Help a parent, ok for a 6 year old?

[YoullNeverWalkAlone]

My son has been playing Minecraft on the iPad for a while now. He is very interested in upgrading to playing on a computer. I have never played minecraft, although I've watched him play. The iPad version was pretty safe it seemed, and there is no online interaction.

He's watched Star Wars and we've skipped battle scenes in Lord of the Rings. I don't let him watch when I play tf2.

Is minecraft something that would be safe/appropriate for him to be playing? Are the online interactions needed to play? If had to play online I would prefer he play somewhere like here where there is a pre-screening process to get on. That being said, he is only 6 and I don't know if the community would want him as a part of the server (again, much of this coming from my lack of experience playing minecraft or being on our server).

Any help you would care to give would be greatly appreciated!

[Flash]

If he is already playing Pocket Edition on the iPad I don't see any reason he couldn't take the next step up to PC. Online play is NOT a requirement and he could easily just play in single player mode all by himself. This will give him a bigger world to explore, new block types that aren't on iOS, etc. That would be my recommendation, no reason to burden him with the responsibility of playing on a server where his actions could impact others. In single player he can do whatever he wants with no concern.

[Will T.]

The only potentially "graphic" things in MC on the PC are probably the Nether, which is used as a fast-travel pocket dimension in MC and has some loose "Underworld" themes to it; and its most common inhabitant, the Zombie Pigman. Even then, those are quite tame compared to most games.

[ADevilishPotato]

Don't we already have a few young folks that play already? I mean there isn't any blood or gore, but there are definitely "jump" times when enemy mobs scare the dickens out of you when they walk up behind you and startle you. That is about the worst it gets from that perspective. Has he just been playing under passive mode? (I'm not familiar with how the ipad version differs from the regular one, but I would imagine that it would have hostile mobs).

The online interaction are in no way needed to play, the single player is the exact same thing as the multiplayer, the only difference is that you can't have a buddy help you out with building anything or spelunking in a dark cave or what have you. You also have advantages with single player not being locked into what the server is set to, which is survival multiplayer hard vs say creative mode or survival easy/normal (survival meaning that you have to gather resources and food and so forth vs creative where you are basically playing block god).

On the flip side, if you were to set him up with multiplayer, the community is always very helpful and supportive, but he would need to be able to follow the rules of no stealing/griefing, build away from people's land unless given permission, and then the normal rules of conduct. I figure you know that, but we have had issues with younger folks in the past not being able to follow that 100% of the time (but then again I guess that also applies to some of the older folks as well ).

Hope that helped.

[ADevilishPotato]

Hehe text wall takes too long to write, 2 folks got in before me...What Flash said .

[ADevilishPotato]

The only potentially "graphic" things in MC on the PC are probably the Nether, which is used as a fast-travel pocket dimension in MC and has some loose "Underworld" themes to it; and its most common inhabitant, the Zombie Pigman. Even then, those are quite tame compared to most games.

And zombie pigmen are passive to boot...until you anger them in which case you are in for a world of hurt

[Plinko]

I let my 4 year old sit with me to play Minecraft sometimes, but I do the controls and she suggests things to do. I do tell her the hostile mobs need to be told to go away instead of killed, but that's pretty mild by most standards.

[Flash]

I let my 4 year old sit with me to play Minecraft sometimes, but I do the controls and she suggests things to do. I do tell her the hostile mobs need to be told to go away instead of killed, but that's pretty mild by most standards.

I guess I could have mentioned that as well. My 2.5 year old daughter loves to play "jungle game" with me. We feed the animals, check the garden, go swimming, etc. I also try to avoid any confrontations with hostile mobs but now when she sees a zombie she says we need to "use the bow and arrow!" She views them as "silly" as opposed to mean or scary.

[Guardian]

I'm pretty sure I'd say minecraft is the best video game for kids of all time since it more or less encourages them to explore and become creative with the environment around them and in general I believe a game who's environment encourages you to solve problems you create is good, even if those problems are usually how do I make my awesome house. I'm no child psychologist but I'm pretty sure any time a child is challenging themselves through problems that they believe they can solve, it's doing better things for their brain rather then a more passive activity like TV. It's probably why minecraft.edu was created to literally turn it into a teaching tool as the base game is a pretty good teaching tool on it's own.

I mean if your worried about mobs, you can always set things to peaceful and have them not spawn and there really isn't anything graphic at all in minecraft.

But then again I'm just some young guy who is barely grown up himself so what do I know.

[YoullNeverWalkAlone]

THanks for all the great feedback guys. It has been a great game for him on the iPad, and I think he wants to be on the computer to get the extra "stuff" available. I'll probably keep him offline for now and just monitor him as he plays.

[Plinko]

I forgot to mention one time I let her put on the headphones and talk to JD in Teamspeak while we tooled around TV5 on horseback. That was probably a bigger risk to her development than anything that might happen in the game.

[The Domer]

I forgot to mention one time I let her put on the headphones and talk to JD in Teamspeak while we tooled around TV5 on horseback. That was probably a bigger risk to her development than anything that might happen in the game.

Don't let CPS hear about that incident.

[kkpyro]

YNWA,
I would suggest picking up the game and playing with your son. It's a really fun game that challenges creativity and building. It's not just fun, but could be used as a learning tool.

If you change your mind about waiting, I would be willing to set up a time during the week and play with you both. That way you could "tour" the map and check it out for yourself with someone to
explain how things work on a multiplayer server.

Ladeee has an excellent set up with her kids and we have lots of fun together. She would be another great resource.

@ Plinko and Flash....that is just so awesome that you game with your little ones! My little guy sat on my lap and gamed with me for years. Then, we gamed together playing Zelda, Super Smash bro, racing games, ect. Enjoy it, what you have is precious. It will yield amazing results. I spent last weekend in Southern California where my 26 year old son set up an entire gaming weekend for us. He and I still game when he's got time. Although he's grown up and away from home, gaming keeps us all close. It's easy to take the time you're spending for granted, as a Mom with grown children, I just want to encourage you.

[Bash-man]

+1 with what KKpyro said. Set up a little dedicated server and build with him! I set my boys up since Alpha and they've amazed me with some of the worlds they have built.

[YoullNeverWalkAlone]

Hmm. He likes the creative mode especially because at this age, spawning cows into lava is the peak of entertainment. I think he is probably best off playing with me on his own map so that he can create whatever he wants. At some point down the road I will introduce him to online interaction, and I imagine the Ville is the safest place to do that.

THis has been very helpful folks!