Dan Romero on Warpcast

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Dan Romero pfp

What age did you start letting your kids play video games? What's the best progression from 0 to building cool stuff in Minecraft?

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chun pfp

the first game i want my kids to play is dota 2, so they can learn compassionate communication and effective collaboration

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vrypan |--o--| pfp

I tried everything with my (now 13yrs) daughter. Fun online courses designed to help kids learn how to program, micro:bit, building games in python, you name it. She was ok, she did some things with it, but she never had it in her like I did her age, when I was willing to learn assembly and spend nights to make a stupid hack work. It turns out programming computers is no more interesting to most of them than learning how to repair a car. They have programming courses in school. I guess she will learn the basics, just like she'll learn to drive (ok, let's not get into this). My advise is just to limit screen time. They'll say they are bored, it's ok. Being bored is important. They'll find creative things to do. And if they are really into building things on a computer, despite the limitations, you'll see it, don't worry. She draws, she signs, she plays the viola, she's good at sports. She won't bee the computer geek I hoped she would, but maybe it's better.

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Brian Kim pfp

full send starcraft 2 so they learn resource optimization

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Thibauld pfp

~4yo. I bought them the SNES classic, they loved it! Minecraft is a mystery to me... I just don't get it. I installed it on the iPad when the youngest was ~5yo I think and now the 2 boys (6 and 8) are creating absolutely crazy worlds in it. (Even though I think the gameplay is horrible but hey... who am I to judge? Minecraft made something people want, I am just not the audience 😅 ) At ~6yo, I introduced them to Civilization VI. Instant hit. They absolutely loved it. They know all upgrades, the technology tree, all military strength of all units. C.R.A.Z.Y Latest addition was Age of Empire. Big hit too!! In our home, they are allowed to play only on Sat and Sun morning, ~3h each morning. This way we have absolute full peace 😇

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Ryan J. Shaw Ⓜ️🎩 pfp

Ryan J. Shaw Ⓜ️🎩

My daughter could safely use a tablet around 4. Lots of educational games, we didn't see any issue - plus it was lockdown. Her and I both played Minecraft together for the first time. The first night was intense but fun memories. Before that she'd played Lego Worlds, so she had a sense of open world games, WASD and sandbox building. Creative mode is more approachable for young kids unless you're going to be playing survival with them and actively teaching them. Kidoodle also has some age appropriate Minecraft streamers who setup creative scenarios while teaching game mechanics quite a bit (you'll still need to monitor, of course, but better than free reign on YT or YT Kids which we had bad experiences with).

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I let her play a crappy little alphabet/numbers/colour learning game (LeapLand Adventures from Leap Frog) when she was 3, and it helped her hand-eye coordination, but she got super frustrated (the controls did suck). At 4 we started playing Mario Odyssey on Switch (she's the un-killable hat) and she LOVED it. She loves the teamwork and exploring and the fact that she is un-killable. We actually just beat Bowser recently, so it was like 1.5 years of game time. Her little sister is 3 now and we all play Mario together. The older one has fun telling the younger one what to do. I mentioned Minecraft to my wife and she's super-anti, so that likely won't happen for awhile.

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eirrann | he/him🎩🔵 pfp

eirrann | he/him🎩🔵

we gifted a nintendo switch lite to our kiddo when he was 8, and Minecraft was his first game he already understood a lot from his friends at school who had been playing with older siblings and cousins and telling him about it it took him a while to go from building just random weirdness to things that I thought deserved merit, but it was all cool to him from the start (at that age, playing in survival mode and losing a pack of tamed dogs was devastating though) as a pre-teen, he's now a much better gamer than I've ever been crushes me consistently at most games

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McBain pfp

We only let them play games in the Tesla and very rarely starting at 5 When Harry turned 8 we bought Minecraft for him and he gets an hour ish per week He LOVES building stuff in creative mode and has built a few custom MOBs in a builder tool He devours Minecraft books and guides and then jams all that stuff he’s learned in on the weekends He also builds a ton of Lego Minecraft stuff

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Carlos Matallín pfp

Carlos Matallín

Put them on Factorio if you want kids who are cracked

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Alberto Ornaghi pfp

Alberto Ornaghi

started at 5, with time limit and screen distance warning enabled. parental control is mandatory (with Apple Family). don't let them use YOUR device, use a specific one for them.

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Jake pfp

Outlier here I guess - My kids (ages 1-12) haven’t played video games a part from a few times with friends 🤪 I don’t play games either, and it hasn’t really come up much in over a decade of parenting 🤷

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Vinzeka pfp

Start at around 5-7, with age-appropriate games. For Minecraft, start with basic tutorials, then move onto more complex builds as they gain skills

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Christian Montoya 🦊 pfp

Christian Montoya 🦊

4 Watching let’s play videos will get them there

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Dirthippy pfp

Minecraft was our starter video game. Might have been 5? He still plays it occasionally. Felt the building aspect of Minecraft was a little better for his age. We DID have to limit his screen time though. 🤷‍♂️ I think the answer is that different kids can be introduced at different ages, but I’m cognizant of the addictive nature. When they are hiding in the closet with an iPad at 2 in the morning, it might be an indication that boundaries are needed. 😆 We also started him with D&D at 6, and board games like Agricola at 8. He is 15 now, and in our weekly board game group.

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Alex Roytenberg, CPA 🎩🍖 pfp

Alex Roytenberg, CPA 🎩🍖

@alexroytenberg

PBS and a few other games on iPad age 3 and 4.

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Jawa pfp

Started with Minecraft after some really basic games on the Xbox around 4. The biggest challenge was mouse dexterity. MC is great for kids on a million levels but my favorite is how it fosters executive functioning. Learning to survive the night / bring food & supplies when you go on an adventure is great.

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BrixBountyFarm 🎩 pfp

BrixBountyFarm 🎩

We got a switch on a whim during Covid… probably a bit too young for our son who could play video games all day. Initially tried to make it family time. We would all play Mario, we all played Zelda. Eventually he got into Minecraft and other iterations of Zelda and Mario and played solo. 7-8 seems right in my mind. My wife does no screen summer with them, and we have strict limits during school week. On weekends we’ll sometimes let him play for a few hours and he’ll get deep into it. This summer he was pining for a Zelda game. We told him if he earned the money he could buy it… seeding sessions in the farm, lemonade stand (crushed it on the vineyard) etc and he saved up 70 for Tears of the Kingdom. TBD net positive or not - each kid is different.

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Chase Sommer pfp

@chasesommer.eth

Minecraft is such a good game. Legos on steroids.

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I wish I touched complex grass before 12 and touched screen mainly for peer elements after world has more detail than any game

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