Playing Minecraft with My Kids Taught Me the True Meaning of 'Presence'

This afternoon, my seven year old son tugged at the hem of my shirt. He just wanted to show off the blocky house he built in Minecraft. Meanwhile, my eyes are still glued to the laptop screen, monitoring the sales graph which is not increasing. I just muttered "Good, Sis," without really looking.

In that moment I realized: I am a lousy father.

I work from home, I said to be close to my family. I used to be a design engineer, but now I decided to build my own digital business. The journey is not smooth. Capital will run out in 2024, causing your mental health to drop to its lowest point. The effect? I became obsessed with working all the time to catch up, until I forgot that at home there were two little humans—my son and his five year old brother—who needed more than just my physical presence.

Batman's Trap Called 'It's in the House'

Many people think that working from home is good because they can see their children all the time. The reality? Often we are just breathing statues. Body on the sofa, but brain on spreadsheet.

And this isn't just my feeling. According to the Digital 2025 report from DataReportal, the average Indonesian spends 3 hours and 8 minutes per day on social media. Screens can easily grab our attention — even from the people sitting right next to us.

After that bitter bankruptcy, I felt like I had a burden to prove that I could get up. But I was so focused on "rising" financially, I almost drowned emotionally. I'm at home, but I'm not 'present'.

The turning point was when I actually put down my cellphone, closed the laptop, and sat down with them to play Minecraft. We don't just play; we recorded the session to upload to their YouTube channel.

The Checkered World and Whole Attention

In Minecraft, my son is the teacher. He taught me how to craft, how to avoid Creepers, and how to make an automatic farm. When we recorded the YouTube video, I was forced to focus. I can't reply to client chats or check email if I don't want the video to be messy.

There I learned something expensive.

Being present is not about how many hours you sit in the same room as your child, but about how many minutes you really give them 100% attention without the distraction of other screens.

Playing Minecraft with them made me realize that children don't need a perfect father or a father who always has a lot of money. They just need a father who listens when they tell stories about zombie pigman or is just proud when they manage to find diamonds.

Tips so you don't just become a 'show dad' when working from home

If you feel trapped in the same situation—especially if you are struggling to build a business from scratch like me—there are several simple things you can try today:

1. Schedule 'No Screen Time' (Except Gaming Together): Choose an hour where the laptop is off and the cellphone goes in the drawer. If you want to play games together, focus on the game, not while looking at notifications.
2. Enter Their World: Don't make them enter your serious world. Try to enter their world. If they like Minecraft, then come dig in the dirt. If they like playing with cooking, then come try their 'plastic soup'.
3. Admit That You're Tired: Don't be mean. Sometimes I say, "Dad, I'm worried about work for a moment, give me 15 minutes, then we'll play again." That's more honest than playing with a bored face.
4. Make a Project Together: Like me and the kids making a YouTube video. This makes us feel like we are one team.

Learning from Failure 2024

Losing capital in 2024 taught me that wealth can be lost in an instant. But the moment my son laughed because I fell into lava in Minecraft? That's memory that can't be confiscated by any bank.

I'm still struggling to revive my digital business. I still often work overtime. But now, when the kids call, I try to really look up, let go of the mouse, and look them in the eye. Because in the end, who do we work hard for if not for them?

Approximately, when was the last time you actually put your cellphone down and played without thinking about work at all when you were with your children or family? Could it be that we are too busy building the future that we forget to enjoy the present?