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Bit shaken by this. My son (9) told me someone he'd been playing a game with on Roblox for a couple of weeks asked him to "chat on Discord" instead and asked which school he goes to.
He told me because he thought it was weird, which I'm grateful for. We've reported the account. But I'm now second-guessing everything. Do I ban it completely? How do others manage online gaming at this age?
First - well done to your son, and well done you for clearly having a relationship where he tells you things. That's the most important protection there is. Don't punish him for telling you or he won't next time.
Absolutely, we made a big fuss of him for doing the right thing.
Check the parental controls. You can turn chat off completely or restrict it to friends you've approved. We switched off chat entirely for our 8 year old, he still plays happily with his school friends via a video call on the iPad in the living room.
Moving the conversation to another platform and asking about school are classic grooming steps. If you've still got the username and messages it's worth reporting to CEOP as well as the platform. They do take it seriously.
We have a rule that gaming happens in the living room, never the bedroom, headphones off at least some of the time. It's not about spying, it's just normal to have adults around.
I wouldn't ban it outright - he'll just go and play at a friend's house where nobody's watching. Controls plus conversation.
Reported to CEOP, chat restricted to approved friends, Xbox moved into the front room. He's fine, slightly annoyed about the Xbox. Thanks all.
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