Use a real child account
Set the correct age and connect the account to the platform's family controls. Restrictions applied to a child account will not protect an adult account that everyone shares.
BASTIONHOST / GAMES, CHAT & PERSONAL QUESTIONS
GAMES, CHAT & PERSONAL QUESTIONS
Make the game quieter before your child has to judge a stranger.
A friendly player can still ask a question a child should not answer. The safest starting point for younger children is to limit contact first, then practise a simple route back to a trusted grown-up.
START HERE
Set the boundary before you test it.
Do not begin by teaching a young child how to work out whether a player seems genuine. Begin by reducing who can contact them and making personal questions a clear reason to stop.
Start with known people only
For younger children, block unknown players from sending messages, voice chat, friend requests or invitations. Open one feature at a time when there is a clear reason.
Make the response predictable
Agree the words your child can use: Someone asked about real life. I did not answer. Praise the telling before you investigate the account or message.
PRACTICAL SETUP
Work through the real account and device.
Do not rely on what a parent dashboard appears to show. Apply the control, then check the result while signed in as the child.
List the games and accounts that can receive messages
Check the actual device with your child. Include the game account, the console account and any linked chat service. A game can have its own controls even when the console is already restricted.
Put each child on their own account
Use the child's correct age and keep the adult account protected with a password or passcode. Check which adult can change family settings and remove any old accounts the child can still open.
Restrict communication at platform level
Set voice, text, invitations, clubs and user-created content to Block or Friends according to the child's readiness. PlayStation, Nintendo, Xbox and individual games use different wording, so check both layers.
Review friends instead of counting them
Ask who each name belongs to and how the child knows them. A familiar display name is not proof of identity. Remove people neither of you can place.
Find block and report before they are needed
Open one harmless profile or old message and locate the controls together. Do not submit a false report. The aim is to remove the panic of searching for the button during a real problem.
Practise the personal-question rule
Use simple examples such as a real name, school, street, club, timetable or current location. The child does not need to explain or challenge the player. They can stop, leave and tell.
Test from the child's account
Ask a trusted adult account to send a friend request or message. Confirm the request is blocked or appears exactly as intended. A parent dashboard is not proof until the child's screen behaves correctly.
TEN-MINUTE TEST
Check what your child actually sees.
- The game opens under the child's account, not an adult account
- Unknown players cannot send text or voice messages
- Friend requests and invitations match the family rule
- The child can leave a game without asking the other player
- You can both find block and report controls
- The child can name two trusted grown-ups they would tell
The family rule
Games are for playing. Real names, schools, home addresses and live locations stay in real life. If a player asks, do not answer. Leave the message on screen if it is safe to do so and bring it to a trusted grown-up.
What the settings cannot promise
These controls reduce contact. They cannot confirm who another player really is, stop every message inside a game or control a separate service such as Discord. Recheck the setup after a new device, game update or linked account change.
Current official instructionsPlayStation parental controls and communication settings ↗Nintendo Switch parental controls ↗Epic Games parental controls ↗Roblox parental controls overview ↗
Written by Kevin Turnbull. Last reviewed 21 August 2026. Services, settings and menu names change. Check the current official instructions while applying this guide. This is practical parent-to-parent guidance, not emergency safeguarding advice. Find UK help and reporting services.
PARENT-WRITTEN GUIDANCE
Keep the rule easier than the setting.
A young child should not need to understand every privacy menu. Make unknown contact harder, practise the words they can use and keep telling safe.
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