also be fun. “Apps like Google’s Interland (Be Internet Awesome) turn online safety into interactive adventures,” says Maamari. “Others, like Digi Duck stories or Cyberwise resources, make these lessons engaging for younger children.”

Addressing bullying and screen balance

What do the mums of UAE feel? Some like Aatrayee Gopinath prefer to keep their children away from online gaming till they are at the age of 12. “Right now, I prefer they play some basic gaming, and that too supervised. Nothing that involves any online community, because I’m always worried about the people out there,” she says.

 Others like Abu Dhabi’s Lavanya Munish have had conversations,as her children want to game just like their classmates. “My child has been bullied already so much, that I don’t wish for them to face the stress of invisible bullies,” she says.

 So, how do you have these conversations, especially when there’s much resentment. “The best time to have these conversations is before children face these challenges,” says Sheen. “Parents can explain what bullying and hate speech look like online, using clear examples, and teach empathy by discussing how words affect others, even behind a screen.”

 She adds that parents are the most powerful influence that a child can have. “It is therefore incumbent on the parents to model healthy screen habits for their children — by limiting their own screen time, avoiding devices during meals, and prioritising real-world connection.”

 Ultimately, the goal isn’t to make children fearful of the internet — it’s to equip them with the awareness, resilience, and kindness to use it well.