From Roblox to TikTok: What positive interactions look like for children online
As children grow, their behaviours change, both offline and online. This blog looks at what has changed around communications online, and what you can do to be prepared for these changes.
As children grow, their behaviours change, both offline and online. Where an 8-year-old might go to the park to play, a 14-year-old might go to the park to chat and hang with friends. Similarly, while an 8-year-old might play single-player games on Roblox, a 14-year-old might prefer to find community on TikTok. As such, the ways they interact with others must change and develop with age.
The Online Safety Act, age assurance and proposed social media bans also mean that the way children communicate now is likely to change over the next few years. Here’s what to know and what to do to help your child interact with others positively and safely online.
What does the law look like now?
In July 2025, the Online Safety Act required platforms which allowed pornography or otherwise harmful content to introduce age checks for their users. The platforms needed to verify exact age or estimate age using methods like live selfies and ID uploads. This was done to make sure only adults could access sites which provided adult content.
While social media and online games platforms do not fall under this requirement, many have started introducing age checks and age-specific experiences. Roblox, for example, announced Roblox Kids with no communication options and Roblox Select with limited communication options.
Calls for a social media ban
Alongside age assurance, the past year saw a growing call from concerned parents to ban social media for under-16s in the UK. One large driver of this was the similar ban passed in Australia in December 2025.
In response to campaigns for a ban, the UK government gave the public and organisations the chance to share their views and concerns. Under law in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, the government had to introduce some sort of restriction or ban on services or features based on the responses they collected. As such, in June 2026, the government confirmed that the UK would:
- Ban social media for under-16s;
- Restrict livestreaming and chat with strangers for under-16s;
- Potentially introduce overnight curfews and scrolling breaks for under-18s;
- Enforce age minimums of 18+ for AI ‘romantic companion’ chatbots;
- Limit ‘intimate functionalities’ on AI chatbots for under-18s.
While the full list of affected platforms has not yet been announced, it will likely impact some features in games.
The new rules are planned to take effect from spring 2027.
How to encourage positive online interactions
As the law develops, we might see a lot of changes in the types of platforms children use. However, these changes will take time and so it’s important as a parent to still play an active role in your child’s digital life.
Even after laws and platforms change, your role is key to helping them enjoy a safe and positive time online.
What ‘positive interactions’ look like
The way your child communicates online will vary by platform and by age. However, the following are three general behaviours that can help your child keep their interactions positive online.
Uplifting and supporting others
This can look like telling someone they played a good game, even if they made mistakes. It can also mean leaving kind comments on someone’s post and reporting unkind comments to the platform.
Encourage your child to think before commenting or posting online: is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary? If they answer ‘no’ to any of these questions, then they shouldn’t say it.
Putting themselves in others’ shoes
Practising empathy online (e.g. ‘how would that feel if it happened to me?’) can help keep your child’s digital spaces positive. This means pausing before they say or do something to another user in games and apps.
Respecting online boundaries
This includes enforcing their own boundaries and listening to others’ boundaries. It can look like asking a friend for permission before sharing photos or videos of them online. Or when someone says ‘stop’ or is getting upset, your child listens and stops.
For themselves, it can mean blocking, muting and reporting users who don’t respect your child’s boundaries.
Top 3 tips to help kids interact positively online
- Set parental controls. Limit who your child can talk to online and what they can add to their devices by setting parental controls across networks, devices, apps and platforms. You can generally limit communication to friends only (or no one) and also restrict whether strangers can privately message your child.
- Manage screen time. Help your child balance their time between different platforms, games and apps to keep them from getting too drawn into one community or group of people. The Power Up Pact can help you set screen time boundaries.
- Discuss their online life. Regular conversations about your child’s digital experiences can help them understand positive interactions online and what to do if things become more negative. These regular chats also show that they have an open space to share their concerns, which can help them stay safer.
Key things to remember:
- Remember that your child changes a lot as they grow. So, what works for them (and you) now might change in the near future. That means it’s important to be adaptable and check-in with them regularly.
- Review any rules you agree on, revisit boundaries and controls you set, and remind them what positive online interactions look like.
- As the laws develop, talk with them about the changes to help them adapt and continue enjoying their time online.
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