How Minecraft Saved My Sanity

Author

Tara Richmond
June 29, 2025

Parenting with Pixels

My very smart 6-year-old has started to notice things about me — things I didn’t realize I was showing quite so loudly.

Like how I forget to dry his favourite Minecraft shirt...even though he’s already worn it for fifth day in a row.
Or how sometimes I don’t finish my sentences — like my brain just runs out of battery mid-thought.
Or how I somehow forget to eat, even though I’m the one yelling about snacks every hour.
Or, the hardest one: how my face looks “mad” when I’m just...overwhelmed.

He caught on faster than I expected.
Kids always do.

At first, I wanted to explain spoon theory — the way energy is limited, especially for people with ADHD or mental health struggles.
But he’s six, and very literal.
The last thing I needed was him raiding the cutlery drawer and announcing he was out of spoons for putting on socks.

So instead, I reached for something he completely understands:
Minecraft.

✨ Managing Your Energy Bar (The Minecraft Way)

In Minecraft, your character has a hunger bar and hearts for health.
If you don’t eat, you get weak.
If you take damage (fall off a mountain, fight zombies, accidentally walk into lava), you lose hearts.

You can’t sprint if you’re too hungry.
You can’t heal if your hunger bar is low.
And sometimes, if you don’t stop and rest, you literally die in a cave surrounded by angry skeletons. (A totally normal Tuesday.)

So I explained it like this:

"Mommy’s brain has an energy bar, kind of like Minecraft.
When I wake up, my bar is half-full because my brain is still loading.
Every time I do something — find your socks, remember where you put your book, help you with snacks — it uses a little more energy.
If I don't rest, or eat, or recharge, my bar runs out.
And then I can’t sprint, or finish my sentences, or remember to dry the Minecraft shirt."

He got it.
Immediately.
He even said, "Ohhh, so you need to eat a golden apple to heal your brain!"
(Dear reader, I cried.)

🛡️ How to Recharge Without Logging Out

  • Plan like a Minecraft engineer. Stack the easy tasks early. Keep reserves for end-of-day chaos.

  • Use your potions. Coffee, a solo walk, five minutes with your favorite playlist—whatever fills your bar, do more of that.

  • Activate multiplayer mode. Lean on your partner or co-parent. Even Steve doesn’t go it alone.

  • Teach the next gen. When your kids see you manage your energy bar, they learn how to respect theirs too.

Parenting with an energy bar mindset doesn’t mean doing less—it means playing smarter. And sometimes, the most powerful move is logging off for a nap. You’re still a great parent. You’re just in recharge mode.

✨ Tiny Lesson: Parenting with Pixels

I'm learning that meeting kids where they are — in their world, in their language — is sometimes the most powerful parenting move.

  • You don’t have to teach every life lesson with perfect words.

  • You don’t have to hide your struggles.

  • You just have to connect in a way they can understand.

In this house, some days, we parent with hugs.
Some days, with Happy Meals.
And some days, with Minecraft hearts and energy bars.

Whatever keeps us surviving — and loving each other — is enough.

Thanks for loading into my world for a little while.
Talk soon,
Tara
CEO of Chaos & Co.

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