Minecraft – why I stopped playing it with my kids

@45, You say that now but the Victorian Dad in you then slips off on Christmas day to open all the cool computer games you bought yourself…

@51 Pretty much.

It’s worth it for the top hat and monocle.

@49 The reason I ask is to clarify the difference between teaching reading and writing to someone (first definition) and being well-read (second definition). In the first case, it doesn’t matter what you use, it could be a video game, a sign post or a newspaper, all your looking for is the mechanical ability to make sounds out of squigly lines. In the second case, I doubt a 4 year old (the example in the article) is reading Dostoevsky.

P.S in THIS post, I am talking about literacy.

Pat I never picked it up from the article itself but when you shoo your boys away from the TV/PC once the correct amount of Minecraft time is completed, do you go with them?

Good luck Pat, because of your job, I think your going to have a hard time keeping your kids from gaming. And they are only 4yr old, wait till they are 8, 10, 14. Pushing them away from games will just make em want to play more, imo. Now, if you didn’t play at all, that would be different. Maybe.

Not telling you how to handle your kids, but I think your walking down a idealistic, rightious path. And I don’t think it will lead you to where you want to go. I am not sure such a place exsists. Esp for a father who makes a wage off of the games industry.

It is an increasingly digital world. And despite the stuff they teach us as parents, there is a reality that extends beyond time limits and filtering out gameplay experiences. It isn’t all black and white about being the parent, putting your foot down and setting the rules. That stuff is stuff non parents like to spew.

I think you might be best to embrace games. Better to teach then to dismiss. Because keeping games from your kids will just drive your kids to wanting to play more games. Like I said, it is just the world we live in.

personaly I think time limits are fine. So long as they aren’t extreme. None of the TV on weekends only stuff lol. Take each day one at a time, why should sat/sun be different then tuesday? What does that teach? And lastly, #54 is right. You have to not play. Parents lead by example. If you want them to play no more then an hour a day, then that is your time limit as well.

That: “do what I say, not as I do” stuff died in the 1970s. And besides, it just doesn’t work.

Fundementaly your asking your kids not to play less, but to WANT to play less. And unless you expose them to things they want to do more(that maybe you do with them) rather then games…your setting yourself up for a parental nitemare.

Just my two cents.

I don’t see the point of the article as it’s not reflective of a normal family. Good or bad, kids watch an amount of TV on a daily basis. Not letting them is then, by default, an extreme action when compared with the norm. According to the article, Banning them From games stems from the same school of extreme thought. So who is the target audience here? It seems like it’s just “I have an extreme opinion that I want to share.” which is fine, obv. But usually an article has a purpose and engages the reader in a way that they can relate to te author. Banning TV for 5 days a week is saying “I’m not like you and I don’t share the same value set.” again, that’s cool, but what then is my motivation for a) reading on and b) takin the following argument seriously? However, Pat’s approach to life is his best quality and what makes me like him.

However, I agree 100% with oldergamer. I don’t want to shelter my children. I want to help them navigate. I participate in their use of TV an computer an I regulate it.

Different strokes etc.

@56
Well it’s provoked a page of debate on a fairly important subject – so regardless of the content the result is good.

Also tend to agree with OG/Mike. I think by removing it completely you are avoiding the issue rather than dealing with it. If you acknowledge it’s something they enjoy and can get something from then you need to help them understand how they should use it. That said all kids are different and all parents have different approaches. Do what you think is best for your family.

Provoking debate is easy. I mean, just post any extreme opinion and you’ll provoke debate. If Pat was talking from the viewpoint of an average parent (one who lets his kids play games and watch TV on a daily basis) but still banned Minecraft then the discussion would be more nuance and inclusive. All this article is saying is “I have completely different opinions than most of you on media and parenting, here is one of them.” Basing argument on a standpoint that the majority disagree with doesn’t exactly make for a convincing argument, is my point. People who you listen to are people who you can relate to. It’s the first rule of rhetorical analysis: Ethos. There is no Pathos or Logos here either.

However, it’s Pat’s site and he can do what he likes. but if it was designed to make anyone think twice about video games and children, I don’t think it would have even made a dent because of the reasons listed above.

@48 Brazilian here too and couldn’t agree more. Videogames are great for learning languages/basic logic. Plainly disallowing your children to play them is at the very least counterproductive.

I’m not going to argue the whole shenanigans about books vs videogames, as just reading all these victorian dads’ posts just make me frown, but you can be sure that within 1-2 generations the notion that videogames are inherently bad (which many have already attempted to deny having such ideals in this topic) will be considered nonsense.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201207/all-work-and-no-play-make-the-baining-the-dullest-culture-earth

Sometimes I worry that this is happening to Western society. Childhood tends to be the best years of the lives of well-adjusted people, and so it should be. It shouldn’t be broken, miserable, and full of work. Cutting them out of something completely will only cause problems. More and more as time goes on.

Everything in moderation, no extremes. Don’t cut it out all together, but don’t let them play it all the time, either. Put you foot down. If you’re worried that they’re not learning enough about the real world, put them on a ‘merit’ system, there are many good suggestions out there for this.

So that if they do so much learning, they get so much time with Minecraft.

I just think that robbing them of means for creative outlet in that regard is a bad idea, Pat. Everything – everything in moderation.

Buy some Lego and build it with them instead.

Lego really is one of the best toys you can buy kids, in my opinion anyway.

@61
Or buy some Lego and build it with them *as well*.

I’m happy some people agree with me, thanks.
But what about Pat? He didn’t comment since we started the discussion, tell us, what are you really going to do now that you’ve seen our opinions? We can see that the majority here agree to reduce the time but not cut it out suddenly.

Okay, here’s what i think. Minecraft is a great, fun game that is not to violent and very creative as well. Kids playing Minecraft at that age will benefit from it (as long as you don’t help them all the time). Minecraft helps younger kids with reading and vocabulary, also with older kids it helps them with basic mathematical formulas and problem solving. (if i want a bookshelf, i need to cut down 3 sugar cane since 3 sugar cane = 3 paper, and 3 paper = 1 book, and 3 books is all you need for a bookshelf, besides wood) Also, MC helps kids with geometry. (i need to fill a hole 3x3x4 hole with water, so how many water buckets do i need to fill the hole?) And other questions like that. Also, MC servers can build social skills, though they might be exposed to swearing. As long as you discipline them to take turns and play for a limited time (which is easier to do when they’re young), you are all set! Go Minecraft Education!

Personally, I think Pat made the right call here. It became a problem, so he nipped it in the bud. All the reasons he gave were valid.

IMO 3-4 is too young for a child to draw much benefit from playing video games, or watching TV, and their energies are better spent elsewhere. Gaming will be no less magical if they don’t start playing until they’re 7, & they’ll probably be a better person for it.

If I had a choice between my child playing games and reading half the crap in this comment section, I’d staple them to a console.

It’s scary how many of you claim to be parents and yet act like complete asses on here.

*those who take offense to his agree that they are the ones who have behaved like asses*

Should have played minecraft over writing this. You folks sure make some interesting choices with what you write about while still staying safe by not actually drawing any real conclusions about what playing games that young might turn them into.

Not telling you how to handle your kids, but I think your walking down a idealistic, rightious path. And I don’t think it will lead you to where you want to go. I am not sure such a place exsists. Esp for a father who makes a wage off of the games industry.

I don’t understand this attitude – if the author was an evolutionary biologist, would you say he shouldn’t try to keep pathogens from his kids?

What a parent does for a living doesn’t mean that they have to let their kids in on it. With video games a parent might have to keep work at work even more, but just because someone reviews video games doesn’t mean they can’t monitor what their children do.

Sigh, at the person in the article, I’ve had this discussion, written college papers on it, and hope some day that gaming will be a popular choice for educating children.

Your boys are four years old, and they’re playing Minecraft? I don’t know they’re skill level, but if “your going on adventures, building houses” they’re a hell of a lot smarter than many adults and young adults who I’ve seen fumble all over the controls of a game as simple as Minecraft.

Stopping them, or putting a halt on their gaming is not the right path, but carefully choosing what games they pour their interest into is. And at their young age, you have control over that. You want them to read? You “should’ve” bought them an Snes, or downloaded an emulator.

Forcing someone with burgeoning imagination and an energetic thought process to look at words on a page will lead to other negatives for many children, not all. But, having them take part in a touching story, with memorable characters which make them care whats going on, enjoying that with them will intrigue their interest into reading about, finding other stories(books), then with today’s games, there are usually books that explain that in more detail.

Most old Japanese Rpgs have helped put many heads in books, or many older games that required reading.

Not to mention, they reactions…

Actually not gonna go on… but I do think if more children played Rpgs at younger ages, the world would be a different place.