Online Gaming Safety for Kids: A Parent’s Guide to Roblox, Discord and Fortnite Parental Controls

Roblox parental controls, Discord safety settings and Fortnite chat limits are worth setting up before the holidays. New consoles, gift cards and game downloads arrive every holiday season, and so do new friend requests from strangers. Online games are where many kids spend their free time, talk with friends and build community. They are also places where people who want to exploit children go looking for them. Predators use in-game chat, voice channels and private messages to build trust, offer gifts like in-game currency, and move conversations to more private apps.

The good news: the platforms your child uses most now have strong safety settings. This guide walks you through setting up Roblox, Discord and Fortnite before the games are unwrapped, and gives you a simple plan for the conversations that matter just as much as the settings.

Before Anything Is Unwrapped: A 15-Minute Setup Plan

1. Create the account with your child, not for them. Use their real birth date. Every platform below uses age to decide which safety defaults apply.
2. Set up a parent account and link it. Roblox, Discord (Family Center) and Epic Games (Fortnite) all let parents connect to a child’s account.
3. Turn on a parental PIN or password so settings cannot be changed without you.
4. Limit chat to friends, or turn it off for younger children.
5. Set spending limits. Gifts of in-game currency are one of the most common grooming tactics.
6. Keep gaming in shared spaces, like the living room, especially for younger kids.
7. Agree on a “come to me” rule: if anyone makes them uncomfortable, asks for photos or asks to move to another app, they tell you and they will not be in trouble.

Roblox Parental Controls

In 2026 Roblox moved to age-based accounts. Children are placed in an account type that matches their age:

• Roblox Kids (ages 5 to 8): chat is off by default and kids see a curated set of games.
• Roblox Select (ages 9 to 15): chat opens up gradually with age, limited to people in similar age groups or “Trusted Friends.”
• Standard Roblox (16 and up): requires an age check.

Users who have not completed an age check cannot chat at all. To set up Roblox parental controls:

• Link your parent account to your child’s account from the Parental Controls section of settings.
• Review the friend list and approve or decline Trusted Friend requests. Trusted Friends should be people your child knows in real life.
• Choose chat settings. For children under 9, you can allow limited text chat or keep it off. For older children, you can change chat settings and block specific games until they turn 16.
• Set screen-time and spending limits and turn on spending notifications.
• Block and report any user who makes your child uncomfortable.

Discord Parental Controls and Family Center

Discord is where many gamers talk while they play, which makes it one of the most important apps to understand. Discord requires users to be at least 13. In 2026 Discord rolled out “teen-by-default” settings for all users:

• Messages from people your teen does not know go to a separate inbox.
• Friend requests from unknown accounts show a warning.
• Sensitive content is blurred, and age-restricted servers are only open to verified adults.
• Only verified adults can change these protective settings.

Discord Family Center lets you connect to your teen’s account and see a summary of their activity, such as new friends and servers joined, without reading their messages. It works best when you set it up together and explain why. Talk with your teen about who they meet in servers, and remind them that Discord will never ask them to verify their age by email or text, so any message asking for that is a scam.

Fortnite Parental Controls

Fortnite is run by Epic Games, and its parental controls are managed through your Epic account:

• Set a parental controls PIN so settings cannot be changed without you.
• Voice and text chat: choose who your child can talk to (everybody, friends and teammates, friends only, or nobody).
• Friend requests: require your approval, or turn them off.
• Purchases: require the PIN for V-Bucks purchases and set a spending limit.
• Playtime reports: turn on weekly reports so you can see how much time is spent in the game.

Younger players may be placed in a restricted (“cabined”) account until a parent gives consent for features like voice chat. Review those requests carefully rather than approving them all at once.

Red Flags to Watch For

Settings reduce risk, but no filter catches everything. Watch for these warning signs that someone may be grooming your child:

• A new “friend” who gives them in-game currency, skins or gift cards.
• Someone who asks them to keep the friendship a secret.
• Requests to move the conversation to another app, especially one with disappearing messages.
• Questions about their body, their relationships or whether their parents check their phone.
• Requests for photos, or threats to share photos (this is sextortion, and it is a crime).
• Sudden secrecy about gaming, mood changes, or staying up late to play.

Learn more about how these tactics work in our guide to how online grooming impacts child exploitation and our overview of online apps and their dangers for kids.

How to Talk With Your Child About Gaming Safety

The most powerful safety tool is a child who knows they can come to you. Try these conversation starters:

• “Who are your favorite people to play with? How did you meet them?”
• “Has anyone ever offered you Robux or V-Bucks? What did they want in return?”
• “If someone online asked you for a picture, what would you do?”
• “You will never be in trouble for telling me something that happened online.”

Our free course Start Talking: A Training for Keeping Children Safe Online helps parents and caregivers have these conversations with confidence, and it is available in English and Spanish. Younger children can practice spotting unsafe situations through our free safety game, Level Ready Quest.

If Something Has Already Happened

• Do not delete anything. Take screenshots of usernames, messages and profiles.
• Report the account on the platform.
• Report to the NCMEC CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678.
• If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
• If explicit images were shared, the free Take It Down tool from NCMEC can help remove them.

Read more in When It Happens to You: Avenues for Support if Your Child Is a Victim of Online Sexual Exploitation.

Gamers Fighting Back: Join Safe Game

Gaming can be a force for good. Our Safe Game community brings together gamers and streamers who raise money and awareness to fight child exploitation. If your family loves to play, start a fundraiser stream together this holiday season and turn game time into protection for children.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Roblox safe for kids?

Roblox can be a safer experience when parental controls are set up. Children under 16 are placed in age-based accounts with limited or no chat, and parents who link accounts can manage friends, chat, games, screen time and spending. Supervision and regular conversations are still essential.

What age is Discord for?

Discord requires users to be at least 13. Teens get protective default settings, and parents can use Family Center to see their teen’s activity.

Can strangers talk to my child on Fortnite?

Only if chat settings allow it. Set voice and text chat to “friends only” or “nobody,” require approval for friend requests, and protect the settings with a parental PIN.

What should I do if someone asks my child for photos?

Save the evidence, block and report the account, and report it to the NCMEC CyberTipline. Reassure your child that they are not in trouble.