LisaM

09/12/2018

www.lisamalicky.com
Roblox! and is it safe for my kids?

Roblox is one of the most played games for kids in 2017 there over 30 million users subscribed. So what exactly is it? Roblox is a user created online game where people create mini games for other to play.

Once users sign up they are given a plot of land where they can develop a house an avatar and be part of a massive online community. With in that there are mini games like obstacles, shooting games, hunting and puzzle games.

I figured I would list the pros and cons of the game so you can determine how comfortable you feel about it.

Pros

Its an online multiplayer game that allows for kids to be creative and engage with other people

It gives kids the sense of achievement when they complete games others have made or if other people participate in games they have made.

It teaches planning and encourages kids to use the full extent of their imagination engineering and constructing things.

They can use in game monetization where they can make in game money to purchase new and better items for their avatar and land.

The monetization feature encourage kids to think outside the box and get even more creative because they simply cant do what everyone else is doing as they wont make money.

There is literally no end as to what the kids can create they can be super heroes, they can create a zoo, a theme park, a space ship and fashion show the options are endless.

It gives kids the chance to be a game developer and a game tester and puts them in a community with other developers and testers.

They have got some parental controls systems in place to safe guard kids. The 13+ rule means that kids under the age of 13 are blocked from violent and inappropriate games. You can block all in game chat and invite functions meaning no one can contact them or speak to them.

There is a profanity filter which prevents certain common swear words and the like being used. However even with this in place it doesn't stop people trying to creatively use profanity in the chat log.

Cons

It is super easy for kids to create a ghost account (a second account which does not have the parent controls in place)

Because it is open open community and targets kids predominately there is always a predator risk and teach kids about online safety is crucial. Other wise keep the privacy as private so people can not invite or speak to your child while in game.

If you do use the highest privacy settings it means your kids cant play with their friends. This takes the fun out of it for them.

There are no private servers like in Minecraft once they enter a server they enter it with everyone else.

You can but in game purchases. it is not needed but sometime the pressure to have the biggest and best in the game could lead the kids to feeling the need to spend real money.

There has been reports of children coming across s*xual type encounters with others mimicking s*x moves. Roblox I believe are aware of this and are hopefully fixing it.

Bullying this is always a risk in any online game especially where in game chat is a feature.

So how can you safe guard your kids while they are playing roblox?

1. Talk to them about stranger danger. It may seem cliche but the risk is real. If you allow your child to play and talk to people unsupervised anything could happen. Make sure they are aware never to give their age, name or location to anyone! even if they are a "friend"

2. Supervise them. If you think you child is a bit of a loose cannon with information then keep an eye on them. I remember my son (7 yearsold) was playing it and he came and asked how to spell the town we live in. I asked him why he said "my friend wants to know" this raised alarm bells and I straight away had to tell him again that if he spoke to people about those types of things I would turn the chat and friends part off. He since has come and told me every time someone asks for personal information and we make sure to block them and report them to roblox.

3. Talk to them often, ask who they played with and what type of things they did in the game. If you show you are interested in the game and want to learn they will likely tell you of any untoward or inappropriate things that have happened in game. Communication with your kids is absolutely crucial in the online game world.

4. If you child experiences bullying which is again common in online gaming don't tell them to simply stop playing or get over it. Bullying online is as real and if not worse than school yard bullying. Your kids need to know you have the ability to help them. The advantage to online is its super easy to remove and block the bullies you just have to show your kids that it is 100% OK to block them as soon as they start to feel uncomfortable. They don't have to be friends with everyone.

14/11/2018

Game ratings and why you should pay attention!

So many kids are great little salesmen. They can con their parents into almost anything. Even an MA15+ game or an R rated game. They may tell you "its only R rated because you shoot stuff" sound familiar?

As a parent we all have a different set of standards as to what we want our children to see. So when choosing games, the game classifications can be a super easy guide to help you decide.

My rule of thumbs is anything rated G, PG or M is likely to be fine it may contain animated violence or unrealistic scenes but 9 out 10 times you will find they are suitable for most kids.

Anything rated MA 15+ or R 18+ you need to research before you allow to play it. There is a couple of really easy ways to do this. Firstly read the actual rating and find out why its been rated MA or R is it violence and language? or s*xual content etc. If that doesn't give you enough information check out videos of people playing the game. There are millions of streamers (aka people who live record themselves playing videos games) which show true content of the game. This will give you a very clear idea of what the game is about and if its online it will also show you about the online community that play that particular type of games

To find live streams check out www.twitch.tv there is a little search icon on the top left of the home page. You can search game titles in there. If that fails and there are no streams of the games you need try www.youtube.com and there is a good chance you will find it there.

Once you know the content of the game its super easy to help your kids through various encounters they may have in the game, if for any reason the game brings up questions at least if you have researched it you can remain one step ahead of them.

According the Australian government the ratings are as follows;

The content is very mild in impact.The G classification is suitable for everyone. G products may contain classifiable elements such as language and themes that are very mild in impact.However, some G-classified films or computer games may contain content that is not of interest to children.

The impact of PG (Parental Guidance) classified films and computer games should be no higher than mild, but they may contain content that children find confusing or upsetting and may require the guidance of parents and guardians. They may, for example, contain classifiable elements such as language and themes that are mild in impact.It is not recommended for viewing or playing by persons under 15 without guidance from parents or guardians.

M - Films and computer games classified M (Mature) contain content of a moderate impact and are recommended for teenagers aged 15 years and over.Children under 15 may legally access this material because it is an advisory category. However, M classified films and computer games may include classifiable elements such as violence and nudity of moderate impact that are not recommended for children under 15 years.Parents and guardians may need to find out more about the film or computer game’s specific content, before deciding whether the material is suitable for their child.

MA 15+ classified material contains strong content and is legally restricted to persons 15 years and over. It may contain classifiable elements such as s*x scenes and drug use that are strong in impact.A person may be asked to show proof of their age before hiring or purchasing an MA 15+ film or computer game. Cinema staff may also request that the person show proof of their age before allowing them to watch an MA 15+ film. Children under the age of 15 may not legally watch, buy or hire MA 15+ classified material unless they are in the company of a parent or adult guardian. Children under 15 who go to the cinema to see an MA 15+ film must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian for the duration of the film. The parent or adult guardian must also purchase the movie ticket for the child.The guardian must be an adult exercising parental control over the person under 15 years of age. The guardian needs to be 18 years or older.

R 18+ material is restricted to adults. Such material may contain classifiable elements such as s*x scenes and drug use that are high in impact. Some material classified R18+ may be offensive to sections of the adult community. A person may be asked for proof of their age before purchasing, hiring or viewing R18+ films and computer games at a retail store or cinema.

for further information visit http://www.classification.gov.au

06/11/2018

Christmas is around the corner and I'm sure the kids are housing you to buy them a new gaming console! Here is my thoughts on Xbox for families.

The Xbox is a personal favourite of mine but that is only because I've always had Xbox then I married a guy who also only ever plays Xbox.

I found the Xbox menu a little longer to navigate around but once I worked out the icons and menu I actually prefer the layout over PS4. Its smooth and to me just makes sense.

So again just briefly in terms of tech stuff, the Xbox one X. It has been marketed as the most powerful gaming console next to PC and has only been out for a few weeks. It has true 4k compatibility and a crazy fast GPU which enables super quick loading times are any these added feature something your kid will notice? probably not.

Now on to the pros and Cons of the Xbox One S

Pros

There are a whole bunch of backwards compatible games with the Xbox 360;

It has an Ultra High Definition built in Blu-Ray DVD player;

The wireless controller can work further away from the console meaning the kids aren't sitting on top of the TV while playing;

You can hook your TV up through the Xbox and use it as a media centre for your TV;

You can download a bunch of media apps for watching Netflix, live streams, music and YouTube making the Xbox an excellent media centre;

An extensive rage of kids games are available;

You can create a fully customizable family account to which each user has its own permissions and usage allocation.

Cons

You have to be on the internet all the time, some people would argue this point but the console constantly needs updating and if you don't keep it updated you end up with a back up of stuff that will need to be downloaded when you do finally connect to the internet, it also hinders some game play and even your ability to save games.

Limited feature addons - The use of the Kinect ( a game with a camera, which was hugely popular in older models of the Xbox one) don't fit with the One S unless you get an adaptor and there is no VR sets for the Xbox just yet.

The Xbox one S has no 4k gaming compatibility meaning if 4k gaming is important you have to get the Xbox One X which is almost double the price.

The parental controls are complex and not all that easy to set up however you can customise individual profiles for each child which I guess is handy if you have teens and youngsters playing the same console.

Parental control options are available;

Active Reporting- I love this feature you can get emails sent to you letting you know how much time you child is spending on the console;

Privacy - blocking certain websites and content;

screen time - you can select the times of the day you want your child to be allowed on their console;

Age controls- You can block them from being able to download games or content that is inappropriate to them.

While setting up the parent controls is a little harder on the Xbox One S you have so many more options in tailoring the use of the console to your family needs.

05/11/2018

The Nintendo Switch would have to be my favourite console for kids and big kids alike!

Its so many things but is it even that good?

When you think of Nintendo what the first thing that pops into your head? Mario or maybe Zelda? Nintendo has all the classic games they are the makers of some of the best. the Nintendo Switch came out in March of this year so it is still fairly new concept. The Nintendo switch is probably the most versatile console around.

The switch can be used as a handheld device similar to a Nintendo DS or Gameboy and is also similar to the Nintendo Wii with its motion controls. So its portable and gets the kids up and moving!

Pros

Its versatile, you can play it on the TV or remove it from the dock and it becomes a portable device you can play anywhere;

It has the WiFi option so you can play online games, however the internet dependency seems far less on the switch than other consoles;

It has motion controls meaning in some games the kids can get up and jump around;

The switch plays at 1080p or 60FPS meaning whether your playing on the TV or as a portable console the game still looks super pretty;

It comes with two controllers straight out of the box (so one less expense)

Heaps of new games coming out on including classics like Doom and Skyrim;

The controls are small and perfect for little hands you can also get accessories to make it more comfortable for bigger hands if the small controls are awkward to use.

The games come on cartridges so you don't have to worry about scratched discs. The cartridge is the size of a small SD card, if you have kids that like put things in their mouth they wont with these because they made the cartridge taste horrid;

You can download an app on your phone to use the parental controls meaning you can set up the controls from you own device (you do need your console on WiFi to do this and have an Android or Apple phone) and see how much your child has been playing on the console;

The online membership for online gaming will be cheaper than Xbox and PlayStation.

There is no in game voice or messaging this will all need to be done via the app so again super easy for monitoring.

Cons

The internal memory is quite small so you will need at some point to purchase an external memory card

The battery life on it when your not using it on the TV is around 3.5-4 hours;

When its in portable mode the screen can pick up a large amount of glare;

There are currently no video media and streaming capabilities on the switch just yet. However there is talk of netflix and a few other app enabled media tools coming to the switch.

Come early 2018 Nintendo will release their online services app which you will need to subscribe to in order to play online games.

Parental controls available;

An app which you can use to set alarms and timers to limit usage on the console;

You can limit online content;

Because there is no in game messaging or voice you don't have to worry about changing those setting on the console unless you give them access to the app where they will be able to message and talk to their friends.

So the switch is still new however I think it definitely rates as a top console. The portability of the console is second to none. I feel the switch is probably the most user friendly for kids the games are mostly kids friendly with the exception of a few. The switch still has potential and I can only hope they keep moving things along with it because as great as it is there is still so much that could be done to make it better.

31/10/2018

Are you prepared to let your kids play online video games?

A lot can be said about kids playing online video games. As a parent you could ask you self this "would I let my child unaccompanied into a pub where there are a lot of people at various ages talking about various things?" Think of the online gaming world like the pub. There is a chance there are some weirdos, bullys, drunks, young men, old men, young women and older women. They talk about things from the weather, the drugs they are using, the school they went too and probably who they slept with on the weekend. But there are sometimes the nicest coolest people you will ever meet too.

Now I have probably scared you thinking oh my god I am never letting my kids play video games online EVER AGAIN!! the online game world can be all those things above but it can also be safe, engaging and a lot of fun if its done properly.

I know myself when I jump into a game and I hear a little kid jump in the chat and say hello I cringe. I cringe because I know I swear, I cringe because I get frustrated and I cringe because sometimes I am an ass! But sometimes I am also super nice and friendly. However when I am playing a game that is targeted at adults MA15+ or above and kids come on its makes it hard for me because I want to behave and not be a dick but I sometimes the content in the game is far worse than what comes out of my mouth and so if I say mean or stupid stuff and your letting your kids play an R rated game then well.. I guess I you can expect it wont always be rosey.

Here are a few tips on what you can do if your kids are playing online to ensure your kids have a positive online experience.

- Supervise and listen to the conversations (just like if you went to the pub for a counter meal with your kids and old mate at the bar starts talking about what he did to his Mrs the night before) by being there and hearing whats going on you can stop it before it goes to far and your kids hear to much.

- Teach your kids how to be resilient if people are mean or criticise them teach them ways to express there feelings. So many parents say that video games make their kids aggressive and angry. Even as an adult gaming makes me angry however as an adult I have learnt how to separate my in game anger frustration from real life.

-Teach your kids about stranger danger. Teach them about what information is OK to tell people and what information you must keep private. Ensure your kids know how to block or remove people who push for private information or try to bribe information out them for things like in game credits etc.

- Engage with your kids while they play games ask them about the game get them to teach you how to play and have a go, be interested in what they are doing.

- If you are not comfortable with them talking to randoms on the internet use the parental controls on your console to disable in game chat. Set them up on private communication apps like Discord and team speak. That way they only talk to people they know.

Don't let all this scare you into not letting your kids play online video games. The real world is probably far more scary than the online one. The key is to be there and teach your kids life lessons like stranger danger, how to deal with people and difficult situations. Give them as many tools as you can to ensure they will be able to game safely and support them when they have a bad experience. Depression and mental health issues are real and if your child is having repeated negative online experiences this could lead to problems for them. That doesn't just count for online gaming but social media too!

31/10/2018

GAMING ADVICE FOR PARENTS ON MICROPURCHASING!

Do your kids (or maybe you) enjoy playing free games on the Ipad? do you find they get to a certain point and they cant go any further with out buying some random gems, gold or some sort of in game credit. See where I am going with this?



Micro purchasing it is just a way of saying you will only succeed at this if you pay to win or have the patience of a saint. So many games these days aren't won on skill, you don't get good at the game all you do is spend money to better at the game. There is no challenge.



I am not really a fan of letting kids make in game purchases. It doesn't teach them anything except for you need to have a lot of money or you will be forever crap.



If your kids ask you to make in game purchases make sure you look at why they need it. Are they are experiencing peer pressure to be better at the game, from other people. Perhaps someone in the game is offering a "deal".



This can also cause kids in particular to think that they can buy there way out of a tricky situation. So before allowing them to make that purchase do some research and find out if it is something that is the best for your kids.



Basically think of micro purchases as the "the person who spends the most money is the winner" that's the game!

23/03/2018

Just a flesh wound ,😂 Specialfx

16/03/2018

If anyone is wondering what I get up to on a Friday night.. here it is 😂😂 twitch.tv/lisam if you don't like bad language probs don't watch 😂😂

Maybe this season Ill get to diamond :P

16/03/2018

Twitch.tv/lisam

12/02/2018

Got killed by hackers last night grrr (p.s. does contain swearing)

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world.

07/02/2018

https://youtu.be/dB6sZxbgh3Y

Unfortunately this is in spectator view as I forgot to turn on my recording software so annoying!!!