Pinderfields Hospital

Evidence-led education to help prevent gaming and gambling harms

Ygam work to prevent children and young people from experiencing gaming and gambling harms through awareness raising, education and research. Prevention of these harms may not always be at the top of the pile of public health priorities; nevertheless, they are an increasingly essential part of protecting young people growing up in a digital world. And we know that prevention is always better than cure.

Unicef have shared an article with some nice, clear and simple advice for parents/carers about online gaming. The article covers how to create a positive and safe gaming environment, how parents can engage with their children, what the benefits or gaming are and more.

You can view the article on the Unicef website HERE.

GAMING

Epic is a games store and also games-playing platform where children can play games such as Fortnite, Fall Guys and Rocket League. There are a number of good parental features available for under 13's including: chatting, in-app purchasing, inappropriate content and more.

Take a look at THIS great guide.

Here you will find game overviews and age ratings for computer games.

Click HERE to take a look at an explanation of the PEGI age ratings.

XBox Gaming Safety Toolkit

Many children and young people will be using Xbox gaming stations at home and as such Microsoft have put together quite a comprehensive toolkit (a PDF document) for parents, children and young people that goes into quite a lot of depth, including parental controls, guidance for all ages, common safety risks, bullying, unwanted contact and more. There is also age-specific guidance (from 5 years upwards) and case studies.

The toolkit has been produced for gamers in Australia and new Zealand, but the information is all the same regardless.

The link to the toolkit, which is a free PDF download is HERE.

May 23

Microsoft have released some new management features that parents can use. Available for iOS and Android, it is a free download and it has some great features, e.g.:

Create new child accounts.
Manage screen time limits (including grant more time).
Accept or decline friend requests.
View and manage friends list.

Roblox

New Age Rating and Parental Controls

Roblox is an incredibly popular games across all ages, but particularly children. Until now Roblox has been rated 10+ by ESRB and 7+ by PEGI. This has changed to 'Teen' by ESRB and 'PEGI ! Parental Guidance Recommended' by PEGI. Additionally, Roblox is introducing more parental controls to filter different experiences dependent on the age of the user. This is an interesting and welcome development due to the incredible amount of user-generated content within Roblox, and a change that I'm sure many parents will welcome.

To read more you can view THIS article in Forbes.

What is Palworld?

Palworld is a new game similar to Pokemon and Digimon with a PEGI rating of 12 for fantasy-character-style violence. Given its similarity to Pokemon there's every likelihood that younger children will be playing this game and so Internet Matters have compiled some advice and guidance for parents about the game: what it is, how it works, safety settings etc.

You can find the article HERE.

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