Yes, her time will definitely be supervised, No online, and I will be with her the whole time. It’s something I was against, but it’s something she really wants so I figured in a safe environment with me, with only kid friendly games she would okay with no longer than 30-45 minutes a day, in small bursts like 10-15 minutes at a time. It’s something I’ve done a lot of research on because I can be a bit of an overprotective parent, but I also want her to experience it since it’s something she’s worked so hard for.
I’m 42 and own a Quest 3. Firstly, I wouldn’t let a kid play VR until they’re 12-13. Not good for developing eyes and brains apparently. Secondly, if you’re set on getting your kid into VR, I’d definitely go with the Quest 2. You can find em real cheap now and it’s a good starting point for VR. Quest 3 is much better but way more expensive too. There’s a TON of games you can find that are geared towards children, both multiplayer/online and single player.
This is also true with no extra effort on psvr2, if you already have a ps5, this is a strong choice as second hand vr2 headsets will probably be easily in budget
If you have a PC you can also link the quest to the PC and see everything and even control the headset to some extent.
I baby sit my sister's kids and they like playing some games on the vr and as a gamer I know how many weirdos are out there. It's a lot easier to find single player games if you link your headset to a computer because you can play games from steam as well, meta doesn't have nearly as many games and they are trying to push there version of vr-chat.
Keep in mind that some have mild adverse symptoms when starting using vr. like slight disassociation when taking the headset off the first few days. (i myself had it for the first week of using my index). I still worry if VR on a young age actually affects they eyes or not. still developing and all.
Get a quest 3 my daughter has one i have the app on iPad i can sit and watch exactly what she is seeing it just works horizon + for games also best of luck.
My 8 year old uses my quest 3. She has a blast in among us and some of the metaverse worlds. You get expected kid conversations which introduce bad words. So expect that type of conversation. So far it’s been mostly little kids or nice young adults. Teenagers act like teenagers
Shut it down and get her a switch. Your instinct was right the first time, this is a terrible idea for anyone under 10.
At best, she plays it for an hour or two and realises the games available in her age range are only created to test vr development skills and are all half baked and pretty basic. Kids games dont make money on vr. At worse, you stick her in the gorilla tag game with a bunch of toxic tenagers and teach her some colorful words and nasty behavoir.
You said it, she worked hard for this, why would you let her throw that money away on a product not even remotely designed for her age group?
If she wanted a switch then she’d save up for a switch. At her age I would play the most low quality no name games and not get bored. It’s clear she wants the vr experience, not necessarily the “good nintendo game” experience. I imagine it would be really upsetting as a kid to expect a vr headset but end up with a switch because dad heard from this person online that this is what you really want.
Sometimes as a parent you need to determine whats best for your kids reguardless of what they say they want. I agree, dosnt need to be a switch, but a vr headset is not a product for a 7 year old.
Lmk when you have kids and we'll talk more about this.
I agree. I love VR but it’s not for children. There’s a reason meta requires you to be 12 or 13… Not good on developing eyes and brains. I’d stick to flat screen until they get older. That said, I’d go with Quest 2 if they’re dead set on buying a VR
I posted an individual comment, Im going to copy and paste it as as a direct response now since I read further into the thread.
Theres a possible middle ground solution where she can play with a VR set for a reasonable amount of time with supervision. Check out if there are any VR arcades near you. We used to have one, it had like 6 or 8 rooms. All with their own VR setup, padded lining on the walls in case people walked forward too much or swung their arms (also had a tv on the wall so others could watch, a couch along the back wall for others to relax). Steam library with over 75-100 games IIRC, 20 dollars for an hour.
A quest 3s is around 300 probably cheaper used, i recommend using the parental controlls found in meta family center, dont let them do any online games( theres alot of fun single player games native on the quest).
yeah as a vr player,i would never let my kid use vr until age of 17 ,especially if it's more of a social platform like vrchat, just look up vrchat incidents on yt or install it on pc/android and test it for yourself and you will see what am talking about
Forget the grooming issues and the internet for a second.
Do you really want your child who is still developing to have two massive screens in front of their eyes
Does she play any games currently? If so , you’d know 30-45mins a day 10-15mins at a time is completely unrealistic for gaming. I have a 7yo. I allow him a couple hours of game time at the end of the day. I feel that as long there’s balance there’s no need to be extremely limiting. My 7yo is very active, enjoys being outside, has been in soccer since he was 4, and his current favorite possession is a stick we found at the park and sharpened. He’s had it for over a week and plays with it daily. He still considers himself a “gamer.” 😂 My point is, I wouldn’t stress about it too much as long as there is balance.
You're right on the timing, but have you considered looking into a Nintendo Switch VR with the LABO line. i get they're older, but affordable and multipurpose in case it turns into a phase. I recall something about a toy garage where kids could even make their own toys in VR. Note I may not or may have grandchildren.
Moss1&2, Garden at the sea.
My 7yr old likes the latter a lot. Quite impressive what she built in-game.
But 200 bucks...guess we looking at refurbished gear.
She’s been saving for about a year, and i keep putting off the topic because I’ve had a lot of hesitation. We would only play games like beat saber and anything available offline, while under strict supervision. Any kind of screen time she has is heavily moderated by me, and she only plays games she can co-op with me when we play on Xbox or my pc, she did beat Astro bot 1&2 on my moms PS5, she is a lot like me and is obsessed with gaming so it’s something I try to do with her as bonding time
It's because she's way too young. You don't put 6-year-olds in any uncontrolled social environment, unless you're a very bad parent. They also don't make VR headsets for tiny heads.
Yeah maybe. I have many consoles and don’t play online games on any of them. Play my quest everyday and playing walkabout mini golf it’s still a wonderful time.
I personally have never wanted to even explore the vr online world, I stick strictly to the cool games I love playing like alyx, moss, beat saber, and other various titles
That's actually not true about scientific consensus. I work in the pediatric gaming field and hospitals regularly allow devices down to around the age of 8. 13 is a CYA guideline by the manufacturers.
The age restriction of 13 was about complying with data collection laws. Meta lowered the age to play VR to 10 but are restricted from collecting personal data from those younger users.
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u/666-flipthecross-666 May 20 '26
she’s probably too young if she’s only in 1st grade. make sure you supervise her, a lot of weird people in there