My child lives in Roblox: is it harmful?

Is Roblox harmful for kids? What to check at home, how to use parental controls, and when a child's interest in games can turn into building. What Mars teaches.

My child lives in Roblox: is it harmful?

In short:

  • we cannot give a flat "harmful" or "safe": it depends on what exactly your child does there, who they talk to and how much time it takes;
  • according to Google Trends over 12 months, people in Uzbekistan search for Roblox noticeably more often than for Python and Scratch, so you are not alone;
  • Mars has no Roblox course, but there is a path from playing games to building your own projects.

You walk into the room and your child is in Roblox. Tomorrow again, and the day after. The first thought: "Is this harmful? Should I ban it?" We are a programming school, not specialists in child psychology or platform safety, so we will not hand down a verdict of "harmful" or "safe". What we can do is go through what to check at home and when an interest in the game can be turned toward creating.

First, look at what they are doing

"Plays Roblox" covers very different things. One child spends hours going through other people's maps, another builds their own, a third mostly chats with friends. These are three different situations, and the worry in each is different.

Sit next to them for fifteen minutes and ask them to show you. Questions without an interrogation:

  1. What do you play and what do you like about it?
  2. Who do you play with: school friends or strangers?
  3. Have you bought anything inside the game, and how did you pay?
  4. Have you ever tried to make your own game?

The answers tell you more than any ban. If your child talks about friends and the story, that is one situation. If they dodge the answer or get irritated by the question, it is a reason for a calmer and longer conversation.

What you can set up today

Roblox has its own parental controls, described on the platform's official page: about.roblox.com/parental-controls. Look there for what exactly can be turned on and how: platform rules change, and we do not want to retell outdated information.

Here is what we would add that does not depend on settings:

  • agree on time in advance, not in the middle of a game;
  • playing in a shared room rather than behind a closed door is easier than sorting out later what happened;
  • agree separately on money inside the game: who pays, how much and for what.

These rules do not require knowing Roblox. They work for any other game too.

How to tell that the interest can be turned toward creating

Signs that a game is growing into curiosity:

  • the child asks how the game works and who made it;
  • watches videos about building their own maps;
  • tries to change something themselves and gets upset when it does not work.

If you see this, you have something many parents lack: ready-made motivation. A project from the first lesson and 80% practice are exactly about the child doing something with their hands right away instead of listening to a lecture.

What we teach and what we do not

To be direct: Mars has no Roblox course, and we do not teach Roblox. Roblox Studio runs on Luau, a language derived from Lua 5.1, and we do not cover it. A "build your own world in Roblox" course is not something we sell, and we will not promise that result.

What we have instead, by age:

  • Ages 9-11, AI Kids. We start with Scratch, then robotics and Arduino. Scratch is free for everyone and was created primarily for ages 8-16. The child assembles games and animations from blocks without typing code.
  • Ages 12-17, AI Pilot. A first website, then Python and Telegram bots, then databases, React and AI.

The logic a child learns in Scratch (conditions, loops, events) is needed in any development environment, Roblox included. But we do not claim that after our courses they will master Roblox Studio on their own: we have not tested that.

Mars accepts children from age 9, and no prior knowledge is needed.

When not to hurry

  • If your child only wants to play and is not interested in how it works, a course is not needed right now. Programming takes patience, and interest cannot be forced.
  • If what worries you is not Roblox but that your child never leaves the screen, a programming course will not solve it: a screen stays a screen. Agree on rules first.
  • We have no instalment plan, so keep that in mind when planning a budget.

What happens at a trial lesson

A lesson lasts 60 minutes, in a group of 8-12 children. There is one new idea per lesson, most of the time goes to practice, and at the end the child holds something they made themselves. A trial lesson requires a prepayment for the place; if the child does not stay, we refund it.

Price at the time of publication: Kids group (ages 9-11) 680,000 UZS per month, ages 12-17 group 1,090,000 UZS per month.

Parents' questions

Ban Roblox entirely?

It is your decision. A full ban often pushes the game out of parents' sight. Transparent rules about time, money and contact usually work better than "no".

Can a game replace programming lessons?

No. A game entertains, while a course gives structure: step by step, with a teacher and a tutor, and with a lesson result the child can show. But an interest in games is a good starting point.

Roblox or Scratch?

It is not an either-or choice. Scratch can be started alongside games.

If you want to see how your child reacts to creating rather than playing, sign up for a trial lesson. Programmes: AI Kids for ages 9-11, AI Pilot for ages 12-17.

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