I've had a similar approach. My kids computers are setup next to mine and I keep an eye on what they're playing.

I've instigated a purchase wait period of at least 3 days. Very often they themselves realize that the thing that they wanted to spend their pocket money on was a brief desire.

I was super proud when I heard my son say "meh, this is pay to win" as quitting a random roblox game he was trying out.

To summarize a bit glibly, you're saying to be a good parent. Which of course is awesome, and it is important for people like yourself to explain how to do that using the available tools, etc.

I think the concern many people have is that not everyone, maybe even not most, are good parents. They are themselves addicted to their screens, sports betting, credit cards, etc etc.

How much of a "nanny state" we create is a fair question. Of course due to economic incentives the companies will generally tend to outsource the problem as "be better parents", and indeed the problems of digital society are not these games' fault or burden alone. But to me it seems we have to break the cycle somewhere, and regulating these apps more is a perfectly sensible starting point. We should have freedom, yes, but also need to make systems that match reality on the ground and don't fail under the lowest common denominator situation.

Edit: not to assume you were implying otherwise. Just that we should avoid the "well it's not a problem for me, just do <x>" error.

This is such a good approach. You're sharing interests with your daughter and teaching her valuable skills to confront problems she will absolutely face as an adult. Having the good foundation will give her a leg up later in life for sure and I wish more parents followed this example.

Man... Pro skater 2. That game's soundtrack/playlist is forever burned into my memories.

I agree mostly. But I would push back on the idea that you need to let your child do whatever (play on Roblox, get fancy clothes or toys, etc) because of bullying. You're trading one set of potential problems for another set of known problems, and letting your own fears dictate how you raise your kids. How do you expect your kids to stand up to peer pressure as teenagers if you give into their peers when they are younger?

I get it. We all look back at the pain from our childhoods and try to shield our kids from that pain. But unless you want your kid to be average in every way there's going to be a chance of bullying. Focus on building a strong relationship with them so that you can guide them through it if it happens.

I would be surprised if that were true. Roblox was one of the earliest games to have their digital currency for sale in corner stores where kids can buy it with cash.

nothing is free… :)

> And Mojang itself is adding fuel to the fire by...

You mean Microsoft.

What's wrong with paid mods?

I don't really understand why those things are bad? Making your server executable available for dedicated servers is common (and good!) and selling paid mods just seems like selling software to me

edit: the private server operators might be bad, but I don't see how this is Minecraft's fault (or how it doesn't apply to every game that allows dedicated servers)

The Minecraft you know and love is a fantastic game, especially for kids. Top 10 all time, IMO, in terms of creativity and education and development. And you can easily set up a personal friends and family server/realm, and there are tons of free mods and maps.

The problem is that malicious actors can build Roblox in anything. It's not hard to get kids hooked and begging their parents for lucrative in-game gambling currency.

Microsoft forces login these days for single player play, and jams ads, social networking crap.

As a parent, I don’t have time for this bullshit, and assume they have malicious intentions. Also, at least once, there was some warning about a profanity filter that my kid dismissed without reading. It’s tied to my MS account, and only a matter of time before that is tied to github and linkedin.

So the kid says “doodie head” one too many times, and what, I lose my windows login / bitlocker key, gh repos and professional network?

Screw it.

As someone who grew up on Industrial Craft 2, you can really miss out on a lot of incredible, free, content if you write off minecraft mods entirely.

And many of those mods at worse might have a donation link if any kind of monetary discussion at all.

Mods are the lifeblood of Minecraft though, they are incredible.

where would creeps even contact kids on Minecraft? the only officially sanctioned servers are on Bedrock and tightly moderated, everything else is plastered with Microsoft-sanctioned warnings about unmoderated play

Most people on this website can run a Minecraft server themselves for their kids and their kids' friends. That seems to be the way to go tbh.

See Unite 2025 keynote, also https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/unity-and-epic-gam...

Unity makes money as usual, the people doing those games pay their professional licenses to Unity.

Apparently Minecraft became what Second Life wanted to be.

You can't let them out because they keep getting killed by automobiles.

https://walksf.org/2023/06/28/pedestrian-deaths-reach-highes...

https://www.statista.com/chart/17194/pedestrian-fatalities-i...

https://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/driveway-danger...

I'd been riding bikes with my friends around the block since the age of 6. Parents didn't chase us around and minded their own business instead of nanomanaging us into absolute snowflakes that modern children have become. We played tag at building sites, jumping gaps meter wide and five deep, made explosives out of match sticks, bolts and nuts, and showed up at home just to check in and have a quick lunch. We did a bunch more things many parents would deem insane these days (and even our own, should they know)...

And yet every single one of my friends managed to survive this now-impossible freedom and came into adulthood with a bunch of wonderful warm memories of our childhoods, free of any stigmas or psychological trumas.

This modern fear-based attitude towards childhood is beyond sick.

Now before anyone says "but pedophiles and terrorists" - mind you, that was 80's USSR, Chikatilo had still been at large, the gossip was there but wasn't amplified enough to put everyone into scared trance like modern mass-media does.

Literally nothing has changed in the society since then, maniacs were around just like they are now, but the attitude towards the outside world has been so blown out of proportion today, that parents are eager to outsource the upbringing to strangers in online games out of fear of strangers and dangers outside.

If the all class plays Fortnite and that is the only way they get socialized, his parents should consider moving him to another school. Many kids don't play this kind of stuff and actually prefer hanging out.

This kind of approach is also invalid. So what everyone plays Fortnite? There are many places to get socialized with other kids. The kid likes basketball? Sign him up to a basketball team; he likes to play music? Sign him to some band; etc. Kids shouldn't surrender to peer pressure.

I agree schools are also a problem, but not the main problem.

See last week's thread on why more parents homeschool.

If they grow on it they will normalize this bad content. If someone didn't grow on Fortnite and then hear somebody wastes 6h a day on Fortnite, they will think "this guy is nuts".

My money's on non-dad.

I'm happy parents like you exist. I was growing up in the time it started being acceptable to give 10 year olds smartphones, and I desperately wanted one. My parents didn't get me one (mostly because we were broke). I eventually got one and while I will sing the praises of letting kids access the internet with less guardrails, the instant always connected access to the internet did a number to my mental health and I eventually switched to a dumbphone.

They'll still play it with their friends at school.

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