• Zloubida
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      14 days ago

      It’s not Minecraft especially, it’s the computer. I never played Minecraft so it may be suitable for a 7 yo (depending on the child), but at 5 no child should in my opinion play video games alone, only for small periods of time and always accompanied by an adult as their brain is not mature enough to grasp the concept of virtuality.

      • @[email protected]
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        213 days ago

        I’m not convinced that a 5 year old can’t grasp the concept of virtuality. Minecraft on peaceful mode is just giant blocks being picked up and placed. Even if it were true they don’t get that it’s virtual (that I don’t really understand how that could be true), I can’t imagine what long term damage could possibly be done by believing the blocks are real.

      • @[email protected]
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        113 days ago

        I know it’s only anecdotal but I was gaming at age 5, and I definitely knew the difference between games and real life.

      • @[email protected]
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        514 days ago

        You’re getting a lot of downvotes, which I think is related to the audience you’re talking to (computer and game affine) and the fact that Minecraft is generally considered a kid friendly game, so what’s the harm?

        That being said, it has zombies, creepers etc. and a 5yo can definitely get scared by it. I’ve seen it happen.

        However, I believe any unattended screen time at age 5 to be a much bigger issue in general. The AAP / AACAP recommends a maximum of 60 minutes a day of screen time at that age, and that includes the combined total including TV etc. Many European institutions advocate for a limit of 30 minutes (the AAP recently increased the limit in their recommendations).

        Minecraft is a game suitable for kids, but unsupervised media consumption is definitely not a thing at age 5.

      • @[email protected]
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        214 days ago

        I know this is Lemmy and most of y’all can’t conceive of anything else. But the vast majority of Minecraft players don’t play on the computer. Only 20% of Minecraft players use a PC. Not that I agree with your point either way, just useful information.

          • @[email protected]
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            114 days ago

            Is that what you meant earlier when you said children shouldn’t be allowed on computers at age 5? If so I question your word choice.

            • Zloubida
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              114 days ago

              English is not my mother tongue, so yeah my word choice may be bad. But I said that children shouldn’t be allowed alone on computers. Not only PCs, but all kinds of computers: PCs, smartphones, tablets, consoles, … However, for short periods of time and accompanied by an adult, they can use a computer.

      • @[email protected]
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        214 days ago

        I played video games since I was 3. They had to put a milk crate for me to stand on in front of the TMNT Arcade game. Mine craft teaches creativity and design and works as virtual Lego. It’s fine.