Minecraft!

[november90]

So basically my son is in reception and about to turn five. All the boys at school talk about Minecraft all the time. Personally, I don't know anything about the game. I am a single mum and I don't really have any gamer friends to talk to about it. But I looked online and obviously the game is targeted for older children than my son. It's just a bit of a tricky one though because although my son understands that he can't play the game, every time he sees Minecraft merchandise for example lunchbox, pyjamas, little figures, he gets really excited
About it because that's what all his friends talk about at school. I just wondered whether it would be irresponsible of me to let him have some of the toys? I've spoken to him about him not playing the game and he has been really respectful of this. He told me that he was at his old cousins house the other day he was playing the game and he sat and looked at the other wall the whole time because he knew he was too young to play it, bless him. It's just so difficult for boys of his age with toys I think! Just wondering what other parents are doing about this really!

This is super interesting, as our 5 year old is the same. We downloaded a fake version of minecraft to our iPad this weekend and if they use the “creative” mode all they can do is walk around the world and build things it seems. So definitely not irresponsible, on that mode there’s no fighting etc.

I would let him have the toys. Minecraft is really not awful at all and although he is young, he will very quickly learn all about it.

Ds2 was nearly 7 when we first let him and his older brother play. I downloaded it onto my phone at first to try it out and they soon overtook me in building ability. It's as hard or as peaceful as you choose to make it and you can set it to creative mode which means no nasties and unlimited materials and imagination.

His school run a lunchtime minecraft club for year 1 upwards. Its really very safe.

We have played on creative mode since nappies with my youngest his brother and sister were later (big sister started the trend) its perfectly doable as long as you don't go into survival and can wrap your head around the whole world

its a bit like lego but virtual

Why do you not want him to play the game? It's about building and farming and stuff. You can set the modes so there aren't the creepers and the like, I think it is a great game and quite educational!
Buying the toys is probably harmless although I guess there might be zombies and stuff. But then I bought my daughter a cuddly Minecraft zombie when she was about 5 and she seems ok (she's now 12!)

My dd loves minecraft. You can easily get the app for an ipad if you have one. They can play in 'creative' mode where they just move around in a virtual world and build things. No interaction with anyone else - no need to worry about it! And of course the merchandise is fine too.

Minecraft is a great starter game. If you are concerned about the "mobs" that look like monsters you can play on worlds where it's peaceful and monsters are turned off.

I would look again at letting him play it, watch some videos on YouTube, starter peaceful creative videos.

Minecraft really isn't bad. My youngest has been playing on creative since he was 3. He's now 6 and loves it still.
My oldest is 13 and still plays happily. All 3 will play together, the younger 2 on the xbox and the oldest on his laptop. They build together, the big one teaches them how to craft specific items, eg what materials they need and how to obtain them.
It's really good.
As for the toys there's no harm in buying them for him.

my son understands that he can't play the game
I have to ask, why can't he play the game? It is a game that is well within the skill level of most five year olds, at least on creative difficulty. In creative mode almost all five year olds will pick it up very quickly.

He told me that he was at his old cousins house the other day he was playing the game and he sat and looked at the other wall the whole time because he knew he was too young to play it, bless him.
That is really sad, he should not feel shame or guilt at people playing a game and he should be able to have fun with his cousins.

It's ideal for that age.

Read up on it so you know about single player vs servers (multiplayer), peaceful mode so he doesn't get attacked by creatures at night, creative mode so he can just build as much as he likes.

If he wants to play with friends later in then you can in various safe ways - both on mobile devices on the same wifi network (free), buy a Realms subscription if they're on pc, on an xbox or similar.

Ds was playing from age 2 or 3 with me and he's just decided to resurrect his Realms subscription so that he and his friends can play again (he's 15).

My kids have also been playing since they were really young. I don't have a problem with it. It's not like Fortnite or something. Think you are being a bit mean in saying no when all his friends and his cousins are playing it.

I’m wondering if you are getting confused with Fortnite?? If you put it in creative mode then as far as I can see, Minecraft is essentially just digital Lego for the modern age… I still don’t let my son age 14 play Fortnite let alone more adult games, cos I think it’s violent. I do remember being a little anxious about Minecraft when he first wanted to play it around your son’s age I think, not realising you could play in creative mode only, but having seen him play it so much over the years I do think it’s totally harmless, honestly. They are all obsessed with Minecraft then Roblox then Fortnite these days and I think it’s worth taking a stand on Fortnite personally, although it’s hard to go against the grain when it’s all peers are talking about, but I’d seriously reconsider just letting him play Minecraft in creative mode only, and join in the fun.

My twin girls are 6 and play it. Creative mode they build stuff mostly. castles with pink carpets and swimming pools filled with dolphins.

Ds1 started playing at 5, then ds2 (then 3) decided he wanted to join in - and now at 4 plays it more than ds1!

“Normal” minecraft on creative mode is very very tame, suitable for all. I’m never too happy about them playing on survival mode as things can attack, you can die, you kill animals and “they leave you food” 🤦🏻‍♀️

But creative mode on normal minecraft (not minecraft dungeons) is a bit like playing with virtual Lego

Yeah mine was playing it age 5 and I've been amazed by what he has learnt and the creativity. Game aside, he wants to join in with his peers, so even if he has a water bottle that has minecraft on it will help him feel like part of a tribe.

DS just turned 5 and he’s obsessed with Minecraft! He’s become really good at it too. He loves the monsters and doesn’t find them scary at all - in fact he’s desperate to collect Legos of all of them. He mostly plays on creative but sometimes has a go at survival mode. DH is a gamer and has been building little worlds for him with problem solving activities and things

I’m really impressed with how much and how quickly he’s picked it up. He even watches YouTube ‘Let’s Play’ videos and has learned from them, on his own, how to craft different objects and creatures (you have to put certain items into a particular configuration on a grid). I think it’s fab and would highly recommend it

My youngest is 5 and plays minecraft, he has done for around a year now. I used to be wary about it and generally don’t like a lot of screen time but he had older siblings so saw them playing on it and now he has a turn too. An hour or so a week is what he goes on for and sometimes it’s Minecraft other times it’s a Lego game that he likes.

Thank you for all the replies everybody, you've definitely made me feel a lot better about it. I'm not really sure why I've been so adamant about him not playing the game. It's probably because as I said earlier I am not a gamer and don't really have any knowledge of these games so when I googled it and it had an age rating of 10 years I just felt he was a bit young for it. I'm really mindful about screen time, he loves to play games on his iPad which I don't like him playing excessively for obvious reasons, however on the other hand he rarely watches anything on telly so I think the balance is okay and he get so much enjoyment out of playing his games!! It's just so hard to juggle things I think with children nowadays. It's really hard to tell them that they can't watch or play something when all their friends are doing it at school. The last thing that I want to happen is for him to feel isolated or left out, but also I just want to make sure that what he's doing is safe. I think I need to get a bit more savvy about boys games ha ha!

Just be prepared for the Minecraft Monologue - which I actually miss now. We've been through the Among Us Monologue, the Fortnite Monologue and now strangely back to Roblox.

But they rabbit on incessantly about it!

Minecraft is a really positive game for young kids, as has been said creative mode is very much like Lego. Really good for teaching computer basics too- how to use a mouse and keyboard etc. My ds started at 6 and is now nearly 10, the speed which he zips around and programmes stuff (there’s deeper levels to control the game world) is truly mind blowing for someone so young. A far cry from fortnite, which is blasting other players and much more violent.

My girls have been playing on Minecraft in forever.

I monitor their phones & iPads & laptops but honestly it's the way the world is going and the younger the better. Technology is the norm and I'm proud they can navigate their way around these devices.

Considering they go to a pioneering technology school that teaches them how to be creators in tech rather than consumers.

This is a very interesting question.

I don't know about the above games, but when I play Minecraft, I use ready and safe servers https://servers-minecraft.net. People here initially ensured that the servers were free of viruses and various bugs. The list of servers includes all game modes such as Skyblock, Prison, Factions, Survival, SMP, Towny, and others. In my opinion, it is quite convenient to play on a verified server already. But if you still want to create your own, then try to write to support. Maybe one of the players will help you.