A Minecraft Server for Kids: A Guide for Parents

A public server or your own

On public servers (the ones in the “Multiplayer” list that get recommended in videos) anyone plays, with chat open to strangers and in-game shops. A private server is something else: your own world that people can only join with the address and, if you turn on the whitelist, only with a name you've added.

You don't have to pay to have one. You can run it for free on a home computer (it has to stay on while they play and, for people to join from outside, you have to open ports on the router), or get a free server from a host. Paying is worth it when you want it always on and with backups of the world.

Only their friends can join

The tool for this is the whitelist: with it on, the server turns away anyone who isn't on the list, even if they have the address. Each player is added by their exact Minecraft name.

Also leave on the setting that only lets official Minecraft accounts join: that way nobody can get in pretending to be a friend with the same name.

1. Turn on the whitelist

   On NapNodes, inside the server, “Settings” → “Whitelist”: yes. Also turn on “Kick anyone not on the list”, in case someone was already inside.

2. Add each friend

   Further down, under “Players”, type each one's Minecraft name and press “Add”. Ask your child for them exactly as they appear in the game: one wrong letter and they can't join.

3. Check the official accounts setting

   “Official Minecraft accounts only” must be set to yes (it comes that way).

4. Give the address only to the right people

   The server address gets shared in the friends' group, not on social media. If it leaks, nothing happens while the whitelist is on.

What the game is like

From the same “Settings” screen, without touching any files: “Difficulty” on Peaceful removes hostile monsters and deadly hunger, and “Game mode” on Creative lets new players build without limits. Further down, in “Game rules” (changed with the server running), turning off “Spawn Monsters” removes them on the other difficulties too, and turning off “Players can attack each other (PvP)” prevents fights between friends that end in tears.

If someone misbehaves, you kick them: in the panel console, kick Name removes them and ban Name stops them coming back (the other commands are in the admin commands guide). Removing them from the whitelist works too.

Money: what you pay and nothing else

The account has to be yours: you must be an adult to buy, and the adult is the holder of the service. The free server doesn't ask for a card, so you can start without giving any payment details.

If you move to a plan, you pay in advance, every month or every three, by card, Google Pay or Apple Pay; what each one costs is on the pricing page. There's no minimum term: cancel whenever you like in “My plan & invoices” → “Cancel the plan”. The first time, you have 72 hours to ask for a full refund. Before each renewal we let you know by email, so no charge comes as a surprise.

NapNodes sells nothing inside the game: there are no coins, ranks or paid crates. The only charge is the plan, and only whoever signs in to the account can change it.

Screen time

The server is started and stopped from the panel (“Start” and “Stop”), and the panel is yours: if you don't want them playing on weekdays, you stop it and nobody can join until you start it again. The free server also stops by itself after 20 minutes with nobody on.

To limit hours on the computer, console or tablet itself, what works is the parental controls on the child's Microsoft account and on each device: a server can't do that for you.

Mods, without downloading dodgy files

Lots of kids see mods in videos that ask you to download them from unknown websites, and that's how viruses get in. On NapNodes, mods and plugins are installed from “Mods & plugins”, which searches Modrinth and CurseForge, the two main mod sites, and only shows the ones that work with the server's version. Before trying things out, a backup in “Backups” (on paid plans) lets you go back.

Setting it up on NapNodes, step by step

1. Create the account yourself

   On napnodes.com, “Create your free server”: email and password, then confirm the email. It's your account, not your child's.

2. Choose the free Minecraft server

   In “Buy”, Minecraft: the free one is shown above the plans. In a couple of minutes it's ready and you get an email with the address (if there are no places left at that moment, you join the waitlist and it's created as soon as one frees up).

3. Lock it to their friends

   “Settings”: whitelist on and each friend's name in “Players”. Adjust difficulty, PvP and monsters to your liking.

4. Give them the address

   In Minecraft Java: “Multiplayer” → “Add Server” and paste the address, without the port.

Frequently asked questions