February 24, 2015 at 8:19 am
skanker (2/24/2015)
...I have two girls aswell and very scared about them growing up. No boys allowed until they are 30 methinks...
I have a daughter and I am terrified even though she is only 11.
As an analogy (and to avoid the real subject) there are a lot of sensible and considerate drivers out there and yet we fear the one who may knock over our loved ones.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
February 24, 2015 at 9:03 am
djackson 22568 (2/23/2015)
...Minecraft is about building, and having fun doing so.
...
Very true. Late to respond, but my experience with my two younger kids is that they were much more interested in building something interesting. My son built some circuits and showed how he could do "machine" type things where one thing causes some action elsewhere. Had some neat structures where stepping turned on a light or opened something.
My daughter was more into aesthetic structures, but she's more of an artist. if Minecraft had been around with my oldest son, he'd be the same way as he likes to draw. She's built large, complex castles or buildings that don't have obvious entrances. She'll add signs, or directions, which is something my son would never do.
I don't think this is a boy v girl thing, but a personality thing.
I'd like to encourage more creativity parts of Minecrafts, more puzzles, more building than the fighting. Not that there's anything wrong with the fighting, but I don't want it to overwhelm the other parts that teach different skills or excite other parts of the brain.
February 24, 2015 at 9:10 am
phonetictalk (2/23/2015)
How do other people handle the "in moderation" part of technology? Especially for kids not yet in school?
My three kids are older (13+ now), and so we've given up here. We can talk to them about things, as dJackson mentioned, and we try to install values, but we can't control what they see, especially with cell phones.
Early on, since we had extra devices (laptops, then phones), we'd let them use them, but with us. They'd gain experience, they'd figure things out, but we were there. We also only let them use devices in public places in the house (living room/kitchen). That worked well, though as they grew through 10-11, it becomes harder.
We held off on cell phones until they were in a position where they weren't with us and we wanted to communicate. That typically was middle school when they entered sports/theater, and we wanted them to let us know about pickups or locations.
I think you have to experiment a bit. See what others do, understand that their experiences are based on different values, and different kids. Take what you find interesting, see what works, understand you'll make some mistakes, and share what works with others.
February 24, 2015 at 9:18 am
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (2/24/2015)
...I don't think this is a boy v girl thing, but a personality thing...
That is so true. I have one of each who both conform to gender stereotypes in some ways and are the complete opposites in others. As usually, generalisations can work over groups but rarely strictly apply to individuals.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
February 24, 2015 at 9:24 am
I'll also say that I think my kids spend too much time in front of screens and it makes me crazy. But my son runs cross country, my daughter plays competitive volleyball, and they'll all go for a bike ride or run with me, or hit the gym.
Hard to complain too much if they're doing something.
February 24, 2015 at 9:27 am
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (2/24/2015)
I'll also say that I think my kids spend too much time in front of screens and it makes me crazy. But my son runs cross country, my daughter plays competitive volleyball, and they'll all go for a bike ride or run with me, or hit the gym.Hard to complain too much if they're doing something.
It sounds like they've found a good balance! Not to worry ...
February 24, 2015 at 10:31 am
HA! This was like reading the story of my own daily struggle with kids and Minecraft. I could have written the same, word for word.
"Mod" is a constant subject in our home. At one point, I looked at my son and said "Mod, ma-mod, mod, mod, mod" in a Seagull-like voice, because that was the only thing that kid could say.
I had great hopes that my sons would grow up to participate in a more noble profession, such as doctors for the peace corps or human rights attorneys. But alas, I feel my sons will end up in the same thankless job as my husband and myself...Database/BI architects. 😉
Regardless of their future career choices, I am thankful for games, such as Minecraft, that stimulate learning and nurture their proclivity for technology(as opposed to the ole "shoot 'em up" games). I'll keep my fingers crossed that Microsoft can clean up the mod system.
February 24, 2015 at 12:44 pm
Gary Varga (2/24/2015)
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (2/24/2015)
...I don't think this is a boy v girl thing, but a personality thing...That is so true. I have one of each who both conform to gender stereotypes in some ways and are the complete opposites in others. As usually, generalisations can work over groups but rarely strictly apply to individuals.
Agreed. If I didn't generalize my comments sufficiently, I apologize. But unfortunately a lot of the generalizations are true due to how we as parents raise our kids, and how schools (and especially individual teachers) teach them. For example, in general girls score lower in advanced math - not because they aren't equal in capabilities, but because they are not typically provided the same opportunities and instruction. Video games like Minecraft in some ways help to eliminate that bias because the child chooses what they want to do.
Dave
February 24, 2015 at 12:49 pm
Kutang Pan (2/23/2015)
I'm going to get my 7 and 5 y/o their own first PC, nothing powerfull, just something to be able to watch movies and stuff on internet. Maybe minecraft will be a good first game.BTW:
Any suggestions about a good parental control software?
In addition to my previous post, SANS sent an email out today that included a link to the site below. SANS states
--Fishy Code Bundled on Lenovo Laptops Found in Other Programs (February 20 & 22, 2015) Malicious code in the Superfish adware that came bundled on certain Lenovo laptops has been found in at least a dozen apps. Superfish uses a certain software development kit (SDK) to intercept HTTPS traffic.
That same SDK has been detected in other programs, including several parental control software products.
Another good reason to not trust these programs...
Dave
February 24, 2015 at 1:51 pm
djackson 22568 (2/24/2015)
...If I didn't generalize my comments sufficiently, I apologize...
I found nothing for you to apologise for.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
February 25, 2015 at 11:03 am
My son is 6 and has been playing World of Warcraft and Minecraft for about 3 years now. My wife and I monitor everything he does. With WoW we don't let him talk to anyone... he learned to read maps and find his way around on there. With Minecraft he's built things from his schooling (human body), from movies (flying ships from Treasure Planet), from his imagination, and from my work place (energy plant). We've had to periodically cut back on something when his conversation approached red flag status in an airport (TNT and blowing up a plane he built in Minecraft... yea, not good).
May 16, 2019 at 1:57 am
What they do is block sites based on political viewpoints. For example, some of them block all types of conservative sites including anything pro-Christian, ...
Given that Christianity covers quite a wide variety of viewpoints, across the entire political spectrum, and given that we should certainly not assume that Christianity is intrinsically linked to hostility to homosexuality, as you seem to infer, I assume that you meant to say here, something along the lines of, "pro-specific creeds of Christianity, such as Southern US Baptist or Pentacostal." Otherwise one might think that your personal biasses were showing, and I am sure that you would not want that to be assumed.
May 25, 2019 at 6:21 am
So, I'm a huge gaming nerd. I failed out of high school because I cared more about playing online games than school work.
I didn't have Minecraft in the late 90's and early 2000's. I had Multi-User Dungeons, also known as MUD's. These are text-based representations of Dungeons & Dragons, but online and developed in C/C++ on Unix based systems. Diving into the same concept as Minecraft with modding these, led me to learn how to program and use Unix/Linux.
Fast forward many years, I am working in the video game industry for 8 years, traveled the world, lived in another country for a year, have launched 10 AAA titles, and now work as a data architect for a large ad company.
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