Your child asks to play Roblox, or some app that didn't exist when you were their age, and the first instinct is to Google the parental controls. In this episode I sit down with Dr. Elizabeth Milovidov, founder of DigitalParentingCoach.com and Roblox's first head of parental advocacy, to talk about why that instinct is only half the answer. Her reframe: parental controls are the training wheels, and it's the conversation that teaches your family how to steer. Dr. Milovidov explains what Roblox actually is (a platform with millions of user-created games, not one single game), what the new Roblox Kids and Roblox Select age tiers change for families, and how to keep a kid from shutting down when you bring any of it up. We get practical: the curiosity-first opener, the 5 W's, letting kids set their own limits so the limits stick, the exact question to ask when you suspect they saw something they shouldn't have, and why it's never too late to start. What you'll learn What parental controls do well, and what only a conversation can do How to flip from interrogating to curious, so your kid shows you their world Strategies before rules: preparing kids for hard moments online the way we teach them to cross the street What Roblox actually is, and what Roblox Kids (5-8) and Roblox Select (9-15) change The 5 W's: who, what, where, when, and at what time The exact question to ask when you think your child saw something inappropriate In this episode 00:00 - Welcome, and what we're getting into today 01:22 - Two founders, one domain: the digitalparenting.com story 02:39 - Why we Google "parental controls" instead of "how to talk to my kid" 03:35 - Training wheels: what controls do well and what they can't replace 04:31 - The curiosity flip: interested, not interrogating 05:39 - When the answer isn't what you want to hear: strategies first 06:43 - Kids set the rules: turning limits into a conversation 08:05 - The kid who shuts down: trusted adults, cool cousins, small moments 10:52 - What Roblox actually is (a platform, not a game) 12:30 - Who makes the games: user-generated content, explained 14:07 - The Learning Hub, and why you should never say "educational games" 14:46 - "My child wants to play Roblox. Is that okay?" 15:08 - Roblox Kids and Roblox Select: what the new age tiers change 17:18 - What the kitchen-table conversation actually sounds like 17:53 - A ten-minute research date: checking Common Sense Media together 20:14 - The 5 W's every parent can keep in mind 21:43 - The "icky in your stomach" question for hard moments 23:11 - Lean on other parents: the community layer 23:52 - Started late? You can start tomorrow 25:28 - Coffee-chat agreements: shared norms for play times, devices, and AI 26:44 - Three things to remember this week 28:58 - Never too late, and a closing word About the guest Dr. Elizabeth Milovidov has spent more than twenty years helping families navigate digital life. She is the founder of DigitalParentingCoach.com and co-founder of Digitalem.org with her son Maximilian, a youth safety advocate. She serves as an independent expert on digital parenting and children's rights for the Council of Europe, has advised Microsoft and European Schoolnet, and served as senior counsel on digital gaming and metaverse at the LEGO Group. In 2025 she became Roblox's first head of parental advocacy, where she is Senior Director of Global Parental Advocacy. Resources and links Digital Parenting Coach: https://www.digitalparentingcoach.com/ The Roblox Learning Hub: https://www.roblox.com/games/92498145666402/...
