If JP was standing before me, he would say something like, “Hello, my name is JP and I am addicted to my iPad, namely Roblox.” 

However, he’s not standing in front of me, mostly b/c he’s not currently speaking to me.  I removed Roblox from his iPad, and in case you’re wondering, removing Roblox is the End of the World.  I learn something new every day.  

I didn’t make the decision hastily.  I’ve been bothered for weeks.  I began seeing red flags months ago and I’m ashamed to admit that I pretty much ignored them.

Pause your eye rolls long enough to hear me out.  It’s not like I set out to ignore him.  I didn’t.  I just got busy.  Parents, you understand.  When I am busy working on my laptop, it’s just easier to allow him extra time b/c it pacifies him.  Now you can pick up your stones.  I know, I’m pretty terrible.  

Anyway.  JP became moody, rude and developed quite a colorful vocabulary.  He wasn’t ‘technically’ cussing, but I still wanted to shove a bar of Dial soap down his throat.  And maybe I should have.  

ADHD & ROBLOX

I would like to caution all parents against the game, Roblox, but if your child has ADHD, I (strongly) advise you to think twice before allowing them access.  If you have done your research, my hat’s off to you (you’re one step ahead of me).  I’m not here to tell you how to raise your child.  Seriously.  I have my hands full and am doing a less than adequate job. I just feel like if we as parents, (especially of children who have special needs), have the opportunity to learn from one another, we really, really should!

As I was saying, if you’ve made the decision to let your kiddos play Roblox, that’s definitely your right.  You’re welcome to stop reading now because I am here today to address the ones who, like me, aren’t fully aware of the dangers associated with the game. 

I’m not going to dive into too much detail.  I just encourage you to type Roblox into your Google search engine.  You’ll find enough reading material to keep you busy for DAYS.

I’m totally not one of these parents who gets spooked easily.  There’s danger in every aspect of the internet.  Facebook, Instagram (let’s not even talk about where those hashtags will lead you) Twitter, etc.  As we’ve discussed in past posts, JP has issues with impulsiveness and explosiveness.  His reactions rarely (if ever) match the situation at hand. These are textbook characteristics of ADHD.

After allowing him to play this “game,” I began to notice that his intolerance for sounds, and honestly everything around him, sky-rocketed.  It really concerned me.  He was in a bad mood probably 80% of the time, which is NOT like him at all.  Long, drawn out story short, I hopped on the computer (like I am hoping you’ll do) and began my research.  Of course I had to sift through all the whiny parental forums, most of which make me wanna puke, but at the end of the day, and to JP’s disappointment, I found that Roblox can be a really scary place for kids. Especially my kid.

I want to interject here to say that I know children who play Roblox and it has not negatively impacted their personality or behavior.  So I will say it again, this post is NOT for everyone.  I am not mom-shaming, believe me.  I am simply sharing my opinion and reasons for removing it from our home. 

OTHER APPS JP DOESN’T HAVE ACCESS TO:

YouTube, Safari/Chrome/Internet Explorer, Five Nights at Freddy’s 

Things have already changed for the better.  The improvement in his demeanor was instantaneous.  I guess this has been sort of a dreary post.  In the future maybe I’ll put together a list of apps and games JP does successfully use on his iPad.  Let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in reading!