Is this how it's supposed to be?

[Sandra Ostapowich]

So I got my son a laptop for Christmas. He has been playing Roblox pretty much all day, every day for the last 3 weeks. He has become unsociable and isn't interested in doing anything else because (he tells me) he will have to stop playing and might "miss his Roblox friends". From what I can tell from when I observe and ask questions about what he's doing, there isn't much interaction going on and he spends his time running his toon around from place to place by himself.

I can't pull his interest away into anything, I'm lucky if I don't get tons of sulking and complaints when I insist he comes with me to run errands (he's only 8 and I'm not comfortable leaving him home alone for long periods of time). He won't even watch movies or TV shows, much less read anything that doesn't show up in game.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I just trust that the (rather obsessive) interest will fade and move into something else?

[Alex Polikowsky]

Wow! Roblox!! I absolutely love Roblox.

My son has played Roblox for years , one of the first to join Roblox.

He was 5 when he started and he is 8 now. He learned to read and type on Roblox. He  reads really well and is a great speller because of it,

There is SOOOOOO much learning in playing Roblox.

You can even learn Lua Scripting and make awesome games, plus all the friends my son spent lots of time

talking, messaging and exchanging e-mails with. (he would call friends on the phone and they would play and talk at the same time).

 There is a money exchange system in Roblox where they learn currency and currency exchange and it also is a money market where they can bid. They can make gear and sell to make money, They can do tasks, participate in task forces, groups, build games, work together with others to build games, farm, raise animal,.... All that is not even half of what you can do and learn on Roblox.

I suggest you embrace it. Maybe even create and account and play with him.

Read the Roblox news blog. Show your son the videos  on Youtube.

My son has even started making videos and got his own camera because of it.

It has led my son to so many different things. Sit with him. Learn about it. It maybe be his passion for a while and it is a good passion to have as there is a lot of learning and fun!

My son has rarely played Roblox this last year. He has so many cool options now. We gave him a Wii, A PS3, an X-Box 360  and he also plays Minecraft and Maple Story on line.

He also is a CubScout and plays basketball, makes videos, plays pretend wiht his sister, likes to create stories by drawing ( like story boards).

I still have a soft spot for Roblox. Even our dog is named Bloxie!

Send my son a friend request. He is mario555555 ( he has many accounts but this one would be his more used one).

 

[Sandra Ostapowich]

Thank you for the reassurance. I'll have to ask more direct questions and get more involved.

Simbot33 sent mario555555 a friend request. :)

We tried basketball for boys his age through park and rec and while he loved the first practice (despite being - by far - the least skilled of all the boys there) and he begged me for his own basketball (both of which I happily got for him), he managed to develop sudden "stomach aches" when it came time for all the subsequent practices and we haven't been back. I told him it's ok if he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't need to fake sickness. He's not interested in Scouting "because they do too much naturey stuff".

I guess I'm just worrying too much. Thank you.

[Alex Polikowsky]

Kids love to do something they can share with their parents.

My son loves basketball because of his dad. It is something they share.

He has done other things that he liked for a while but then was done like TaeKwon Do and theater.

  What does your son like?

 Just don;t ask question, sit and watch him play, go read the Roblox News Blog ( I highly recommend!).

Look for cool Roblox videos on Youtube for him to wacth.

Show him the game Minecraft and Blockland ( somewhat similar).

does he like legos?

They are similar to Roblox in a way.

 

[Meredith]

Should I just trust that the (rather obsessive) interest will fade and move into something else?

 

It's good to "catch" yourself when you find you're describing a child's interests as "obsessive" and give that some thought. There's this weird cultural expectation, perhaps caused by school, perhaps other reasons, that it's somehow unnatural for kids to dive into something deeply, to be passionate. We expect children to be light-minded and lukewarm, but we don't exactly value those traits in adults! Kids, even young children, do become engrossed in ideas and projects. Not all children, but a great many can spend amazing amounts of time focused on something that fascinates them.

 

Sometimes they move on to another passion, but there are life-long passions, too. If you son was spending the same amount of time playing the piano, or reading science books, would you be as concerned? That's another cultural prejudice to watch for - are you valuing some kinds of learning, some interests over others?

 

So the short answer to the question "Is this how its supposed to be?" is Yes! This is one of the ways learning happens!

[Kerry M.]

Alex,

What is Roblox? what age is it geared for? just wondering!

 

Thanks,

 

Kerry~

[Alex Polikowsky]

Roblox is an online game where you can build your own game, play games built by other players, make and sell "clothing" for Roblox characters. Its a pretty amazing game and that is how MD learned to read!

Go to Roblox.com and get an account. They are free!

Other great online games

Minecraft ( my son has learned heaps on Mining, making steel, building, etc)

Blockland

Runescape

Mapple Story

Wizard 101

 Disney has a bunch of good games too like Pirates of the Caribean, Toontown etc

 all above are free but you can get paid membership for more perks.

 Lots of learning on them.

Plus my son can read maps well, is great at puzzles, handeye coordination, doing tasks to get what he wants or save "money" to buy stuff on the games. They are all complex and simple at the same time. It all depends how you want to play.

 

[Maria Kansy]

My 8-year-old son loves Roblox. He plays for hours most every day. Here is our problem...he will spend most of the day creating this elaborate building, and then some other players come and destroy it. This causes my son to completely freak out. He gets SO upset. He starts throwing the mouse, throwing things at the computer monitor, hitting anyone (including me) who comes to make sure he is OK. He is completely undone by these other players who seem to be out to destroy whatever he has built and just keep attacking and killing him. Is this the way the game is supposed to be played? It is causing my son a lot of grief and it breaks my heart to see him so upset. But he loves the game. I know I shouldn't force him to stop playing, but I don't know what to do when he is so out of control.

I'm learning to steer away from labels for my child, so let's just say he has trouble controlling his emotions, in general.This is extreme behavior however, and I would love to hear if anyone else has experienced anything like this.

[Alex Polikowsky]

Well if I had spent all this time and work building and some one came and destroyed it I too would have gotten really upset and I would have a melt down.

Help your son by finding a way to make his creation ( place) undestructible.

He can also report people if they are not following the rules of HIS game.

Make sure he has rules writen out on his place description.

He can also make his game for friends only.

 

My son told me to tell your son :

"Tell him to lock his creation and anchor  all his bricks. Do not give them hammers ( deleting tools).

[Sandra Ostapowich]

Maria, what's your son's name in game? Maybe our boys can find each other. Simbot34 is my son.

[Maria Kansy]

Thank you so much for the insight! We didn't realize that the tools/weapons were optional. He was building at other player's places. Now, he looks for places to build that do not have any weapons. This should help. Also, I am going to sit down with him and try to help him figure out how to navigate the site. He would be more willing to build at his own place if he had more things to build with. So we will figure it out together.

I feel a lot better about it now.

 

[Maria Kansy]

His player name is AwsomeGregory (no e in awsome)! Thanks! He would love a friend.

Sandra Ostapowich said:

Maria, what's your son's name in game? Maybe our boys can find each other. Simbot34 is my son.

[Kathy T.]

I can't wait to tell my son about these games!! He's gonna love it. He play WoW and tinkers around on Kidopo. He likes that. But, these will be neat to tell him about. Thanks!!!