Concerned about a child Safeguarding Assessment

Type your search below

Gaming

Gaming

If you're thinking about buying your child a games console, but are unsure how to keep your child safe online, Xbox and Playstation have both created apps for parents and carers that will give you peace of mind. The apps give you access to everything your child is doing online and who they are talking to.

Both of these apps are available from your app store on both Android and Apple mobiles.

X box 

The Xbox Family Settings app lets the organisers (adults) in a family group manage their kids’ gaming activities from their iOS and Android phones. The app enables you to feel secure about your child playing online.

The Xbox app allows you to:

Playstation

The PlayStation app allows you to:

Is my child gambling?

Many online games now include additional elements, which can make them seem more exciting to young people and offer them the chance to win extra prizes and get further along in the game. These features include:

  • loot boxes - virtual treasure chests containing undisclosed items that can be used to progress within a game or improve status

  • microtransactions -  additional content or services within an app or online game which has to be paid for with virtual or real money

  • skins - customisable characters

  • roulette or spin the wheel features.

Although not legally classed as gambling, some countries have outlawed the use of “loot boxes” in games because they are seen as gambling actions and are often aimed at children. Young people can get used to these types of features and potentially, as they get older, be drawn to casino-style activities as they have experienced that win-chasing risk element through gaming.

There have been cases where children have run up large debts on their parents’ credit cards as they didn’t realise that they were spending real money, so it’s a good idea to set-up parental controls to limit access to any credit cards associated with online game accounts.  Also talk to your child about the games they are playing and help them think through any decisions about things like microtransactions to help them weigh up the real cost of their quest to get the prize or level that they want.

If you have concerns or want advice about children gaming and gambling, visit the Gaming and Mental Health Parent Guide To Support on the YoungMinds website.

Buying games for your child

When purchasing a game for your child, always check the PEGI certification.  The PEGI system is designed to inform you of what’s suitable and what’s not for different ages.

All games released in the UK will have PEGI ratings on the packaging; 3,7,12,16 or 18 meaning that games rated as such should not be played by persons below those respective age bars. Next to the age rating there are also pictograms to explain why the rating was awarded.

Many of the popular games have 18 PEGI ratings. Content within these games could potentially be harmful, frightening or worrying for young children.

You may want to consider introducing boundaries at home about what type of games your child is allowed to play. They will also need to be communicated to family members and child care. 

Encourage your child to talk to you about the games they play and how they feel after playing them. Children are sometimes frightened by games but won’t tell anyone in case they take the game away. Whilst children are still learning to distinguish between reality and fantasy, it’s important to talk to them about what they see in gaming.

If your children are playing games online don’t forget that you can also set parental controls on many devices to give you extra piece of mind.  Again, the VSC website offers full instructions on how to set parental controls for the most popular devices.  

If you’re worried about children playing video games on their own, then why not join them? AskAboutGames.com is a fantastic resource for advice on gaming as a family.  

Talking to your child about staying safe online

Parental controls and security settings are not 100% accurate and are no substitute for open and honest conversations with your child. It's important to explain, especially to younger children, what is meant by ‘inappropriate,’ by using language they will understand. Make sure they know that if something they see online upsets them or makes them worried, then they should always come to you.

Regularly have open and honest conversations about:

  • What they are doing online and who they are talking to.

  • Remind them of the importance of not talking to or accepting friend requests from people they don’t know in real life.

  • Encourage them to keep all personal information such as passwords, phone numbers, friend, school address details private.

  • Remind them that people might not be who they say they are online.  It is very easy for people to set up accounts, with fake names, identities and photos, to make us all believe that they are someone they are not.

  • Warn them that the things they write and the photos they post online might be accessed by people other than their friends, if they don’t keep their accounts private.

  • Highlight the risks of meeting people in person that your child only knows online. Meeting people in real life, that children and young people only know from being online, can pose many risks and children and young people should be encouraged  to be open and honest with you or a trusted adult, if someone is asking to meet up with them in real life. (This can be very dangerous and children and young people should be encouraged to tell their parents or an adult they trust, if someone is asking to meet them.)

How to report an online concern

If something has happened to your child online you can make a report to the National Crime Agency for Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP). CEOP helps keep children and young people safe from sexual abuse and grooming online, as well as their parents and carers.

If you’re worried that your child is being groomed online or sexually exploited you should report your concerns via the CEOP website.

You should always report if your child is or has been in contact with someone who is:

  • Chatting online to your child about sex

  • Asking them to do sexual things on webcam

  • Asking to meet up if they’ve only met them online

  • Requesting sexual pictures

  • Forcing them into sexual activity

  • Making them feel unsafe

For information and guidance for parents of children and young people who have got in trouble online see the Parents Protect website.

Quick leave