The nurse at CAHMS has told me that minecraft is not suitable for under 12s

[OddFodd]

She's made me feel like an awful parent :(

Originally I only let DS (7) play it on creative single player mode but eventually I relented because he went on and on about it and let him play on multiplayer. She thinks it's at the root of his suicidal ideation but Ihe doesn't like violent games so doesn't play them as far as I know and also only plays on a no grief server

I have to go back on my own in a few weeks. What's the deal here? If I don't ban it is she going to report me to social services/refuse to provide DS with additional support because I'm not co-operating?

Minecraft is not mindless.

The Department for Education states that from 2014 pupils aged five to seven will be expected to "understand what algorithms are" and "create and debug simple programs". By the age of 11, pupils will be expected to “design, use and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state and behaviour of real-world problems and physical systems" and “use two or more programming languages to solve a variety of computational problems”. By the age of 14, pupils should be taught to “understand simple Boolean logic and its use in determining which parts of a program are executed; use Boolean logic and wild-cards in search or database queries; appreciate how search engine results are selected and ranked” and “undertake creative projects that involve selecting, using and combining multiple applications, preferably across a range of devices, to achieve challenging goals, including collecting and analysing data and meeting the needs of known users”.

Within Minecraft, a special in-game material called redstone, based on real-life Boolean algebra used in computer engineering, is used to create logic circuits. By building functional in-game levers, doors, buttons and other contraptions, DC learn the basics of digital circuitry. DC also learn independent research skills using google and youtube when they encounter a problem or want to learn how to do something. For example DS2 was watching videos of how to build a piston maze and how to use redstone to build a set of pistons which played a note each time a piston was fired. He is 7.

[Boolean Value: a boolean value is a value that is either true or false. As computers work in binary (and as each binary digit can only have 2 values: 0 or 1), boolean algebra is very important to understanding the mechanism behind the logic circuitry that makes up a computer. The term "boolean value" has the same meaning as the term "bit" or "binary digit." Logic Gate: a logic gate is a circuit that takes some boolean values as input, performs a logical operation on the input, then outputs the result of that logical operation. For example: an AND logic gate receives two inputs, and only outputs "true" if both of the inputs are true.]

Then there are the mods where 'digital free-giving' produces modifications to the original and are freely available.

Minecraft causes suicidal thoughts? Really?

Nurse is talking nonsense. My ds plays minecraft all the time and he isn't suicidal.

Wow KeepOn, that sounds fantastic. I'm definitely in favour of that being added to the curriculum. Especially since I don't know what half of it means Curse my inadequate 20th century education! :o

DS2 narrates whilst playing referring to zombies as 'this fellow' and addressing them 'you Sir' - I wonder where he got that from?

I think I shall ask her what exactly her issue is with minecraft. She said she has two sons (who she mentioned at least twice - she told DS that they were bored in the Lego Movie (why? why would he or I care what her sons thought of it?) and that she wouldn't allow them to come into her bed at night)

Keepon - DS builds lifts and trapdoors that open on the other side of the building when you pull a lever using redstone. I've got no idea how he does it but it looks pretty clever to me.

Ask her your questions, in writing.
Paper trail is your evidence and shield and clarification.
Her home life is irrelevant to her role in offering professional support and constructive, targeted advice to help an individual child.

He's only 7 :( Sad that she thinks he shouldn't be "allowed" into your bed. She has an odd attitude overall IMO.

Don't tell me she's the sort of pearl clutcher whose precious offspring only have wooden toys. Apart from being far too personal she comes across as an ignorant Luddite.

My 6 year old plays it. He has ASD and learnt it by watching his brother. He sits on my lap and talks to me about what he is doing and I chat to him at the same time. I think it has helped his language development in that sense and gives him an interest in common with his older brother. He goes to sleep in his own bed but I'd say 4 or 5 times a week I wake up and find his cute little face on the pillow next to me (sometimes his feet!). I'm pretty sure he will grow out of that, we just don't make a big deal of it - the most important thing in our house is that everyone sleeps!

Thinking about it a bit more, it might be the same article another poster has linked to but I read in a piece in one of the more respected papers about Minecraft and how it is good for children with ASD as they can be creative and also have an element of control (which we all know they love lol), and not the repetitive stuff you get on most other games. I do worry about my son using technology sometimes but, on the other hand, when he starting using the ipad that's when he developed the ability to focus and sit still. Prior to that he was generally racing around trashing the joint, very stressful for all.

Ah yes that's the irony OneStep. She made several comments about his inability to sit still (quite true most of the time) but I can see him out the corner of my eye now and he's playing Lego and is sitting (with beautiful posture) at the dining table and the only things moving are his hands and mouth as he narrates the gameplay. He does the same thing with Minecraft.

If her boys were genuinely bored in the Lego Movie I'd question her parenting skills - they appear to be deficient in some essential part of human makeup.

Seriously I agree that you should get this in writing, and give her the get-out clause "I just want to check because I thought you might have misheard me. I was talking about Minecraft, the child-friendly building game with a PEGI rating of 7, and maybe you were confusing it with World of Warcraft, the fantasy fighting game with a PEGI of 12".

She sounds horrific.
Not just the minecraft , but the boundaries.
Can you ask to be seen by someone else in future?

There was an article in a computing magazine onestep which also mentioned an ASD-specific forum which is highly moderated so allows DCs to interact in a safe place with their Minecraft.

Star do we need a Stampy support thread?

I think she's got the game wrong. She's co fusing it with something else, unless she doesn't think he should be allowed in the computer at all, in which case that's another conversation to be had entirely.
I hope you can get some clarification in a 1:1 session. If you're still not happy with her then I agree with other posters that you should ask for a new practitioner.

My 6 year old DS2 (nearly 7) plays on minecraft, so does my 4 year old DD, although she just likes digging and building pretty blocks.

DS2 has some processing/speech/memory issues, he doesn't really do chatting, but minecraft he will talk to his big brother about for ages, it's lovely to see them just chatting together.

He still comes in our bed too, and I can't see that changing before he's 7.

Stampylongnose

Ask to be seen by somebody else. I had a nurse (not at CAHMS, though) who told me that c**p about boundaries and 'having to show your child who is boss in the house' (and this was over the phone and without her ever having met any of us in person), and also that DD's anxiety was due to her absorbing my anxiety and her behaviour due to her playing off DH and me against each other. I couldn't believe it, so I asked her what exactly her role in our assessment was, and she then got all funny and started telling me that I was incredibly defensive.

She didn't mention Minecraft though - goodness, I think the entire next generation will be scarred if it is bad for under-12s

I wanted to complain, but in the end I just said that the nurse and I were incompatible and that I would make an official complaint about her if I wasn't given a different one, and we were given a different one who is very competent and understanding and we have a good relationship.

If I had any self control zzzzz I would not post this www.youtube.com/user/stampylonghead

You've gone and done it now Star. Zzzzz do not link that in the presence of a dc!

Odd - you are right to be paranoid. Be very, very careful.

Also, like goblin says, establish a paper trail.

But I would definitely also try to get rid of her. Is this a possibility?

Wilsondo you have a name/link to the asd/minecraft forum?

DS is madly into it and wants to be interacting with people online. I am ultra careful about giving him unfettered access online but as he's of a generation that will grow up as internet natives, I will have to loosen the reins in a safe way.

OddFodd
Coming into parents beds at night at 7 can be the child's way of seeking security appropriately.
Fidgety at school sounds like sensory processing difficulties (common in children who have DCD). Certainly not something to get into trouble at school for.

Throwing and catching a ball at a wall involves the following skills (not an exhaustive list):
anti-gravity postural control, core strength, visual perception, timing and sequencing, visual-motor integration, depth and space perception.
Any all of these skills can be weak in a child with Dyspraxia.

I am an OT, and I am a bit shocked that it did not enter her head to refer you on to OT services.

Lol I just clicked on the Stampy link. Aaagh not that guy, that is not the first time I have heard that voice. Don't do it!