This summer I'm doing a series on What Parent's Need to Know about *insert some type of online thing here*... because it's not just parents that need to know these things but teachers too AND if there is one thing we all know it's that online stuff changes so often it's hard to keep up (especially when you aren't even using that app/program)!
Today I'm talking about Minecraft!
Which, like most of the other things I've talked about I know very little about so reading through this poster (which is available for free from National Online Safety) informed me of what exactly Minecraft is too.
To me it seems like it is very similar to Roblox (maybe just a slightly more mature version of it?).
There are "mods" that can be downloaded that change game play and are apparently very appealing. The majority of the ones you find should (hopefully) be okay to download but with everything you download online you have to be careful as it could have a virus in it which could be the end of your device. So, kids should be aware of the possible consequences of downloading these mods and check with an adult to give them the all clear beforehand.
You can disable the chat feature.
Kids should (hopefully) be choosing servers to join that include people they already know. This should hopefully cut down on any inappropriate behaviour they may run into in the game (like groomers).
And with all games, make sure you set time limits. Take it from me, if you think your child isn't getting any screen time at school you are wrong and they are actually likely getting screen time every day for about 30 minutes at school during class time. Games and devices can be addicting.
Learn anything new about Minecraft? Last week I talked about Roblox.
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