My 6 year old grandson is hooked on mine craft, a virtual lego game, he plays on his kindle.
I was worried about gaming but I’ve noticed he had learned how to read by age 4 and his math skills are top notch. He has built some pretty amazing cities. I had a problem with his killing of the pigs, cows, and chickens but he says “I’ve got to eat Gram”. A player must combine items to make things . The only problem I have is the constant killing of googlies when it gets dark.
haha Just chalk that up to training for the inevitable Zombiepocalypse...
My kids love minecraft. We went to DC a few years ago and took the metro back to our hotel. It was a short walk. at night, and a little spooky. My middle child said, “The googlies come out at night.” We still remind them now that they’re older.
He is NOT allowed to play Grand Theft Auto.
As a child of the 80s I say that it comes down to the game you play. I think Minecraft is a great game for kids and what you say does not surprise me in the least.
As much as I cringe watching my kid on a tablet, wondering if she’s too young to have one, I’ve seen the same results you have.
Another thing I’ve noticed, my child likes animal documentaries on Netflix. So did I, when I was young. Unlike me, she doesn’t have to wait a week for the next episode to come on, or the 5 commercial breaks of garbage to go into her head. She can watch a series of episodes back to back to back. Some look at me crazy when I mention this, but I think this new dynamic really is a benefit. She is always asking me what this or that word means because of shows like that.
Minecraft is an amazing game and truly is a modern version of Legos! I’ve seen normally withdrawn, below average children become sociable, intelligent kids in the course of just a few years after playing Minecraft almost every day. I believe it helps kids to understand mathematics, physics, architecture, increase spatial awareness, and on multiplayer servers, learn social skills.
I run a Minecraft server on my home network, and I get friends, mostly adults, who spend a lot of time building mammoth structures. It’s great for people of all ages!