Kids and Video Games

Chances are the kids in your life play, or want to play, video games, including games in immersive spaces like virtual or augmented reality. Game ratings and reviews, parental controls, and other tools are available to help you learn more and talk about video games with the kids in your life.

• Video Game Reviews and Ratings
• Parental Controls
• Discuss Your Rules and Expectations About Video Games With The Kids in Your Life
• Reporting
• Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Games

Video Game Reviews and Ratings

As you check out video games for the kids in your life, here are some questions to consider: Is this game appropriate for my child’s age? How much time should my child spend with this video game? Does the game allow players to chat with each other or have an AI chatbot that may say harmful or dangerous things to kids? Does the game manipulate kids into buying in-game purchases to succeed in the game or to prevent something bad from happening in the game? Does the game include ads for other, more mature, or dangerous games?

Here are some ways and places to check game reviews and ratings:

• For games played on a phone or tablet, check out reviews (positive and negative) on the App Store or the Google Play Store.
• Check out game ratings, like those from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), Common Sense Media’s game reviews (limited to three free reviews per month), and others. Learn about the game’s content, themes, language, interactive elements, and age rating.
• Go online and search the name of the game and the words “kid friendly” to see what other parents are saying.
• Watch online videos of people playing the game to help you decide if the game is ok for your child’s level of emotional and social development.

Of course, reviews and game ratings are not foolproof. For example, ESRB ratings don’t cover ads in games, or user-created content like custom game modes created by individual players. Also, game makers frequently update games with new content, so the reviews and ratings you see might not reflect the latest version of the game.

Parental Controls

Parental controls give adults tools to help keep children safe online. They can help limit a child’s access to harmful content, restrict people a child doesn’t know from interacting with them, and limit the amount of time and money a child spends playing a video game.

To learn how different parental control settings work, check with the game system’s manufacturer or the game’s publisher, or use ESRB’s Parental Controls for Video Games tool to see what kinds of limits and communications restrictions are available. If the game is an app, check to see what settings your phone’s operating system offers — like the ability to require a password for in-app purchases.

Examples of parental controls include

• Game rating restrictions let you decide which games you’ll allow, based on the game’s rating — whether play is on a console, handheld gaming device, computer, or tablet. For example, you might set the system to allow only games rated E for Everyone, not games rated T for Teen or above.
• Time limits help you set a time and day when your child can play video games, and for how long. Each device manufacturer has tools to block access or limit time on apps and games. In addition, your home internet router may have time scheduling settings to limit access to the internet for a specific device, or to set the same schedule for all devices.
• In-game purchase restrictions help you limit or block in-game spending. Many games encourage kids to buy digital goods — like weapons, in-game currency, loot boxes, outfits, or bonus levels — with the credit card linked to your account. Use these control settings to restrict in-game spending by turning it off, requiring a password, or setting a dollar limit on in-game purchases.
• Chat restrictions give parents options to turn off the chat function with other players, or limit who your child can chat with while they are playing a video game.
• Location-sharing restrictions are available on most phones and tablets. Some mobile games and apps use a player’s location and might broadcast it to others. Most phones and tablets let you turn off this feature.
• Profile settings let you create profiles for different family members, with different limits for each person — instead of letting kids play on an unrestricted adult account. For example, your password-protected profile on a game console might let you play any game, but your nine-year-old’s profile might be limited to games rated E for Everyone.

Video game parental controls focus primarily on content and time restrictions. Most do not have dedicated features to limit the ads your child sees when they’re searching for, downloading, or playing a video game. Studies have found that younger and neurodivergent children may have difficulty telling the difference between advertising and other content because their cognitive abilities are still developing.

Look for games labeled as ad-free in the app store or find games with fewer ads by reading Common Sense Media or app store reviews. Or play the game yourself or watch your child play it. Do ads pop up frequently and encourage your child to buy things or to download other games? You might choose to uninstall the game and find one without ads. Sometimes, you may limit the ads your child sees by buying the paid version of the game, by putting the phone or tablet in airplane mode for simple games that don’t need an online connection, or by using a third party adblocker.

For games kids play on phones or tablets, check out your options to block inappropriate content, set app limits, or set limits on communicating with people they don’t know in person.

• Apple’s Screen Time
• Google Play app
• Microsoft

For games played on consoles and on computers, find out about a game’s parental control options by looking them up in the ESRB’s Parental Controls or by checking the manufacturer’s website.

• Nintendo
• Sony
• Steam

Discuss Your Rules and Expectations About Video Games With The Kids in Your Life

Parental controls and video game ratings are strong tools, but they’re no substitute for talking with your child about your rules and expectations about video games. Wondering how to get started? Here are some topics and questions to consider and discuss.

• Which video games have we, as a family, decided are okay for you to play? Why?
• What activities do we want to make sure video games don’t crowd out or replace — like sleep, meals together, or time outside?
• Do you know how to block a player who is bullying or threatening you or your friends?
• In which situations is it a good idea to stop playing a video game and find a parent or a trusted adult?
• What are our family’s rules about not sharing personal information — your address, school, or plans for the weekend — with anyone online or in a game?
• What are our family’s expectations about avoiding sex talk or sexual situations online?

As kids play video games, they often meet other kids their own age — but even games that are aimed at kids sometimes have adult players. Does your child want to join a multi-player game where they may be able to chat online with people they don’t know? Here are some additional questions and ideas to think about and discuss with the kids in your life.

• Consider whether a multi-player game is the right choice. Some multi-player games are harder to put down because the game continues even when the user takes a break to do homework, have dinner, or sleep. This could jeopardize the user’s in-game progress and make it harder to enforce time limits with your child. If you want gaming to be a social experience for your child, consider asking friends to come over to play together.
• Chat with friends only. Many platforms have options for parents to view and approve children’s in-game “friends” and contacts. Review them with your child, remove any friends they don’t know in real life, and choose settings to only allow chatting with friends.
• Check out AI chatbots. An AI chatbot is a computer program that simulates human conversation. Help your child understand that a chatbot isn’t a real person or trusted friend. Some AI chatbots in video games are designed to keep children engaged in the game. Other AI chatbots in games may say things that could be harmful or dangerous to children.
• Chat in the game only. If an unknown player asks your child to chat on a different platform, it could be a sign that the player is trying to start a personal connection with them. Consider talking through different scenarios to help them know what to say if it happens:
  • Start with “No thanks.” And ask your child to come talk to you.
    • Example:
      • Unknown player: “You’re a really good player. Want to talk about gaming on [insert chat app name]?”
      • Your child: “No thanks. I’d rather just keep playing the game.” [Your child talks to you.]
  • Ignore the question.
    • Example:
      • Unknown player: “So, how old are you?”
      • Your child: [Doesn’t respond.] [Your child talks to you and decides whether to block the unknown player if they continue asking personal questions.]
• Block bullies. In-game bullying and trolling are common while kids play video games. Encourage children to block players who are rude or bully them.
• Block people asking for personal information. If another player keeps asking your child personal questions, or asks for personal information, tell your child to block them and talk to you or another trusted adult. They can also end the game and try again some other time. When your child talks to you about the interaction, ask what the other person said, what they asked for, and whether your child shared any information. Help your child understand that some adults pretend to be kids online and try to create inappropriate relationships with kids.
• Discuss gameplay only. Consider limiting your kids’ discussions while in multiplayer games. Tell them not to share any personal information. Even little pieces of information, in combination with others, could make it possible for someone to identify them. Scammers and identity thieves can vacuum up bits of information — including passwords or Social Security numbers — from anyone, even kids, and use them to open phone, utility, or internet accounts, or even open credit card accounts to buy stuff.

Reporting

Your child may come across upsetting or inappropriate behavior from other players — like bullying, threats, requests for personal information, or bad language — while they play video games. The best first step for them is often to stop playing the game and talk to a parent or trusted adult. Most games also have a “report player” tool that makes it straightforward for your child to block or mute another player. Another option is to help them report the player to platforms like Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo, or a third-party chat app that hosts the communications, like Discord.

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Games

Virtual reality (VR) games are video games that use a headset and controller to immerse players in a three-dimensional environment. VR games can make people feel like they’re in a different place or another world. Augmented reality (AR) games combine the physical world with virtual elements. AR games use sensors like cameras, microphones, and global positioning systems (GPS) to detect the player’s environment and overlay digital elements while they play the game.

Immersive games like VR and AR pose the same potential risks for children as regular video games, but immersive games also include additional potential risks like motion sickness, eye strain, and distress from a psychological or emotional connection with the heightened realism of the virtual environments. Some children may feel sad or disappointed after leaving a VR or AR experience.

If your child is interested in playing VR or AR games, consider researching the game, checking the age ratings, setting clear play time limits, setting up a safe play area, taking breaks, and monitoring for potential motion sickness. Also talk with your child about potentially harmful content or aggressive language and behavior from other players in immersive games.