How can we manage a teenager bypassing Roblox and VPN blocks on the home network?
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MellowHarbor27
I'm asking on behalf of my aunt. Her 15-year-old daughter spends a lot of time playing Roblox and has intense anger and meltdowns whenever access is restricted. The family first blocked Roblox through their Nokia G-2425G-A router, but she started using Cloudflare WARP to bypass the restriction. The laptop has administrator access because it is used for school, although the parents could install any required software themselves. The adults still need the home internet for work, so disconnecting the entire network is not practical. Is there a reliable way to prevent Roblox access, including through VPNs, or is the better solution to handle this through device access, supervision, and professional support?
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The bigger issue sounds behavioral rather than network-related. A teenager who can bypass one block will usually find another route, use another device, or play somewhere else. Set clear limits in advance, keep the computer in a shared area, use scheduled device or internet access for bedtime, and apply consistent consequences without arguing during a meltdown. It’s also worth checking how many hours she actually plays and whether school, sleep, friendships, or daily responsibilities are being affected. If the anger is severe or gaming is interfering with normal life, a pediatrician or mental-health professional can help assess what is going on instead of treating Roblox as the entire problem.
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There probably isn’t a reliable router-only solution. VPNs are specifically designed to get around network filtering, and blocking one provider or address range usually just leads to another workaround. If the goal is to control the laptop, use a separate administrator account with a password the parents keep private, make the teenager’s account a standard user, and allow software installations only when an adult approves them. That still won’t stop every user-level game installation, so supervised use or removing access to the laptop outside schoolwork may be necessary.
SilverTangent6: Also, administrator access is not always required to install Roblox or similar programs because they can run from a user’s personal folders. Account restrictions help, but they are not a complete technical block by themselves.
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BrightCedar19: It may also be an important social outlet, so an outright ban could make things worse. A structured schedule, exercise, offline activities, and agreed gaming time may work better than secretly pretending the network is broken.