Hi!

Alistair would like to play Minecraft with his friends. As this requires access to the morbid pit of despair and the dystopian nightmare that is the internet, this is slightly tricky to do in a safe and private manner.

Java should work out of the box. Bedrock has some parental control issues that you'll need to consider. As far as I'm aware, Bedrock has an "all or nothing" approach to online connectivity. In order to access this private server, the permission needs to be set to grant access to online services. This means that, in addition to this server, the child will see other servers that they can join. Personally, we wouldn't do this and fully understand if you feel the same.

tl;dr

Connect to minecraft.alistair.philjarvis.net

Caveat Emptor

I can't help you set this up other than the instructions below. I can't help fix any problems. I am an idiot with a keyboard.

Specifics

Whitelist

The server will operate a whitelist of people allowed to access it. To start with, the server will be open to everyone. I will manually add the children to the whitelist then turn that protection on afterwards. This means that only children / people who have accessed the server before will be able to access it. No random people.

Safe Spaces

Each child will be assigned a 15³ safe space where only they can build things, store things, and not be attacked by other players. This will hopefully help prevent fights.

Your child will see a visual effect for each of the assigned areas, along with a name when entering. They will have unique colours so they can identify their own space.

Chat Logs

Chat logs are stored for 24 hours before being discarded. If any problems occur, contact me to retrieve them.

Instructions for Java

1. Click Multiplayer
2. Click Add Server
3. Add the address minecraft.alistair.philjarvis.net
4. Give it a recognisable name (not that important)
5. If it asks for a port, this should be 25565
6. Done! It will appear in the list and you can join it.

Instructions for Bedrock

NB: previous statement regarding parental controls. Also, I don't have bedrock so no screenshots. Sorry.

1. Click Play
2. Click Servers at the top
3. Add Server
4. Add the address minecraft.alistair.philjarvis.net
5. Give it a recognisable name (not that important)
6. If it asks for a port, it should be 19132.
7. Add and Play
8. Next time you play, it should be visible in the server list at the bottom (after they've tried to sell you all the other things)