I am also a no Minecraft parent. Kid is allowed to play at friends houses but I won’t get it bc it’s so addictive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am apparently the next to last parent to allow it and trying to figure it out now.

Why is it so effing complicated?

You shouldn't be figuring it out. If your children are interested, they can and should figure it out themselves. As tweens, this is well within their capacity. It does mean you will need to allow them internet access. But everything they need is online.

We have a rule in my household that I don't do tech support for my kids with games. I do it for school and required things, but games are something they have to figure out themselves. As a result, they are technically very adept. I'm not rigid about it -- they can ask my opinion of course -- but they have to drive it, not me.

OP here,

I need to figure out what to buy, if I'm giving my kid Minecraft as a gift (e.g. I had assumed they could play on the iPad but apparently I need to figure out whether I make a PC available to them). And I need to figure out what kind of limits I place, etc . . . .

Honestly, I think you should say "kids, I think it might be fun for you to play Minecraft with your cousins. It's my gift to you. Let me know if you need me to sign up for anything or to buy anything for you to set it up.".

Right, but then my kid will say "I need a PC" and I need to know if that's true (in which case I need this to be the "big birthday present"), or I can say "Nope, you can play on the Switch you already have". Just as an example.

So set a budget and say "sorry, thats too expensive. Surely there is another way." And they'll come up with a work around until they can explain to you why playing on the PC is so much better. And then you are pleased with their effort, and say "OK, you've convinced me." At least, that's the way it works in my house. They are in charge of their stuff, and put in the time/research. They learn to negotiate with you. You learn to trust them. All important things to figure out as they move into the teen years.

This is exactly how to approach it. You decide if you're ok with the game in general and what settings you will require for privacy/etc. This you can sort out just looking at common sense media. All the other stuff, it's on them to sort it out and they will come to you with proposals. I agree it is good skills for them. My kid will make a full on reasoned argument to me and if I think he makes good points, then we take it further. If I don't, we discuss it.

PC JAVA edition, much better for mods, add ons and learning to code. DS is now 13 and building servers, understanding and running system performance tests to get a better experience, building 3D models and his own mods, hosting friends and getting them all organized as they build more complicated machines.

I play it too but I play in Bedrock on my iPad in creative mode only. I have a whole world of amazing houses, wine cellars, a grocery store, hotel with water slide and restaurant at a pool, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am apparently the next to last parent to allow it and trying to figure it out now.

Why is it so effing complicated?

You shouldn't be figuring it out. If your children are interested, they can and should figure it out themselves. As tweens, this is well within their capacity. It does mean you will need to allow them internet access. But everything they need is online.

We have a rule in my household that I don't do tech support for my kids with games. I do it for school and required things, but games are something they have to figure out themselves. As a result, they are technically very adept. I'm not rigid about it -- they can ask my opinion of course -- but they have to drive it, not me.

OP here,

I need to figure out what to buy, if I'm giving my kid Minecraft as a gift (e.g. I had assumed they could play on the iPad but apparently I need to figure out whether I make a PC available to them). And I need to figure out what kind of limits I place, etc . . . .

Honestly, I think you should say "kids, I think it might be fun for you to play Minecraft with your cousins. It's my gift to you. Let me know if you need me to sign up for anything or to buy anything for you to set it up.".

Right, but then my kid will say "I need a PC" and I need to know if that's true (in which case I need this to be the "big birthday present"), or I can say "Nope, you can play on the Switch you already have". Just as an example.

So set a budget and say "sorry, thats too expensive. Surely there is another way." And they'll come up with a work around until they can explain to you why playing on the PC is so much better. And then you are pleased with their effort, and say "OK, you've convinced me." At least, that's the way it works in my house. They are in charge of their stuff, and put in the time/research. They learn to negotiate with you. You learn to trust them. All important things to figure out as they move into the teen years.

OK, in my house sometimes we just give kids a present.

Sure, if it's something you need to control. The thing is that kids and tech will be beyond what you know in a matter of hours, unless you work in IT and/or software, and it sounds like you don't. This is the time to start building their skills and your trust, because you're going to need it very soon.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am apparently the next to last parent to allow it and trying to figure it out now.

Why is it so effing complicated?

Honestly, they should be figuring this out themselves. It is a great motivator.

You don't figure out what to get your kid for birthday gifts?

No surprises ever?

I am not asking for "how to play", I'm asking for "what to buy".

-- OP

Not for gaming. No surprises ever. Because I don’t know what I’m buying and it changes too quickly. Your situation is a perfect example. Minecraft is a game but there are different versions and different platforms. I couldn’t begin to tell you the details about how DS plays. So by 11 or 12, he would tell us specifically what he wanted for gaming. That goes for games, consoles, computers, etc. We would tell him if it was out of budget.

We get him surprises with other things but nothing that involves games or electronics. He’s 13 now I wouldn’t attempt to pick something out myself in those areas.