I played Roblox with my girls all holidays and now I'm addicted

"It began as me taking interest in their interests... and I just know it will end badly. For me."

Never say never. This applies to a lot of parenting but to be honest, it isn’t something I thought I’d be saying about playing Roblox. 

But here I am. Yes, I played Roblox with my daughters and I actually enjoyed it... and now I'm addicted.

In my defence, it's school holidays and I'm trying to spend time with my girls by doing what they enjoy doing. They asked me to join them. (I blame them.)

I did so a little reluctantly, but now, to my total surprise, I am now completely invested in our game.

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"I'm a cool mum"

To be honest, the decision was worth it as soon as I clocked their reactions, which after a week of lethargically moping around the house with colds, both shrieked with excitement and found deep within them some energy to set up my account and advise me how to set up my avatar.

So, in a very cool mum (not so cool) way, I perused my free fashion choices and hairstyles, choosing my signature pony, with a pretty rock n roll mum jacket and pants combo that said ‘attitude’ but ‘approachable’.

And then it was game time. I gave myself a very apt name ‘MummaRox’, accepted my daughter’s invite and joined the other avatars as our tribe leaders were voted on and teams decided. 

Image: Supplied

Perhaps this is why I found myself having fun; the inner competitive woman in me was ignited by the other avatar strangers I was now cohabiting on an island with. Did it matter that they were probably mostly kids? No. On this game-world island, we were all equals, and I was determined to be the last one standing.

In reality, though, I sucked. The challenges which usually involve obstacle courses and puzzles (just like the show) exposed my inexperience and lack of skill set in the gaming world and I was left, every time, in last place. 

“Protect MummaRox at all costs” my daughters would appeal to the other players in the chat, knowing that my weakness was not putting me in good stead for staying out of elimination.

Eventually, I found some sort of mojo, going under the radar for the most part and then actively conspiring with my daughters/tribe mates to vote out threats. 

And then I found myself, alongside my two girls, in the final. Having secured the voted-out player’s votes (clearly the sympathy card) I was in the lead. Then votes which were allocated based on skill were given (definitely not for me) and then I was tied with my youngest.

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A bonus of playing

The rest of that first game seems like a blur. But the long and short of it, I was high on adrenaline; and could finally see why kids everywhere keep playing.

Now I know Roblox has its issues, and there is a lot of contention about its safety for kids.

But with understanding, something I gained a bit more of in this experience, comes more power and awareness which helps set appropriate guidelines around its use. 

Yeah, that's how I justified the hours of playing, afterwards. 'As a mum', sort of thing.

Now, the holidays are ending and I'll miss doing Roblox sessions with my girls... but I'm more worried about time I will most likely waste playing without them... HELP!

Originally published as I played Roblox with my girls all holidays and now I'm addicted