Being a mom of eight children has taught me a lot. The experiences that my 23-year old had growing up were very different from the way my 10-year old experiences them today, but one thing remains the same. To protect my kids, I need to listen carefully and take the time to understand the things that are most important to them.
Ninty percent of children over the age of two play video games, and online games have become a huge part of how children play and learn today.
In fact, about half of all American children under 16 have played Roblox. The platform has become as much a part of modern childhood as the school bus, and is now an important part of how millions of kids play, learn, and socialize.
As the president of Ohio PTA, I hear from parents every week who feel overwhelmed by technology and worry they’ve already lost ground to algorithms and apps they don’t understand.
I get it. But our responsibility as parents is to prepare our children for the world safely and confidently online and offline.
PTA encourages community collaboration to ensure safe, inclusive, and positive digital experiences for all children, youth, and families, fostering learning and healthy lifestyles and ensuring they are equipped with the technological literacy and access to thrive in an increasingly digital world.
I encourage every Ohio parent to do what I did: sit down with your child and play with them online.
There are silly and imaginative games, but there is also real substance.
Through Roblox’s learning hub, I found thousands of popular games that are just as educational as they are entertaining, like Mission Mars, where kids design and operate rovers to complete scientific tasks, and Lua Learning, which introduces real coding concepts used by professional developers.
Some of the most popular creators on the platform are even kids themselves.
As much as I love how my kids are learning new tech skills, keeping them safe is my top priority.
Parents can restrict or disable chat entirely, block specific users or experiences, and set limits on screen time and spending.
Images and videos cannot be shared in chats, and text and voice communication pass through strict filters.
Roblox recently went even further by announcing they would divide the platform into age-based accounts — “Roblox Kids” for ages 5 to 8, and “Roblox Select” for ages 9 to 15.
These build on their facial age estimation system that requires checks for chat access, helping ensure children are only communicating with others in similar age ranges.
While these are meaningful steps, Roblox isn’t the only responsible party here. The other part is engagement from us, the parents.
We don’t keep children from the playground because there’s a chance they might fall off the monkey bars or encounter a bully.
We take them to the park, we watch, we intervene when needed, and we gradually trust them as they learn how to stay safe, even when we aren’t with them.
Rather than removing our children from platforms that have become central to how their peers connect and learn, parents should lean in. We should be understanding the tools, setting boundaries, and staying engaged in how our children are using these platforms.
Parents should be asking questions and consistently using the parental tools the platform provides. In our house, we play together, on shared computers, in our family room.
In 2026, our children need us in these spaces alongside them, teaching them how to navigate safely, just like we do in other aspects of their lives.
Nicole Lesnick is the current President of the Ohio Parent Teacher Association and a parent to eight children.
This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.
