Should parents ever worry about Minecraft?

[JP Schriefer 5,591]

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32051153

I read this today, I found quite interesting to think about.

[Easy Bakes 253]

only if you think mindless repetitive games are good for kids.

[The Avatar 1,089]

If the biggest (or at least big enough that you have to write an article about it) thing a parent has to worry about is a computer game, then they have it pretty easy.

 

If a child is spending every waking moment of his or her free-time playing Minecraft, then the parents might have something to worry about. They could simply limit the amount of time that the child can spend on the computer if it gets to that point, but most likely he/she will eventually become bored of the game. If the concern is over what the child might encounter on servers (griefers, trolls, profanity and the like), then just set up a firewall that prevents joining servers or create a server with some of the child's friends. Really, the same stuff that happens online happens in the real world. They can't shelter their child from the facts of life. If the concern is that Minecraft is too violent or immoral or whatever, then the parents are clinically insane and should be immediately admitted to their local psychiatric ward. 

 

In the end, most sane parents should have nothing to worry about when it comes to Minecraft, so long as it doesn't consume the child. In my opinion, no activity is better or worse than any other, as long as it is not detrimental to the child's health and it forces them to think. One can benefit just as much from a good game than from a good book.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

If the kid isn't spending a couple of hours out of doors playing with his peers, then it is worrisome no matter what the distraction. 

 

If a kid is addicted to Minecraft, get him a copy of SimCity 4 Deluxe and see if he/she can master that.  Even The Sims is better than mindless electronic Lego.

[hym 358]

If a kid is addicted to Minecraft, get him a copy of SimCity 4 Deluxe and see if he/she can master that. Even The Sims is better than mindless electronic Lego.

I think calling Minecraft mindless is evidence of a gross misunderstanding of what the game is. Thanks to the same modding culture that exists for SC4, Minecraft is capable of supporting everything from digital logic systems, to automated assembly systems, to projects to build functioning computer systems that we have previously implemented in the real world.

It is the most advanced Lego system in the world, and as research on the Portal game has shown, games that promote puzzle solving are possibly some of the best games you can offer a child to play.

[EyeofMobius 27]

I think parents should be worried about their kids and not the external factors.

 

"Have you talked to your children about Minecraft?"

 

"If you have talked to your children about Minecraft, did you listen?"

 

Seriously with everything going on these days you really have to talk to people, especially those little versions that we hope you have created and nurtured in the hope of turning them into something cool and functional. If you want to understand something talk about it and see if you can have them show you what it's all about. Do feel free to say what your feelings are in regards to this and do encourage them to talk about their feelings too. if you don't like a certain direction you also cant just tell them to do it; you almost always need to go on the adventure into something new with them.

 

As far as Minecraft goes; it's awesome; I love it; I played the tar out of it and am on a break; but I still like it since yes it is the closest electronically interactive framework that has capture the joy that I feel when creating with art or Lego.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

More important is getting the kids outside to play for a couple of hours.

[Meg 368]

More important is getting the kids outside to play for a couple of hours.

 

Many kids just don't do that anymore.   Gone are the days when kids were told to go outside and make sure they are home by the time the streetlights turn on.

 

If a kid is playing outside, odds are good it is as part of an organized soccer league, or some similar activity.   These days, parents are considered negligent if their kids are outside on their own.  [link]

[Sabretooth78 808]

Reminds me of yet another Carlin quote:

 

"Now, speaking of parents and speaking of bulls**t, two ideas that aren't always mutually exclusive, by the way, I'd like to mention a special kind of bulls**t that has taken hold in this country in the last thirty to forty years. It's a form of bulls**t that really can only be called "child worship". It's child worship. It's this excessive devotion to children.

 

I'm talking about today's professional parents, these obsessive diaper sniffers who are overscheduling and overmanaging their children and robbing them of their childhoods.

 

Even the simple act of playing has been taken away from children, and put on mommy's schedule in the form of "play dates". Something that should be spontaneous and free is now being rigidly planned. When does a kid ever get to sit in the yard with a stick anymore?  You know? Just sit there with a f***ing stick. Do today's kids even know what a stick is?  You sit in the yard with a f***ing stick... and you dig a f***ing hole. You know?

 

And you look at the hole, and you look at the stick... and you have a little fun. But kids don't have sticks anymore. I don't think there are any sticks left; I think they've all be recalled because of lead paint!  Who would have thought that one day, the manufacturing of sticks would outsourced to China?

 

[Larks2242 251]

I'd  say it is better then beating up hookers in GTA right? 

 

There will  always be worse things, least they aren't dealing real life drugs or getting hit by a car.

[Nesral Sredna 62]

 

It is the most advanced Lego system in the world, and as research on the Portal game has shown, games that promote puzzle solving are possibly some of the best games you can offer a child to play.

 

 

More advanced than LEGO Technics/LEGO Mindstorms itself????? Nah, me no think so.. :-)

Most advanced virtual(!) Lego system, perhaps...

 

I've heard though that LEGO just recently released their own minecraft clone on Steam Early Access some time ago. Still in development, but looks promising...

[Linoa06 1,374]

only if you think mindless repetitive games are good for kids.

 

Because Minecraft is mindless and repetitive. Your children must be very creative...very good for their health. I think we should ban LEGOs too. It's mindless and repetitive.  /sarcasm

 

More seriously though parents should worry about Minecraft only as much as they should worry about social media in general (Multiplayer, communities etc) but the game itself is all about creativity. Guess what kids need the most? Not some stupid religious and/or secular indoctrination, there's a hint. Bring play back in playtime. Kids play. That's how they learn and develop. Minecraft certainly does a child much more good than stupid selfies, browsing adult websites because parents won't give any sort of supervision whatsoever, and sticking them from age 2 in front of the TV.

 

If kids were allowed to play more and not be considered little adults with their own reason and schedules and activities and micromanagement we'd probably have a far healthier younger generation coming up.

[Easy Bakes 253]

I would be more worried about Minesweeper

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

I would be more worried about Minesweeper

The computer game or the traditional game played by two people on squared paper with pencils?  Almost as much fun as three spot sprouts.

[Easy Bakes 253]

i only know the computer game.

[LexusInfernus 908]

Eh, Id only worry when it becomes an all consuming hobby. 

 

I don't believe in all the 'kids should play outside' nonsense. People used to play outside because games didn't exist and toys were expensive. Literally the only way for many kids to fend of boredom was to go outside and play with each other. Now toys are relatively cheap and you can play games on nearly every device people own. It shouldn't surprise you then that people ditch the 'lets play outside' in favor for something that is infinitely more stimulating than whatever is outside. 

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Eh, Id only worry when it becomes an all consuming hobby. 

 

I don't believe in all the 'kids should play outside' nonsense. People used to play outside because games didn't exist and toys were expensive. Literally the only way for many kids to fend of boredom was to go outside and play with each other. Now toys are relatively cheap and you can play games on nearly every device people own. It shouldn't surprise you then that people ditch the 'lets play outside' in favor for something that is infinitely more stimulating than whatever is outside. 

The main point in play outside (for at least an hour) is to get the kids some exercise, fresh air, and some socialization.

[LexusInfernus 908]

The main point in play outside (for at least an hour) is to get the kids some exercise, fresh air, and some socialization.

 

Well that depends on where you live. Are there kids around and is it safe to play outside? And if kids play Minecraft online, don't they already socialize with other people? 

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Playing online could be playing with predators or even bots.  Do all the players pass the Turing test?  Playing outside with peers is the norm for my period of growing up, and I don't see any reason to change it other than the current laziness trends.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

Minecraft is soooo last year. However, private Minecraft servers can be set up with very small white lists consisting of only minecraft players that know eachother. This can all be set up and ran by a parent. However, fresh air and exercise are good things to have though some cities don't have fresh air and some places are dangerous outside.

 

--Ocram

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

It becomes a matter of assessment.  If the environment is toxic it may be no place to even try to raise children.  For example, when she became pregnant, my daughter and her husband moved to Deer Lake, Newfoundland from Toronto.  No question about the environment there since I have visited them.  Wonderful place to raise kids.

[LexusInfernus 908]

Big cities, depending on what neighborhood you live in, can be dangerous or impractical places for kids to play outside. And not everyone has the funds to move to a nice green suburb. 

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Sort of confirms my point.  If the kids can't play outside and are spending too much time staring at a monitor, what can you do for them?  It is the job of the parents to see that kids get at least an hour of vigorous exercise per day (and not four hours crammed in on the weekend).