Children gaming online? — 'know who they're with' advice

Kilcullen based operator of the 'Game Machine' mobile party gaming theatres, Majella Leighton, is offering common sense advice to parents that they should be aware of whom their children are playing with online, writes Brian Byrne.

She says the game content should be secondary to parents focusing on the group they are in and the chat involved in games such as a current favourite, Fortnite. The game can be played by individuals alone or in teams on the Fortnite Battle Royale island.

"The game can be played in a private group with friends of a child only, or publicly where they play with whomever joins their group," says Majella, who established Game Machine in 2014. Her business's high-tech mobile theatres offer supervised games play for young people on party and similar occasions.

"Parents should monitor friends added to their children's circle and exclude friends of friends," she adds. "Chat can be turned on or off, and is best turned off if they are playing publicly. Be mindful that if your child is using a headset, then you can’t hear the chat, but they do need the microphone to communicate with their friends while in the game ... it’s a balancing act. It’s also worth considering where they are playing, for instance on a TV in the kitchen or in their bedroom."

On the Fortnite game trending at the moment, The Battle Royale map itself is free to download, but there are add-ons which can be purchased in the game. "Like most free games out there, the free to download game and play feature looks great. But to get the best kits and features, you need to buy V-Bucks which is the internal game currency. This is then used to buy add ons."

There is also a campaign version of the game 'Save the World' that is chargeable, where a player can work their way through levels, and can earn V-Bucks as they go. The play in this version is as a single player or with the help of one friend.

"Parents should control the purchasing of items on any of the platforms. Be careful if your credit card details are saved on the game console, as without the correct settings in place it is very easy to make online purchases without a password being required. We have heard of children spending hundreds of euro on Fornite without their parent’s permission."