Become a TechRadar Insider
Video games are a lot of fun, so, understandably, your children enjoy playing them. However, there’s a point where the playtime becomes too much. Games may also have inappropriate content, like vulgar language and graphic images, that shouldn’t be exposed to children.
There’s a pressing need to monitor your child’s gaming habits and prevent the negative effects of graphic content or excessive screen time. Many parents struggle to do this, naturally, because they aren’t familiar with video game mechanics. I’ve created this guide to solve this problem, providing detailed information on gaming habits and how to ensure safe interaction.
Understanding gaming habits
The first step to managing gaming habits is understanding these habits in the first place. This often proves difficult for parents who hardly interact with video games, so let’s demystify it below.
Games can be played offline or online. Offline games have genres (e.g., sports or action) and storylines that players get immersed in. The same applies to online games. However, in online games, players interact with other players via audio, video, or text messaging. This interaction makes the game more fun, but introduces a risk of children interacting with strangers. Many games have age restrictions (and verification processes) to reduce this risk, but parents also have an important role to play.
Above, I mentioned two gaming genres (sports and action), and there’s a lot more. Some genres tend to have more explicit content than others. Let’s explore more categories and what to expect for kids playing them:
- Action games. This genre emphasizes physical challenges, often centered on shooting and fighting. They give an adrenaline rush that children often enjoy. However, it should be moderated to avoid overexposure to graphic content.
- Adventure games. This category revolves around solving puzzles and mysteries, often interspersed with some fighting. They are fun to play and help build problem-solving skills.
- Simulation. These titles are modeled on real-time activities like farming, driving, flying, and managing businesses. Players get immersed in the activity and feel like they’re doing it in real life. Simulation games can help increase children’s interest in learning.
- Strategy games. This category revolves around planning and managing resources to achieve goals. Players develop a grand strategy and think of creative ways to progress in-game. There are strategy games designed specifically for children, e.g., Ticket to Ride and Stratego.
Online vs. offline games
Online games generally get more addictive because of the social mechanics. Players are encouraged to compete with one another for bragging rights or in-game points, so they spend more time during gameplay. There’s an incentive to connect with other players and make friends, and online games give more adrenaline rushes. Players often spend real money on in-game items, creating some pressure for others to keep up. These mechanics can have negative effects on children, so online games need more monitoring.
Offline games are played more for relaxation and their immersive storytelling. Unlike online games, players can pause them anytime and continue the storyline later. The absence of online interaction translates to less pressure to compete and play for unusually long periods.
There are still risks involved in offline games, like exposure to violent content. The story can also be immersive enough to draw players into excessive gameplay. Yet, offline games generally have lower addictive and negative interaction risks than online games.
How to monitor gaming activities
Now that you’ve learned about gaming habits, it’s time to know how to monitor these habits in the first place. Let’s explore some effective methods below:
1. Use built-in parental control features on gaming consoles
Gaming consoles like Xbox and PlayStation usually have built-in parental control settings. As a parent, you can use the system settings to create gaming time limits, e.g., 1 hour daily on weekends and none on school weekdays. You can also restrict access to age-inappropriate games, ensuring kids don’t encounter explicit content.
You can configure console settings to restrict in-game chats to friends-only or turn off voice and text chat completely. Consoles provide a lot of flexibility in managing kids’ gaming activities.
2. Create physical boundaries
Establishing physical boundaries is a mundane yet effective way of monitoring gaming habits. For example, consoles and PCs can be placed in common areas like the living room so that you’ll frequently see which games your kids play. You can set a rule for the console to only be used in this common area, particularly for younger kids under 12. With frequent glances, you’ll learn more about gameplay mechanics and know what to restrict.
3. Review game ratings
Video games have age ratings assigned by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) in North America, Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) in Europe, and similar agencies in other regions. The age rating is displayed prominently on the game cover (for physical games) or in the description (for games downloaded online).
Follow the age guidelines to determine which games are safe for your kids to interact with. As I mentioned earlier, you can configure console settings to restrict access to games above certain age limits.
4. Establish a routine
Discuss with your kids and establish a routine for when gaming is allowed and when it isn’t. For instance, kids get more gaming time during the holidays than during school periods. Having more screen time on the weekends than on weekdays is typical. On weekdays, there could be a rule that allows gaming only after homework is done.
Children can be smart and seek ways to bypass your restrictions. A two-way discussion helps them understand the harms of excessive screen time and why restrictions are necessary. It helps them cooperate with the rules rather than seek to bend them.
5. Use a parental control app
I’ve mentioned many methods above, but they have limitations. For example, built-in parental control features on consoles often don’t offer real-time activity monitoring. They help you set proactive measures, but provide little insight into how your children interact in real-time. To get these real-time insights, you’ll need a dedicated parental control app like Qustodio.
With parental control apps, you’ll get a real-time view of which games your children are currently playing. Some apps incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze in-game chats and alert you about aggressive language, inappropriate content, and other issues. Alerts are sent in real-time to your smartphone, enabling you to take immediate action.
When using a parental control app, you don’t need direct access to your kid’s PC or console to reconfigure settings. After the initial connection with the parent device, you can tweak settings over the web, and it’ll immediately take effect on their PC. For example, you can adjust screen time limits or pause internet access altogether from your smartphone.
Gaming activity alerts to set
Let’s explore some key alerts to set on a parental control app:
1. Time limits
You can receive notifications when daily screen time limits are exhausted. This alert gives a broad view into how much time your kid spends playing games, and you’ll know when to make adjustments. Alerts can also be set for specific intervals, like 30 minutes, 40 minutes, or 1 hour.
2. Spending
You can receive alerts for any in-game purchase your kid makes. Of course, you can set purchase limits ahead of time, ensuring that they don’t spend past that level. In-game purchases can also require approval from your device– this feature prevents accidental spending mistakes that kids often make.
3. Friend approvals
You can configure gaming consoles to send alerts whenever your child accepts a new friend request. This feature lets you vet who your kids interact with online. Accounts you aren’t familiar with can be unfriended immediately.
4. Inappropriate language
Advanced parental control apps, like Qustodio, use AI to analyze in-game chats, then send alerts if aggressive language or explicit content is detected. Alerts are delivered via push or voice notifications, encouraging you to act quickly.
Tips to keep children safe when gaming
There’s no silver bullet for enabling children to interact with games safely. Instead, strategies differ based on the type of game, their habits, and your preferences. However, there are some general tips to maximize your children’s privacy and security, including:
1. Account names
Kids should use nicknames when registering for gaming accounts, not their real names. Remember that anything uploaded to the internet stays there for a long time, and personal identities pose privacy risks. When signing up for Roblox, PlayStation, or any other account, your children should use nicknames not related to their real names.
2. Strong passwords
When setting up accounts for your kids, use strong passwords that incorporate a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. Avoid anything like “123456” or “ABCD123” that is easily guessable. Something like “WhaleBay425X!” is much better because it can’t be guessed easily.
How about if I forget a complex password? You don’t need to stress because Google Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers provide built-in password managers. You can store passwords in your browser account, and they’ll be autofilled whenever it’s time to log in. Dedicated password management tools, like 1Password and Dashlane, also provide this service.
Even if you forget your password, you can reset it if you have access to the email address associated with the account. Password management has become easier than ever, so complex passwords shouldn’t pose a problem.
3. Privacy settings
Earlier, I mentioned several ways to protect your kids’ privacy, like switching off voice chat, vetting their friend requests, and setting up alerts for aggressive language that often indicates cyberbullying.
You can work with the privacy settings directly on your child’s console or PC, or use a parental control app to adjust settings remotely. Either way, carefully monitor the privacy settings and tweak them to your preferences. There’s no perfect mix of settings: instead, it depends on the level of privacy you’re optimizing for. What’s essential is monitoring their gaming activities and taking proactive safety measures.
4. Monitor spending
Kids may not fully understand the value of money, so they’ll want to spend as much as they want on in-game upgrades. Game developers don’t help by requiring payments for the fastest level-ups.
Numerous incidents of excessive spending have been reported on, like a boy who racked up a $16,000 bill on a single game. You don’t want to be the next parent recounting a similar story, and the good thing is that you can easily prevent it.
PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch consoles let you set spending limits that can’t be surpassed. For mobile games on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, you can require permission from your account before any purchase goes through.
You could disable in-game purchases entirely. If you eventually decide to purchase an item for your child, do it once and don’t save card details on their account. Likewise, discuss budgeting with your kids and help them understand the value of money so that they wouldn’t spend unnecessarily.
Final words
In my experience, using a parental control app like Qustodio is the most effective way to monitor your child’s gaming habits. Consoles, PCs, and smartphones have built-in parental control settings, but they aren’t as sophisticated as using a designated parental control app. With such app, you can configure settings remotely and receive alerts about their activities, enabling quick action when needed. Choose a parental control app today to monitor your child’s gaming activities.
