To have said a firm NO to Minecraft for a 6 year old?

[Crouchendmumoftwo]

My son is constantly begging me to get Minecraft saying all his friends play it, he played it because some friends we met yesterday let their kids play on it and he was obsessively playing in their iPad throughout the day, much to my annoyance. My husband is saying we can limit his use and get him to do tasks to earn time on it. I'd rather not and I dont want him constantly nagging to go on it. I feel his time should be spent elsewhere and not glued to Minecraft. Am I being unreasonable, my son and husband think I am...?

[Flibbertyjibbet]

My boys 7 and9, have minecraft on the family ipad.

For a while we had the free version and we worried about their terrible strops and screaming fits when we told them times up. I mean holding on to the ipad so that it was in danger of flying across the room if one of us let go!

I then discovered that with the free version, every time you log off, you lose all the work you've done. So that week the fiver for minecraft was their joint incentive (usually its a couple of quid to save up for stuff in the game exchange).

Since we got the paid version they have been very well behaved. They know they can only go on it when all homework, music practice and their jobs (just little things like setting the table), and if I give them 5 mins warning of the end of the session they are fine about coming off as everything is saved.

They are building a joint 'world' and take turns with it to build stuff. They interact and discuss what they are going to do on it, far more than with other computer games or watching tv. The older one will often do a 'plan' on paper of what he is going to do when its his turn next.

They also love to watch videos of other people's worlds on youtube. Altogether,, out of the various games and other entertainments we have, I would say its comparable to building things with actual lego but FAR CHEAPER than buying a crate of lego .

We tried to keep our ds's off computers etc for as long as we could, but they are a part of life now and as normal for kids as a skipping rope was for me.

[LittleMissSunshine89]

My kids love minecraft (secretly so do i) so we do the half an hour each thing. Then if they moan when their to come off their not allowed back on.

[Damnautocorrect]

Ok this answers my question been thinking of getting it for ds (4) you've convinced me.
Thankyou

[LovelyJubblies]

Yabu. Lighten up and let him play it.
Its like virtual Lego so totally safe and wont corrupt his young mind.
My ds aged 8 and 11 love it.
'Enjoy' getting to know Stampy on YouTube

[HiImBarryScott]

YABU. My boys (5 & 8 ) love it and I think it has been good for them. They don't really watch TV any more - they'd rather play Minecraft or watch videos of it on youtube to get ideas. They play mostly in creative mode and have made some awesome stuff. Recently they were inspired by the Winter Olympics and made a ski lift, a ski jump, a slalom course and a bobsleigh run. They each have their own tablet, but play together in a joint world that they've created between them. When their friends come round they join in too. I truly think it's one of the best games ever invented.

I think you're right to be concerned about it turning into a bit of an obsession though. We have strict rules when they can & can't play it. No screen time before school and only 30-45 minutes after school (with a 5 minute warning when time is up). They play a bit more at the weekends, but they are still into judo, football, swimming, lego, board games, reading and generally messing about in the garden that I'm not overly concerned.

[ShatnersBassoon]

Minecraft is innocuous. It's creative, it involves strategy and planning, very low peril levels if you get the settings sorted out properly...

I'm no fan of video games, but I can see the appeal of Minecraft. My children aren't allowed to play it on week days, they can play it for limited time at the weekend. I limit DH's Minecrafting too

[Yeehaw]

OMG! Stampy bloody longhead! dd had to write a piece about a person who had inspired her and she did him! The shame!

[WallyBantersJunkBox]

YABU it is a completely creative game that stimulates the imagination. Everyone at school will be discussing Minecraft and he'll feel a little bit left out.

Other's have said - TV time could be swapped. My DS barely watches TV now, he'd rather 30 mins on Minecraft.

I set the cooker timer, and when he hears the beep he finishes.

I saw what he'd built on a flight last week when he showed me his world - I am gobsmacked at his creativity. He's built an absolutely amazing roller-coaster.

[Oblomov]

YABVU
Do you know anything about it?
It is one if the best games. Stimulates his imagination more than you can imagine.
FGS please don't deny him because of your ignorance.

[Yeehaw]

tbh I was a bit about Minecraft until dd forced showed me Stampy longheads video with HOgwarts in it. Amazing! I was so impressed. He was quite funny not too irritating as well.

[Velvetbee]

My 16 year old and 6 year old love it. It's hugely educational and creative. Much better to be completely absorbed in creating something than half watching television to my mind.
The 6 year old has created a village by the sea with a lighthouse, library, beautiful gardens and a house with golden rooms.
Just put time limits on it.

[UndoTyping]

My DS 9 loves minecraft. I call it BORECRAFT He can talk the hind legs off a donkey on the subject of minecraft and it appears to be a good bonding common ground friendship enabling game.

However. As with all computer games it can be a nightmare getting him off of it and I limit his playing time to a maximum of 30 mins a day after homework and only if he has enough time to stop playing an hour before bedtime (otherwise he has trouble switching off and getting to sleep).

[girlwhowearsglasses]

Too late for us, but it's very creative: this is an interesting article - might let you see the benefits www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/08/me-my-son-minecraft-blocks-game

[jennyl131]

I said no for ages, then I researched it and said yes, but only in creative mode (no baddies) and only single player, with strict time limits. Sometimes he plays it, sometimes he's not bothered.

I draw the line at first person battle games and won't even let dc play the boxing on Wii sport!

[Chocoholic36]

My boys have it and tbh I would rather them play that than watch tv.

A friend if mine allows her son to play it at friends houses but not at home. The problem with this is every time he goes anywhere where they have it, it's all he wants to do and has actually become quite antisocial with it.

[BertieBotts]

Actually to be fair DH and I are gamers so know well how addictive and compelling games can be, so I made a rule with DS right from when he was first allowed to play on computer games, I told him to remember that it's just a game, and that although games can be really, REALLY frustrating and make you feel very very good or bad, he HAS to remember that it's just a game and that it's actually not important. So at the first sign of getting over-emotional about a game, he gets reminded it's just a game, if it's getting too much, come off because it's really not worth getting upset over. And then we enforce this. It's worked pretty well, so far. If a game continued to be problematic then we talked to him about how the game was making him feel and if it was making him feel bad more than good, then it was time to put that game away for a while, maybe until he was a bit older.

[chandellina]

In the minority obviously but I feel the same as you. I prefer telly because it's not so isolating and doesn't put them in the same type of screen bubble that most of humanity seems to have succumbed to.

My year 1 DS plays a phone game maybe once a week but otherwise has no computer time at home.

I'm hoping he finds a more physical or cerebral hobby to concentrate on before he gets sucked into virtual games, even relatively creative ones.

[sittingatmydeskagain]

Minecraft fans here too, (ds aged 10 and 7) and it took me a LONG time to even consider getting a Wii.

No problems with limits on time. We just have basic rules - hour on friday after school, and two hours on saturday afternoons. They can watch a Stampy video instead of tv a couple of times a week, after tea and piano practise.

They both read for hours a day, play several hours of sport a week and play the piano. No problem at all with Minecraft.

Op, can I suggest you watch Stampy on UTube. Very good fun.

[photographerlady]

Being a massive dork I think minecraft is brilliant. As far as games go it's one of the few out there challenging their mind with creatively and engineering.

[JCDenton]

People are weird about phones and games. Just because you're looking at a screen doesn't mean you're zombied or other such rubbish. I think hard when I'm playing on my phone because I'm learning Italian on it and when I'm on my laptop playing Victoria 2 there's a hell of a lot of thinking going on. That's not to say there aren't crap games as much as there's crap film and TV but Minecraft isn't one of them.

[Crouchendmumoftwo]

Thank you everyone for your thoughful responses and girlwhowearsglasses for the article. Well all the responses made me reassess my determination against having Minecraft and I have totally changed and my son is a very happy boy. He has an hour of Minecraft on Tuesday, Friday and Sundays and he has no problem coming off it and it does seem fairly simple, fun and creative. He is really delighted and happy so thank you very much for all the great feedback.

[sittingatmydeskagain]

Wise decision. My youngest came out of school today absolutely delighted that he'd made a new friend. They'd bonded over a Minecraft discussion at lunchtime.

[BlueSkySunnyDay]

I think someone said too DS is in year 8 and they had to do a project on Buddhist temples - some of them created temples in Minecraft.

[girlwhowearsglasses]

Ah that's great!

[NatDaBosss]

Minecraft is educationAl