I'll take you back a step, because the non-Stampy/Minecraft lovers among you may well be confused. Minecraft is a very popular game for all ages these days. It is a building game where the users can build almost anything out of blocks in their very own 3D world. It can be played on Xbox, on iPads, on computers - and that's about where my expertise ends.
My girls both got hooked on Minecraft a few months ago, and shortly after finding the game they found YouTube videos made by other users, talking viewers through the weird and wonderful worlds they had built themselves.
The King of all these YouTubers is a young man affectionately known as 'Stampy'. His icon/avatar is that of a ginger cat (a bit like Top Cat, which is our eldest girl's initials, we do like that link) and this will explain why we are now on the lookout for a real ginger kitten to join our family (can you guess what it will be named?!).
Stampylonghead (his YouTube channel name) has over 1.3 million subscribers to his account, and he has listed 163 videos showing different aspects of his Minecraft world so far. The girls have watched them all. In his world, he has created a 'Love Garden' which shows a sign (check at around 1:28 on the video below) on which he displays the names of anybody who has done, or made something nice for him.
Obviously, with over a million subscribers, he can't publish or mention everyone's name, so it has to be something extra special that they have made for him. Here's where Tamsin comes in.
Our clever 8 year old set about making some Stampy characters out of clay, and then made a short animation, complete with talking, all by herself. We uploaded it to YouTube and then let Stampy know it was there. A week or so later, Tamsin had come downstairs early and was watching Stampy's latest video, when all of a sudden she spotted her name in the Love Garden!
She was, of course, over the moon just to be there and see her name. What has made it even more exciting for her is that over 22,000 people have now viewed her video on YouTube, and she has 155 subscribers to her YouTube channel. Bit of pressure now to make her next Oscar-winning animation! I know you're all dying to watch it, so here it is in its full glory.
I'm really proud that both my girls have enjoyed creating their own amazing Minecraft worlds. No idea how they do it to be honest!! One last tip from me though, is to think carefully before using social media. Some of the comments we received were less than complimentary, and several not exactly suitable for an 8 year old girl. Oh, and even if you remove the comments from YouTube on your home computer, they still show up on an iPad. That said, I still think it was OK to do as long as you talk it all through with them - after all, they are all now growing up in the ultra-digital age. Feel free to leave any pleasant comments after watching yourselves!
To find out more about our experiences, please check out our 'About Us' page. If you are looking for more information on Pathological Demand Avoidance, the posts below may help.
What is PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance)?
Ten things you need to know about Pathological Demand Avoidance
Does my child have Pathological Demand Avoidance?
The difference between PDA and ODD
Strategies for PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance)
Pathological Demand Avoidance: Strategies for Schools
Challenging Behaviour and PDA
Is Pathological Demand Avoidance real?
Autism with demand avoidance or Pathological Demand Avoidance?
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