What is so awesome about Minecraft – for kids

Minecraft is awesome for kids, especially if you are an only child. Through Minecraft, you can meet with other children online and build worlds together. There are loads of games you can play together and you can even create your own games with your own challenges. You can learn about graphic design and game development. All these skills will help enrich your life.

The Four Modes of Minecraft

Minecraft is called a sandbox game. This means you have a blank canvas where you can build anything you like and create your own adventures.

There are different sorts of levels to use in Minecraft called ‘Modes’, which you can choose to use depending on how you want to play the game.

There are four types of modes of Minecraft.

Creative Mode: Where you can design and build on a template land. All the tools and resources are available to you and it’s nearly impossible to ‘die’ in Creative Mode.
Survival Mode: Build from scratch on a desert island. You have to ‘mine’ for all your resources. You have to create your own tools and fight against monsters etc. There is a greater chance of ‘dying’ in this mode. But you can regenerate in Survival Mode
Hardcore Mode: This is Survival Mode taken to a whole new level. It’s much harder to complete Hardcore Mode because when you ‘die’ it ends the game completely. You lose all your tools and the world you are playing in.
Adventure Mode: In Adventure Mode, you can create a map of your creation and let other people explore your world without smashing it up.

(NB: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means Sops and I may make a small commission if you make a purchase using one of these links. For more information read our Affiliate Disclaimer.)

Meet other children online

The cool thing about Minecraft is you can make friends online safely. Minecraft recommends Discord and a server and they have strict safeguarding rules. You can play games together and share some of the worlds you have built. Maybe you can have a Minecraft Marathon Day?

You can also make friends with other ‘only’ children using our own Discord server in the right-hand margin.

NB: Make sure you ask your parents to use any online chat servers.

For advice on how to make friends check out our post ‘How to make friends if you are an only child.’

Build Worlds

Do you daydream a lot? Do you imagine lots of interesting worlds that you wish you were visiting, rather than sitting through a boring Geography lesson? If so, then you can build your imaginary worlds with Minecraft. Sure the graphics are a bit blocky, but that adds to the charm.

Sops has built mansions on the top of mountains with waterfalls gushing out of them. She has built castles and forests. Minecraft gives you the ability to build the world of your dreams inhabited by mutant farm animals and fantastical beasts. You can roam throughout other people’s worlds and compliment them on their creativity. Maybe you will see a world that looks like your own and you can make a lifelong Minecraft buddy.

Face challenges

Just walking aimlessly through a world can be a bit boring, but in Minecraft, you are also faced with occasional challenges such as fighting giant spiders (creepers) or building yourself a shelter in Survival Mode. Actually, Survival Mode and Hardcore Mode are full of interesting challenges that you will have to overcome. You will certainly develop your problem-solving skills in these modes.

There are also new games being introduced all the time on Minecraft that you can try.

Build your own community

You can create your own community in Minecraft and exclude others. This is a fun game to try. You can have an ‘only child community’ and if anyone wants to join it you can quiz them to check whether they are an only child or an imposter with siblings. You and your other ‘only child’ friends can build your own ‘secret place’ on Minecraft. It would be worth doing this with Adventure Mode.

The awesome thing about Minecraft is that there is no detailed ‘backstory’. You can create an Adventure for yourself and your friends.

Develop your Engineering Skills

Did you know you can become an inventor on Minecraft? You can mine for Redstone, which is the energy source in the Minecraft world to create new tools and machines (mods). You can use Redstone to power doors, lamps and pistons. These can come in handy in Survival and Hardcore mode.

Play with your Family

Minecraft is one of those cool games that you can play with your parents. It’s like building Lego, but online. Your folks probably enjoyed playing with Lego when they were kids so they may relate well to this game. Together, you can create your own family fortress. You can fight baddies together. You can build your own world together and have oodles of fun doing it.

Whilst Minecraft is a popular PC game it is also available on popular game consoles including Xbox, PS4 and the wii, which may be easier to play as a family unit.

Make Money from Minecraft

Yes, it is true, you can make some pocket money from Minecraft. If you have been playing it for some time and you are competent in how the game works then here are some ways you can make money from Minecraft:

Tutoring – Teach newbies how to create their own servers and how to play in the different modes.
Advertising – If you create your own YouTube channel where you play the game, you can earn advertising revenue.
Banner Designs – If you fancy yourself a keen designer you can design Minecraft Banners on programmes such as Photoshop, GIMP or even Canva, which people will purchase for their websites.
Sell your Designs – If you are super competent in building by specification, you can get paid through fivver to build Minecraft designs for other users.
Setting Up a Server – Some people do not want someone just to teach them how to set up a server, some people are willing to pay for you to do that so they don’t have to.
Donations – If you have built an awesome server that people love they may want to offer a donation to you. Be sure to remind them on your server.

NB: Ask your parents about making money using Minecraft before you start.

The Cons of Minecraft

Minecraft is awesome. However, it can also be highly addictive. It is not healthy for you to stay staring at a screen all day. It can affect your eyesight, your sleep patterns and your posture. So make sure you put a time limit on how long you can play Minecraft each day and make sure you take plenty of breaks. If you feel you cannot stop playing, then you could be addicted to Minecraft and you may need to ask your parents to help you overcome your addiction.

Minecraft is also an online gaming platform, which means you could meet strangers online. Whilst Minecraft has got quite a few safety regulations in place e.g. using Discord you are still not 100% safe from strangers. Therefore, always play Minecraft where there are adults nearby such as in your living room.

Don’t play Minecraft alone in your bedroom.

Sometimes people can be mean in chat rooms. If you are experiencing this report them. You also have the power to block them from your server. Tell an adult if someone is cyberbullying you.

For more information about online gaming check out the Childline post on Gaming.