With the summer holidays underway, many parents might find themselves juggling work, childcare commitments and will be trying to find ways to keep their children entertained. With this in mind, young people might be spending more time on gaming devices, tablets and phones.

While this can be a fun way for children to spend some time at home, it’s also worth noting there can be some risks involved.

Childline counselling sessions

Gaming is an issue that young people have been reaching out to Childline to discuss. Between April 2025 and March 2026, the service delivered almost a thousand counselling sessions where children mentioned Roblox, PlayStation, Minecraft or Xbox.

Common concerns include:
Online bullying and harassment,
Threats of having private or personal information shared without consent – ‘being doxxed’,
Scams and fraudulent activity,
Unwanted contact from strangers.

Parents have also told the NSPCC Helpline that they have concerns about:
Children spending money in games without permission,
Excessive screen time,
Difficulty managing access to gaming platforms.

However, Childline counsellors have also heard from young people who describe gaming as helping them to manage stress, escape everyday worries, and to connect with others.

Summaries of the main platforms, games and consoles

The age ratings of the below games have been set by the Pan-European Game Information (PEGI), the official age rating and content system used for video games across Europe.

Games and platforms

Roblox - does not have a minimum age requirement. However, the platform uses age-based safety features and content labels to help parents determine whether experiences are suitable for their child.

Roblox is one of the world's most popular gaming platforms, allowing users to play millions of games created by other players and to build and share their own experiences. It is available across a range of devices and combines gaming, creativity and social interaction.

Because much of the content is user-generated, children may encounter inappropriate content, scams or contact from strangers.

Players can use Roblox's communication features to talk to one another while playing which can also lead to cyberbullying or unwanted contact.

How parents can help:

Ensure your child signs up with the correct age,
Build a list of age-appropriate games,
Review privacy, communication and spending settings.

Minecraft - this game is suitable for ages 7+

Minecraft is a creative building and adventure game available across multiple platforms. Players can explore, build and collaborate with others in shared online worlds.

While generally considered suitable for children, risks can arise through multiplayer servers and online communication, including bullying, unwanted contact and exposure to inappropriate content.

How parents can help:

Talking about and controlling chat features,
Monitor who children play with online,
Review multiplayer and chat settings.

Fortnite - suitable for ages 12+

Fortnite is an online gaming platform featuring several official game modes and millions of user-created experiences. Its popularity, social features and accessibility make it particularly attractive to children and young people.

Children can communicate with other players and access user-generated content, which may sometimes be unsuitable for younger audiences.

How parents can help:

Manage communication settings,
Restrict in-game purchases with parental controls,
Review who children are playing with.

EA SPORTS FC – suitable for ages 3+

EA SPORTS FC is a football simulation game and one of the most popular sports video game franchises among children and young people. Players can compete against friends or strangers online, build teams, and participate in multiplayer game modes.

While much of the content is suitable for younger audiences, online interactions and in-game purchases can present risks.

How parents can help:

Discuss spending limits and monitor in-game purchases, particularly in Ultimate Team,
Enable parental controls to restrict purchases where possible,
Review privacy settings and who children can communicate with online,
Educate young people about the ability to report abusive players, due to the nature of this game verbal abuse can be common.

Discord – their Terms of Service require users to be at least 13 years old.

Discord is a communication platform that allows users to chat through text, voice and video. Originally designed for gamers, it is now widely used by children and young people to socialise, join communities, share content and communicate while playing games.

Because Discord allows users to join public and private servers, children may encounter inappropriate content, misinformation, scams or contact from strangers. Risks can also include cyberbullying, grooming and exposure to harmful online communities.

How parents can help:

Ensure your child uses the correct date of birth when creating an account
Review privacy and safety settings, including who can contact them directly
Talk regularly about the servers and communities they are joining
Encourage children to report, block and leave conversations that make them feel uncomfortable
Enable Family Centre features where available to help understand your child's activity and connections


Consoles

PlayStation

PlayStation is one of the world's most popular gaming consoles, letting children play games alone or online with others, chat, and message. While much of the fun is social, that connectivity can expose children to contact from people they don't know.

Xbox

Xbox is a leading gaming console that lets children play, chat and message others online, often in live multiplayer games. While it's a popular space to connect with friends, voice and text chat with unknown players can expose children to inappropriate content or unwanted contact.

Nintendo Switch

Nintendo Switch is a popular gaming console that can be used at home or on the go, allowing children to play games on their own or connect with others online. While many games encourage creativity and social play, online features such as multiplayer gaming and messaging can expose children to contact from people they don’t know.


How parents can help:

Set up your child’s profile within your family account. Use PlayStation Family Management, Microsoft Family Safety on Xbox, or a Nintendo Family Group to apply age-appropriate settings and manage permissions.
Restrict games based on age ratings and limit access to mature content. PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch all offer parental controls that allow parents to block age-inappropriate games and content. On Nintendo Switch, parents can apply age-based content restrictions and control access to Nintendo eShop purchases. On Xbox, web browsing restrictions may also require changes to the linked Microsoft account settings.
Manage who your child can communicate with online by changing voice and text chat settings to "Friends Only" or "Nobody" on PlayStation, adjusting communication permissions on Xbox, and using Nintendo Switch parental controls to restrict communication with other players in compatible games.
Set spending controls and screen time limits to help manage purchases and encourage healthy gaming habits. This can be done through Family Management on PlayStation, the Microsoft Family Safety app on Xbox, and the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app, which allows parents to set daily playtime limits and monitor activity.

Tips to parents on how parents can keep their children safe while gaming

Before you make a decision on whether your child should be allowed access a specific game or gaming in general, there are things you should consider:

Explore the game or app - look at risk ratings, and checking age ratings. You can also learn a lot from trying out a game or app for yourself, even if it's just for a short time. Visit Common Sense Media for up-to-date reviews on the latest apps, games and wider media.
Have an open conversation with your child – it's important to explore with your child why they want to access games, looking together at the app and game reviews can help you both to understand the game and whether it’s suitable.

Once you’ve decided that you’re happy for your child to use a certain game:

Make use of parental controls – these settings allow you to manage what your child can see, download, or spend in an app or game. They also let you set time limits. You can find out more by visiting our advice on parental controls.
Explore safety, privacy, and wellbeing settings with your child – apps and games often come with their own settings that allow you to manage safety concerns like who can contact you, privacy concerns like who can see your content, and wellbeing settings like how long you spend on a particular app or game. You can visit the NSPCC’s online safety hub for app and game settings.
Have regular family conversations – make sure you talk to your child regularly about their online activities and express active interest rather than surveillance. You could explore safety settings together, explore apps and games together, and share tips about staying safe online. This is also important because interactions on gaming platforms often extend to social media platforms.
Common safety behaviours – talk to your children about taking regular breaks from gaming rather than spending several hours on their favourite console. It’s important to educate them on how to report abuse within the game as well as who to accept as ‘friends’.
Make sure your child knows where to get support – speak to them about who they can talk to if something worries or upsets them. This should include a range of safe adults as well as you, such as another family member, teacher, and services like Childline (0800 11 11).

Quotes to Childline from young people with concerns about gaming

I’ve been feeling lonely. My little sister has additional needs and she takes up all of my parents’ time. I’ve learnt how to entertain myself, like making online friends on Roblox. My parents have stopped me going online because I was bullied at one point, but now it means I can’t talk to my online friends either. I felt supported by them and now I feel like I’ve lost them.

I'm feeling sad. I got scammed on Roblox and it's making me feel stupid. I can't get it off my mind. I shared my inventory with someone, who I thought was going to share theirs back, but they immediately left the game and blocked me. I'm annoyed as I felt pressured to share it. The inventory took me so long to build up. I'm sad it's gone as it was important to me. I will try to find something to do today to distract me from how I'm feeling. Thanks for your support.

I'm upset because someone stole something from me on Roblox which took me a lot of time, money and effort to get. I'm feeling really sensitive at the moment. I'm going to try to relax tonight and get to sleep.

Shaun Friel, Childline Director, said:
"Games and apps are an excellent space for children to have fun, learn and communicate with friends – yet they can also come with dangers and the risk of excessive screen time. Young people are telling our Childline counsellors that, while gaming, that they have seen difficult content and that unknown and unwanted players have tried to contact them.

“Parents should educate themselves about the technology that young people want to access, explore safety settings together and have open conversations with their children about how to stay safe online.

"Childline is here for any young person who has any questions or concerns when playing online — our trained counsellors are here to provide support, no matter the concern.”