How My Three-year Old Got Into Minecraft
My daughter and I have never spent an entire day apart. When she was a baby, we’d spend all morning on our own. This was a wonderful experience…until I had to do even the smallest task. I know I’m not the first mother to breastfeed at the table, or on the toilet. I’m not the first one to stay up later so I could clean or take a quiet shower. Our pediatrician told us that we had to slowly leave the room for a few minutes each time, until our daughter got used to being apart from us. Easier said than done.
Enter the YouTube app on our television.
It started innocently enough. I’d play a Sesame Street song for her and walk away. Our tiny one-year old would stand in front of our huge TV and dance along to the songs. We played them so much that everyone in the house knew them by heart and, to this day, I can’t listen to Feist’s “1,2,3,4” in its original form. Do you know all 100 dance scenes in the “Uptown Funk” mashup video? I do. But, eventually, my daughter found ways to tell us that she wanted to watch different videos. She graduated to Peppa Pig. Around this time, we came up with the brilliant plan to take back our TV and hand her an iPad. Imagine Charlie finding the golden ticket to the chocolate factory.
She learned quickly to switch videos. She learned to scroll through the recommendations. For a while, it was all about people opening blind bags and boxes, something that she absolutely loves to do. Then, a few months ago, two things happened; first, she watched us playing video games. I was playing Assassin’s Creed and my husband was playing Elder Scrolls Online. She took an interest in the animals in the games and the action. Along with this, she’s also learned how to use the PS4 controller and a computer keyboard and mouse. This is why I said I “was playing.” Second, she found videos of people playing video games online. Mainly, Minecraft. At this point we had already purchased a couple of learning apps for her to use. So we thought we’d give Minecraft a shot. In just a few weeks, she’s gone from barely knowing how to set down blocks, to building her own enclosures. She has memorized almost every egg; she knows how to make animals follow her; she can build and bring down structures. As geek parents, we’re bursting with pride. We’re also amazed at how much she has learned in such a short period of time and how much her imagination takes flight when she’s using Minecraft. She gives the characters names and tells a story as she’s playing. We do try to fill her day with other activities away from electronics and she’s not allowed to take the iPad outside of our home. We want her to be prepared for the digital world but also burn that toddler energy out in the real world.
